Francisca Mutapi
Professor
Department of Infection and Pathway Medicine
The University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Biography
Dr Francisca Mutapi is an immuno-epidemiologist working on human schistosomiasis, investigating how the host immune response influences schistosome infection and morbidity epidemiological patterns in people resident in schistosome-endemic areas as well as the parasite population biology. She investigates factors affecting the nature and development of schistosome-specific immune responses including (1) humoral and cellular innate and adaptive responses, (2) the role of co-infections, (3) regulation of the immune system and (4) the short and long-term consequences of antihelminthic treatment for schistosome infection/pathology and overall host health (infectious and non-infectious diseases). By integrating highly successful programme of fieldwork spanning over 20 years with, laboratory and quantitative work, her group has been able to conduct high impact hypothesis-driven laboratory research on schistosomiasis which has been translated to policy (most recently by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe) and practice (currently the 5-year National Schistosome Control Programme in Zimbabwe). She has been at the University of Edinburgh since 2002 as an MRC Training Fellow, then RCUK Fellow and now Senior Lecturer. In 2011 she was elected as one of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland.
Research Interest
Infection and Pathway Medicine
Publications
-
Rujeni N, Nausch N, Midzi N, Gwisai R, Mduluza T, Taylor DW and Mutapi F. Soluble CD23 Levels are inversely associated with atopy and parasite-specific IgE levels but not with polyclonal IgE levels in people exposed to helminth Infection. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2013; 161: 333-341.
