Chibale Mwelwa

Chibale Mwelwa is a laboratory scientist with an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics and in the process of obtaining a Master’s degree in Public Health at the University of Zambia in Lusaka. Having worked on various projects such as “Population effects of antiretroviral therapy to reduce HIV transmission (PopART)”, and a tuberculosis (TB) prevalence and drug resistance survey, she developed great interest in playing an active role in formulating interventions that mitigated the effects of the scourges that persist in communities around her. Her current role at the Centre for Family Health and Research in Zambia has not only introduced her to clinical trials, but also to research regarding the profiling of functional T Cells and the characterisation of the HIV genome in acutely infected individuals in efforts to inform vaccine design. Her current project focuses on HIV-1 genome-level analysis of the occurrence and prevalence of transmissible HIV-1 drug resistance mutations.