Isaac Ssewanyana PhD

Ssewanyana Isaac is an Immunologist with IDRC and the Acting Laboratory Director, Uganda National Health Laboratory Services (UNHLS). He has a BSc- In biochemistry from Makerere University and an MSc in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Mr. Ssewanyana is a final year Ph.D. student of Infectious and tropical Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. For his Ph.D. project, Mr. Ssewanyana is investigating the slow acquisition of immunity to malaria. Unlike other infections like measles where a single infection can result in protective immunity, it takes more than 8 years of suffering from very many malaria episodes to just acquire partial immunity that can at least protect against the disease but is rarely sterile. He is focusing on the properties of antibodies such as antibody avidity and IgG subtype composition (some subtypes are more important in mediating immunity against malaria) against a panel of 26 novel malaria antigens. For a long time, we have known that antibodies mediate immunity to malaria. He is therefore investigating how frequent infection with malaria parasites interferes with the acquisition of these antibody properties that are critical for their function. As a final-year Ph.D. student, the findings of the research already indicate that frequent infection may be impairing avidity maturation.