ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Faith Osier - Infectious disease doctor
Faith Osier is studying how humans acquire immunity to malaria and developing new malaria vaccines.

Why you should listen

Faith Osier works to understand how humans acquire immunity to malaria and intends to use this knowledge to design highly effective vaccines. Her studies focus on infections with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which leads to nearly half a million deaths in Africa each year. She demonstrated that Kenyan children who did not get sick after a malaria infection had high levels of antibodies against combinations of specific proteins found within the parasite. Subsequently, her studies in immune African adults revealed that there were in fact many additional parasite proteins that could be considered for malaria vaccines. To verify her results, she designed a massive study involving children and adults from 15 different geographical locations in Africa. She designed KILchip, a custom protein microarray that enabled her team to analyze antibody responses to more than 100 intentionally selected malaria proteins in these human blood samples. Her research group also studies the mechanisms by which these antibodies kill malaria parasites.

Osier is a Professor of Malaria Immunology in the Nuffield Deptartment of Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK. She has two research laboratories: one in the Biosciences Deptartment of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, and the other in the Parasitology Deptartment of Heidelberg University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. She has won multiple awards for her work including the Royal Society Pfizer Award (UK) and the prestigious Sofja Kovalevskaja Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She holds major research grants from the Wellcome Trust, is an MRC African Research Leader and an EDCTP Senior Fellow. She is also a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, an advisor to the Executive Committee of the Federation of African Immunological Societies and the vice-president/president-elect of the International Union of Immunological Societies. She was named a TED Fellow in 2018. She is passionate about training African scientists to excel and deliver the medical interventions that are urgently needed on the continent.

More profile about the speaker
Faith Osier | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Faith Osier: The key to a better malaria vaccine

Faith Osier: A chave para uma vacina melhor contra a malária

Filmed:
1,593,424 views

A vacina contra a malária foi inventada há mais de um século, mas, a cada ano, centenas de milhares de pessoas ainda morrem da doença. Como podemos melhorar essa vacina vital? Nesta palestra informativa, a imunologista e bolsista TED Faith Osier mostra como ela está combinando tecnologia de ponta com insights centenários, na esperança de criar uma nova vacina que possa erradicar a malária de uma vez por todas.
- Infectious disease doctor
Faith Osier is studying how humans acquire immunity to malaria and developing new malaria vaccines. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
There are 200 million clinical cases
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Existem 200 milhões de casos clínicos
00:18
of falciparum malaria
in Africa every year,
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de malária falciparum
na África todos os anos,
00:22
resulting in half a million deaths.
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resultando em meio milhão de mortes.
00:26
I would like to talk to you
about malaria vaccines.
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Gostaria de falar com vocês
sobre vacinas contra a malária.
00:30
The ones that we have made to date
are simply not good enough.
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As vacinas que temos feito até hoje
simplesmente não são boas o bastante.
00:36
Why?
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Por quê?
00:38
We've been working at it
for 100 plus years.
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Temos trabalhado nelas
por mais de 100 anos.
00:42
When we started, technology was limited.
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Quando começamos,
a tecnologia era limitada.
00:46
We could see just a tiny fraction
of what the parasite really looked like.
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Podíamos ver apenas uma pequena fração
da aparência real do parasita.
00:54
Today, we are awash with technology,
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Hoje, estamos inundados de tecnologia,
00:57
advanced imaging and omics platforms --
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imagens avançadas e plataformas "ômicas":
01:01
genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics.
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genômica, transcriptômica, proteômica.
01:06
These tools have given us a clearer view
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Essas ferramentas nos deram
uma visão mais clara
01:10
of just how complex
the parasite really is.
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do quanto o parasita é realmente complexo.
01:15
However, in spite of this,
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No entanto, apesar disso,
01:18
our approach to vaccine design
has remained pretty rudimentary.
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nossa abordagem ao design de vacinas
tem permanecido bem rudimentar.
01:24
To make a good vaccine,
we must go back to basics
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Para se fazer uma boa vacina,
devemos voltar ao básico
01:28
to understand how our bodies
handle this complexity.
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para entender como nosso corpo
lida com essa complexidade.
01:34
People who are frequently
infected with malaria
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Pessoas que são frequentemente
infectadas com malária
01:38
learn to deal with it.
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aprendem a lidar com isso.
01:40
They get the infection,
but they don't get ill.
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Elas são infectadas, mas não adoecem.
01:44
The recipe is encoded in antibodies.
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A receita é codificada em anticorpos.
01:48
My team went back to our complex parasite,
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Minha equipe voltou
à nossa parasita complexa,
01:52
probed it with samples from Africans
who had overcome malaria
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a examinou com amostras de africanos
que superaram a malária
01:57
to answer the question:
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para responder a pergunta:
01:59
"What does a successful
antibody response look like?"
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"Como seria uma resposta
de anticorpos bem-sucedida?"
02:04
We found over 200 proteins,
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Encontramos mais de 200 proteínas,
02:07
many of which are not
on the radar for malaria vaccines.
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muitas das quais não estão no radar
para vacinas contra a malária.
02:12
My research community may be missing out
important parts of the parasite.
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Minha comunidade de pesquisa pode estar
perdendo partes importantes do parasita.
02:18
Until recently, when one had identified
a protein of interest,
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Até recentemente, quando foi
identificada uma proteína de interesse,
02:23
they tested whether it might be
important for a vaccine
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a testaram para saber se poderia
ser importante para uma vacina
02:27
by conducting a cohort study.
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com a realização de um estudo de coorte.
02:30
This typically involved about 300
participants in a village in Africa,
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Isso normalmente envolvia cerca de
300 participantes de uma aldeia na África,
02:35
whose samples were analyzed to see
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cujas amostras eram analisadas para ver
02:38
whether antibodies to the protein
would predict who got malaria
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se anticorpos para a proteína
iriam prever quem tinha malária
02:44
and who did not.
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e quem não tinha.
02:46
In the past 30 years,
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Nos últimos 30 anos,
02:48
these studies have tested
a small number of proteins
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esses estudos testaram
um pequeno número de proteínas
02:53
in relatively few samples
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em relativamente poucas amostras
02:55
and usually in single locations.
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e normalmente em locais únicos.
02:58
The results have not been consistent.
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Os resultados não têm sido consistentes.
03:02
My team essentially collapsed
30 years of this type of research
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Minha equipe essencialmente concentrou
30 anos desse tipo de pesquisa
03:09
into one exciting experiment,
conducted over just three months.
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em um experimento empolgante,
conduzido em apenas três meses.
03:14
Innovatively, we assembled 10,000 samples
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De modo inovador, montamos 10 mil amostras
03:18
from 15 locations
in seven African countries,
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a partir de 15 locais
em 7 países africanos,
03:23
spanning time, age
and the variable intensity
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abrangendo tempo, idade
e a intensidade variável
03:27
of malaria experienced in Africa.
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de malária vivenciada na África.
03:30
We used omics intelligence
to prioritize our parasite proteins,
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Usamos inteligência ômica para priorizar
nossas proteínas parasitas,
03:36
synthesize them in the lab
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sintetizá-las no laboratório
03:38
and in short, recreated
the malaria parasite on a chip.
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e, em resumo, recriar
a parasita da malária em um chip.
03:43
We did this in Africa,
and we're very proud of that.
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Fizemos isso na África
e estamos muito orgulhosos disso.
03:47
(Applause)
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(Aplausos) (Vivas)
03:53
The chip is a small glass slide,
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O chip é um pequeno slide de vidro,
03:56
but it gives us incredible power.
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mas ele nos dá um poder incrível.
04:00
We simultaneously gathered data
on over 100 antibody responses.
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Coletamos dados simultaneamente
em mais de 100 respostas de anticorpos.
04:06
What are we looking for?
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O que estamos procurando?
04:08
The recipe behind a successful
antibody response,
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A receita por trás de uma resposta
de anticorpos de sucesso,
04:13
so that we can predict
what might make a good malaria vaccine.
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para que possamos prever o que poderia
fazer uma boa vacina contra a malária.
04:18
We're also trying to figure out
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Estamos também tentando descobrir
04:20
exactly what antibodies
do to the parasite.
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exatamente o que os anticorpos
fazem com o parasita.
04:24
How do they kill it?
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Como eles o matam?
04:26
Do they attack from multiple angles?
Is there synergy?
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Eles atacam de vários ângulos?
Existe sinergia?
Quanto anticorpo precisamos?
04:29
How much antibody do you need?
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Nossos estudos sugerem que ter um pouco
de um anticorpo não será o bastante.
04:32
Our studies suggest that having
a bit of one antibody won't be enough.
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04:38
It might take high
concentrations of antibodies
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Talvez sejam necessárias altas
concentrações de anticorpos
04:41
against multiple parasite proteins.
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contra múltiplas proteínas do parasita.
04:44
We're also learning that antibodies
kill the parasite in multiple ways,
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Também estamos descobrindo que anticorpos
matam o parasita de várias maneiras,
04:49
and studying any one of these in isolation
may not adequately reflect reality.
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e estudar qualquer um deles em isolamento
não refletiria a realidade adequadamente.
04:56
Just like we can now see the parasite
in greater definition,
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Assim como podemos ver o parasita
em maior definição,
05:00
my team and I are focused
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minha equipe e eu estamos concentrados
05:02
on understanding how our bodies
overcome this complexity.
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na compreensão de como nosso corpo
supera essa complexidade.
05:08
We believe that this could provide
the breakthroughs that we need
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Acreditamos que isso possa fornecer
os avanços que precisamos
05:12
to make malaria history
through vaccination.
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para escrever a história da malária
através da vacinação.
05:16
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
05:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos) (Vivas)
05:19
(Cheers)
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05:22
(Applause)
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05:27
Shoham Arad: OK, how close
are we actually to a malaria vaccine?
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Shoham Arad: Estamos próximos
de uma vacina contra a malária?
05:32
Faith Osier: We're just
at the beginning of a process
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Faith Osier: Estamos apenas
no início de um processo
05:35
to try and understand
what we need to put in the vaccine
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para tentar entender
o que precisamos colocar na vacina
05:39
before we actually start making it.
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antes de começarmos a produzi-la.
05:41
So, we're not really close to the vaccine,
but we're getting there.
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Não estamos, na verdade, próximos
da vacina, mas estamos chegando lá.
05:45
SA: And we're hopeful.
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SA: E estamos esperançosos.
05:46
FO: And we're very hopeful.
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FO: Estamos muito esperançosos.
05:49
SA: Tell me about SMART,
tell me what does it stand for
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SA: Fale sobre a SMART,
diga-nos o que significa
05:52
and why is it important to you?
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e por que é importante para você?
05:54
FO: So SMART stands for South-South
Malaria Antigen Research Partnership.
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FO: SMART significa South-South
Malaria Antigen Research Partnership.
06:01
The South-South
is referring to us in Africa,
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O South-South se refere a nós na África,
06:05
looking sideways to each other
in collaboration,
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olhando de lado a lado em colaboração,
06:10
in contrast to always looking to America
and looking to Europe,
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em contraste com olhar sempre
para os EUA e para a Europa,
06:14
when there is quite
some strength within Africa.
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quando há bastante força dentro da África.
Então, na SMART,
06:17
So in SMART,
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06:19
apart from the goal that we have,
to develop a malaria vaccine,
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além do nosso objetivo de desenvolver
uma vacina contra a malária,
06:23
we are also training African scientists,
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também estamos treinando
cientistas africanos,
06:25
because the burden
of disease in Africa is high,
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já que o fardo da doença na África é alto,
06:28
and you need people who will continue
to push the boundaries
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e precisamos de pessoas
que continuarão a empurrar os limites
06:32
in science, in Africa.
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na ciência, na África.
06:34
SA: Yes, yes, correct.
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SA: Sim, sim, correto.
06:36
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
06:40
OK, one last question.
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Uma última pergunta.
06:41
Tell me, I know you
mentioned this a little bit,
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Sei que mencionou um pouco disso,
06:44
but how would things actually change
if there were a malaria vaccine?
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mas como as coisas realmente mudariam
se houvesse uma vacina contra a malária?
06:48
FO: We would save
half a million lives every year.
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FO: Salvaríamos 500 mil vidas todo ano.
06:53
Two hundred million cases.
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Duzentos milhões de casos.
06:55
It's estimated that malaria costs Africa
12 billion US dollars a year.
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Estima-se que a malária custa à África
US$ 12 bilhões ao ano.
07:02
So this is economics.
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Então, significa economia.
07:03
Africa would simply thrive.
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A África certamente prosperaria.
07:06
SA: OK. Thank you, Faith.
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SA: Certo. Obrigada, Faith.
07:08
Thank you so much.
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Muito obrigada.
07:09
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Maricene Crus
Reviewed by Carolina Aguirre

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Faith Osier - Infectious disease doctor
Faith Osier is studying how humans acquire immunity to malaria and developing new malaria vaccines.

Why you should listen

Faith Osier works to understand how humans acquire immunity to malaria and intends to use this knowledge to design highly effective vaccines. Her studies focus on infections with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which leads to nearly half a million deaths in Africa each year. She demonstrated that Kenyan children who did not get sick after a malaria infection had high levels of antibodies against combinations of specific proteins found within the parasite. Subsequently, her studies in immune African adults revealed that there were in fact many additional parasite proteins that could be considered for malaria vaccines. To verify her results, she designed a massive study involving children and adults from 15 different geographical locations in Africa. She designed KILchip, a custom protein microarray that enabled her team to analyze antibody responses to more than 100 intentionally selected malaria proteins in these human blood samples. Her research group also studies the mechanisms by which these antibodies kill malaria parasites.

Osier is a Professor of Malaria Immunology in the Nuffield Deptartment of Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK. She has two research laboratories: one in the Biosciences Deptartment of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, and the other in the Parasitology Deptartment of Heidelberg University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. She has won multiple awards for her work including the Royal Society Pfizer Award (UK) and the prestigious Sofja Kovalevskaja Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She holds major research grants from the Wellcome Trust, is an MRC African Research Leader and an EDCTP Senior Fellow. She is also a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, an advisor to the Executive Committee of the Federation of African Immunological Societies and the vice-president/president-elect of the International Union of Immunological Societies. She was named a TED Fellow in 2018. She is passionate about training African scientists to excel and deliver the medical interventions that are urgently needed on the continent.

More profile about the speaker
Faith Osier | Speaker | TED.com