Tell us about your current research
My current research focuses on chikungunya vaccine impact modelling. Since starting my PhD in 2022, I have been using mathematical models to identify chikungunya-affected countries, estimate underlying immunity, quantify the global burden, and, more recently, estimate the impact of chikungunya outbreak response vaccination. Through this work, I hope to generate evidence to support the strategic use of chikungunya vaccines in endemic and epidemic countries, ensuring they reach populations most in need.
How did you first become interested in vaccines?
Before joining LSHTM as a PhD student, I worked at the International Vaccine Institute, where my current interest in vaccine and vaccine impact modelling research deepened. Conducting economic burden estimation and cost-effectiveness analysis for the typhoid conjugate vaccine in India and supporting the cost-effectiveness analysis of single-dose HPV vaccine in Thailand underscored for me the critical need for generating scientific evidence early in the vaccine development stage, which is often lacking for many neglected diseases. This experience directly informed my current PhD on chikungunya vaccine impact modelling, as vaccines were in development and at the same time chikungunya remains one of the neglected tropical diseases that require scientific evidence to advance vaccine development and introduction.
What do you hope to achieve during your time as a member of the Vaccine Centre?
As a member of vaccine centre and LSHTM PhD student, I hope to contribute to generating some of the evidence that improves understanding of the chikungunya burden and hope my research will be useful enough to inform who should be vaccinated and where, ensuring that vaccines reach those who are in most need, particularly in LMIC settings. Chikungunya remains a neglected disease to many, but I hope my research can provide even a single piece of evidence that eventually contributes to achieving equitable vaccine access.
What do you find particularly interesting working as a member of the Vaccine Centre?
The significance of the Vaccine Centre is that it offers a range of opportunities to learn about vaccine-preventable diseases beyond my area of expertise. It provides great opportunities to engage with the latest research and keep up with important themes related to vaccines. Additionally, as a member not physically based in London, it still allows me to connect with peers or senior researchers from diverse backgrounds.
Where do you think your research will take you?
My current research on chikungunya vaccine impact modeling has reinforced my interest in using mathematical models to inform public health decisions. In the future, I envision expanding this work to other neglected diseases and potential Disease X threats that may trigger pandemics or local outbreaks. I hope my research will generate evidence that can be easily translated into policy, such as developing an interactive modeling platform where non-modelers can input disease-specific data to predict vaccine impact by region, age group, socioeconomic status for the purpose of outbreak preparedness. I hope to collaborate closely with frontline public health practitioners responding to outbreaks, ensuring that models are more realistic and actionable.
What are some of the real-life implications of your work?
One of the real-life implications of my research is its potential to inform public health policies and vaccine implementation strategies for chikungunya. By identifying high-burden regions and populations most at risk, my research can contribute to outbreak preparedness efforts, guiding decisions on when and where vaccination campaigns should be deployed to minimise disease burden. On a personal level, I’ve introduced chikungunya to my family and some friends—who work in completely different fields—by explaining what causes it, its consequences, and why it matters. The disease remains largely neglected by those who don’t live with the virus, but I feel happy knowing that at least some people around me now understand its significance and the importance of developing vaccines and conducting research on it.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I like to cook and experiment with improvised recipes. Lately, I’ve been enjoying making Sot-babs, a Korean dish with flavoured rice and various toppings in a cast-iron pot. I also like to spend my spare time exploring different cafes in Nagasaki these days.
What would you consider an interesting fact about yourself?
I lived in a rural town in Ethiopia called Holeta for a year after my undergraduate studies, working on a global health research project. During that time, four project colleagues and I shared the same house. The electricity and water were unreliable, but still, everyone was so passionate about cooking that we made meals even when the electricity or gas were not available (I even had to cook using matches!) It might sound like a tough life, but there was a lot of laughter and fun among us. Sometimes, I miss those evenings when we all sat around the dinner table, talking under dim light, without the internet to easily entertain us.
How can people get and stay in touch with you?
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