It was an opportunity to present the African Centre for Vector Genomics (AVecGen) project and engage with participants from various backgrounds
CRID Team
From 23rd to 24th April 2025, a team from CRID took part in the 5th Malaria Vector Symposium at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Douala. The theme was: Bridging research advances and community involvement. Many participants, among which students and researchers visited AVecGen’s stand. They particularly appreciated the project as being an innovative idea, as Charlène Tina, a molecular biology passionate who says: “AVecGen integrates both genomics and molecular biology, which for me is the perfect combo for a young, modern and innovative researcher”. Belinda Kiam, a PhD student added, “This is a remarkable and hopeful initiative of the project! Establishing the first genomic centre in Central Africa, is a huge step forward for infectious disease research in Cameroon and the entire region”. They wished more activities could be organised for them to learn about the use of genomics in the fight against malaria. Dr Agnes Toumba, organiser of the event equally visited and appreciated CRID’s exhibit. She was eager to know how AVecGen project could benefit to students from the University of Douala.
Gadji Mahamat presenting AVecGen to visitors
During the plenary session, CRID scientists had the opportunity to deliver presentations. Gadji Mahamat, Bioinformatics lead, made a brief overview of the AVecGen project. The audience was impressed by CRID’s platform and the capacity building aspect of the project. They were very receptive and open to collaboration. For example, Prof. François Eya’ane, an Associate Professor of Chemistry who works on metabolomics using a platform from the United States of America, expressed an interest in collaborating with CRID on their future metabolomics platform. Arnaud Tepa, Research Assistant, presented his work on “Insights from transcriptomic profiling identify molecular factors contributing to pyrethroid resistance escalation in Anopheles Gambiae”. This earned him the prize of the best oral presentation. Samuel Ndick, PhD student, exhibited his research on “Characterisation of insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae s.l. and its impact on malaria control in two localities of the Centre Cameroon region”. The AVecGen project promises to be a major undertaking, with a team poised to use genomics to eradicate malaria.
