The people behind GenPath Africa: Meet Nalia Ismael

The GenPath Africa project brings together experts from five organisations in five countries across Africa and Europe. Our researchers are leading scientists in multiple disciplines and include epidemiologists, clinicians, bioinformaticians, immunologists, virologists, and public health and health policy specialists. Together, they aim to increase the use of genomic epidemiology to address public health issues in South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique.

Today we speak to one of our young scientists, Nália Ismael. She represents Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS) in the GenPath Africa consortium and recently completed her PhD, which focused on the phylodynamics and molecular characterization of HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 in Mozambique. We asked Nalia about her insights into the importance of her work within the project and what advice she has for fellow young scientists.

You currently represent the GenPath Africa consortium in Mozambique. Can you tell us a bit more about your work and how it connects to GenPath Africa’s long-term goals?

Currently, I am responsible for the Biotechnology and Genetics Laboratory at the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), an advanced laboratory in Mozambique where molecular tests – including genomic sequencing – are conducted. Right now, my research focuses on how genomic analysis can be used to prevent, control, and respond to public health threats in Mozambique, with a particular focus on molecular diagnosis and pathogen-resistance to standard treatments against infectious diseases.

I have been working at INS since 2009 and a lot my research builds on my experience with infectious disease outbreaks over the past few years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mozambique had to rapidly implement a genomic surveillance network (referred to as ReviGen). INS played a key role in implementing this network and lead the country’s efforts in detecting, monitoring, and characterizing SARS-COV-2 variants of concern. Several lessons were learned from this, including how to best strengthen and leverage the existing ReviGen network to respond to future public health problems beyond SARS-CoV-2.

We can now apply this experience to our work within the GenPath Africa project, which focuses on increasing genomic surveillance in Mozambique to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and clinical management of multiple pathogens. This will enable us to better respond to current epidemics and improve public health responses to future pandemic outbreaks.

You recently completed your PhD – do you have any advice for fellow young scientists who also want to pursue a PhD in the future?

My advice is to pursue a topic that you are passionate about. First and most importantly, be resilient and view challenges as opportunities for growth.  Secondly, be focused, seek good mentors, and establish networks and collaborations that will provide valuable insights into your field of research.

Lastly, enjoy the journey! Working on your PhD is a continuous learning process and can become intense, but you should never forget to celebrate small achievements along the way because they will give you the strength to continue.

Looking ahead, what are you most excited about when it comes to your work as part of the GenPath Africa project?

I think one of the most exciting things about GenPath Africa’s research is its holistic One Health approach, which considers environmental, animal and human factors that influence disease emergence and spread. Applied in this context, genomic surveillance can be a powerful tool to help control pathogens that are of public health concern in Africa. Public health institutions in Mozambique are now also embracing a One Health approach and plan to increase genomic surveillance to enhance the country's ability to predict, prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats. Our work at INS will be an important part of implementing this new approach.