2022 Presidents Fund awardess
The aim of the Presidents Fund is to support potential RSTMH members from low- and low-middle income countries by paying awardees’ annual membership subscription for three years. This year's Presidents Fund winners were announced at the RSTMH Annual Meeting.
Ruth Vellemu Binali
Ruth holds a Master of Science in Biostatistics and is currently working as a Research and Policy Associate at African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP).
I am very grateful for being awarded the RSTMH President’s Fund 2022. It grants me the opportunity to join a network that’s committed to saving lives and improving health around the world, especially maternal and child health which I am passionate about.”
Faith Verynice Custor
Faith is an early carrier medical researcher at Kitete Regional Referral Hospital, she is currently working with the hospital to research and expose further the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) burden in Northwestern Tanzania.
I am overjoyed to receive this award, it is a chance to stand with and learn from the experts as we expose and work on elimination of these silent killers “Neglected tropical diseases.”
Nipun Rathnayake
Nipun is currently working as a volunteer research assistant at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
I am delighted and honored to be selected as a winner of the President's Fund and to be eligible for the student membership of RSTMH. I would like to express my heartiest gratitude for the organization, and I’m looking forward to actively participating in the upcoming events of RSTMH and to utilizing the knowledge I gain here to educate the local communities on infectious disease control.”
Elijah Okwuonu
Elijah is Nigerian and lectures at the University of Nigeria, Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, where he is also a Ph.D. candidate in the Parasitology and Public Health Unit.
The RSTMH Presidents Fund 2022 makes me happy and honoured. As a member, I aim to interact with the RSTMH during my membership by performing volunteer work, writing content, finding new members or interacting with existing ones at events, and contributing to publish high-caliber articles in the Transactions and International Health Journals.”
Dr Abidemi Ojo
Dr. Ojo Abidemi Esther is an early career female scientist who bagged her PhD in Medical Microbiology and Public Health in the year 2018 from Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Nigeria. She started her lecturing career in the same University in 2017 and her since then rose to the post Lecturer I.
The news is a milestone achievement for me and the lesson of winners don't quit really dawned on me. This is because this year application made the third time I gave Presidential award a trial.”
Erikan Baluku
Erikan is currently a master’s student at the University of Cape Town studying Molecular and Cell biology
After being awarded the fund, I feel appreciative and privileged to have joined the society of like-minded specialists. I also believe that this is a first step toward helping to achieve SDG 3, particularly in addressing non-communicable diseases and antibiotic resistance in my community.”
Find out more
Find out more about the RSTMH Presidents Fund here.