The role of arginase activity in the increased rate of relapse and treatment failure of patients with visceral leishmaniasis and HIV co-infection

Yegnasew is a senior medical laboratory technologist, working at the University of Gondar Leishmaniasis Research and Treatment Center. He is interested in the causes of increased relapse rate and treatment failure of visceral leishmaniasis in patients co-infected with HIV. During his project, Yegnasew will measure the activity of arginase and the activation phenotype of cells expressing arginase in the blood of patients with visceral leishmaniasis and HIV co-infection at three stages: before treatment, after treatment, and six months after treatment. Yegnasew works with Dr Pascale Kropf at Imperial College London, where his Fellowship supports his Master's in Immunology, and with Dr Ermias Diro at the University of Gondar.

This grant was awarded under the scheme's previous name of Master's Fellowships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine.