MIM Researcher of the Month, Eric Achidi

	Senior Lecturer, Chemical Pathology and Immunology, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon Vice-Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences Chair, Malaria Immunology and Pathogenesis Network (MIMPAC)
Dr. Eric Akum Achidi

Contact Information:

Faculty of Health Sciences,
University of Buea,
PO Box 63,
Buea, South West Province
Cameroon
Tel (Office): +237 3332 2134
Tel (Home): +237 3332 3101
Fax: +237 3332 2272
Mobile: +237 77 73 94 98
Email: achidi_e@yahoo.com

Research profile
Dr Achidi has devoted his scientific career to research on malaria in Africa. Overall, his research interest is in the area of immune responses to malaria particularly to malaria in pregnancy and maternal foetal/neonatal immune interactions; factors that influence susceptibility of newborns to malaria during early childhood ; understanding the mechanisms for the pathogenesis of severe malaria in children, particularly the roles played by specific antibodies and cytokine gene polymorphisms (host factors/host genetics); evaluating the efficacy of antimalarial drugs in vivo and using parasite molecular and human immunological markers to predict/monitor drug resistance; health research ethics.

Background
Dr Achidi Eric was born in Bamenda, Cameroon in 1963. He obtained a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Science of the University of Ilorin Nigeria in 1987 and then MSc (1991) in Chemical Pathology at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He was then awarded a PhD in Chemical Pathology (Immunology option) in 1994 at the University of Ibadan. His PhD thesis was titled “Malaria parasitemia and humoral immune responses to some malaria vaccine candidates in Nigerian infants and adults.” He gained a postdoctoral training grant from the WHO/TDR award for training in advanced immunological techniques in the Department of Immunology University of Stockholm Sweden.

He has since attended several seminars, workshops and short courses in immunological methods in malaria research, health research ethics, project planning, implementation and evaluation, communication and human resource management for medical professionals and recently clinical trials.

Upon completion of his PhD studies he was recruited as Lecturer I in the Department of Pathology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria and later moved to Cameroon as Research Associate in an NIH funded ICDR Malaria project at the Biotechnology Center, University of Yaounde I Cameroon. He was later recruited Assistant Lecturer in the University Buea, the only English teaching University in Cameroon. In September he was appointed Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and later in April 2000 cumulatively as Head of the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences.

Between Dec. 2nd 2004 and September 2005 he was again cumulatively Vice-Dean and acting Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Currently he is the Vice-Dean of Studies, research and students affairs. He was elected in August 2006 as chair of the Malaria Immunology and Pathogenesis Network (MIMPAC); consortium of African institutions engaged in studies on the Immunology and Pathogenesis of malaria. Dr Achidi is also a member (since 2004) of the African Malaria Network Trust (AMANET) scientific coordination committee.

Research Interests and Grant Awards
Dr Achidi has devoted his scientific career to research on malaria in Africa. Overall, his research interest is in the area of immune responses to malaria particularly to malaria in pregnancy and maternal-foetal-neonatal immune interactions; factors that influence susceptibility of newborns during early childhood to malaria; understanding the mechanisms for the pathogenesis of severe malaria in children particularly the roles played by specific antibodies and cytokine gene polymorphisms (host factors/host genetics); evaluating the efficacy of antimalarial drugs in vivo and using parasite molecular and human immunological markers to predict/monitor drug resistance; health research ethics.

Dr Eric Achidi has received several research project grant awards mainly from UNDP/World bank/WHO research capacity strengthening grant scheme, MIM/TDR, International Atomic Energy Agency and the Grand Challenges in Global Health funding scheme.

Capacity Building
Dr Achidi has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students both in Nigeria (College of Medecine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto) and in Cameroon (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea). So far he has trained 14 M.Sc graduates and is currently supervising/co-supervising 5 PhDs and 4 M.Sc students in malaria related research projects.

Collaboration and Linkages
Dr Achidi during his research career has established collaboration nationally with the University of Yaounde I (Biotechnology Centre) and the Institute of Medicinal Plant and Medical Research. Internationally he works in close collaboration with the Department of Immunology, University of Stockholm and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Genetics Research, Oxford.

Challenges and prospects
"The problem with the African Scientist is that there are no widely available programs or funding schemes for postdoctoral training. Therefore after completion of the PhD program they find themselves in leadership positions for which they are not adequately trained/prepared and have to wobble and fumble before growing up. The MIM/TDR programme has developed and strengthened capacity for research on malaria in Africa through its identification of budding scientists and funding capacity building in their institutions. Consequently in several African laboratories today we have a group of mid career and African Scientists who are products of this successful venture by MIM/TDR and who have extended their research activities to other competitive, highly funded projects. I believe in the creation of centers of excellence for research on poverty related diseases in Africa where capacity for research all over Africa can be developed and strengthened through networking."