Bernadette Ataku

Ms
Bernadette
Ataku

Research Officer
KEMRI-Wellcome Trust
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Biography

Bernadette Kutima is a Research Officer at Kemri-Wellcome Trust, currently working with Prof. George Warimwe and Dr James Nyagwange. She studied BSc in Microbiology and subsequently was awarded an IDeAL training fellowship to pursue MSc in Immunology at Pwani University. She has a keen interest in understanding arboviral and SARS-CoV-2 infections, primarily focusing on antibody functions, as a result of natural or vaccine-induced immunity. 

Research interests

My primary interest is in immunological memory, mainly, antibody functions, as a consequence of antigen exposure.

Projects you're working on

I am centred on gathering serological evidence of natural exposure to Dengue, Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, and coronaviruses by exploring integrated sero-surveillance through multiplex-based techniques and determining the functionality of antibodies through neutralization tests.

Discipline
Epidemiology Immunology – B-cells Molecular biology Protein biology Virology
Host species
Zoonoses
Pathogen
Viruses VirusesArboviruses VirusesCoronavirus VirusesRift Valley fever virus
Stage of vaccine development
Clinical trials Correlates of protection – immunomonitoring