Cold-chain Clinicians in Rwanda

Four clinical research fellows joined the ACES team in December 2022: Dr Emma Sherry, Dr Eika Webb, Dr Alice Taylor and Dr Alice Packham. Emma and Eika worked alongside the Rwandan ACES team in person at the Biomedical Research Centre, Kigali over January and February 2023.  They assisted in data collection for the larger ACES project assessing the current land-based vaccine cold chain utilised during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will support the creation of an economic digital model for enhanced assessment of the vaccine cold chain in other African countries. Alice and Alice worked in Kigali in February and March 2023 with Rwandan colleagues to improve understanding of the current energy usage within the vaccine cold chain, and consider solutions to improve its efficacy.

Emma Sherry

Emma is currently a Clinical Research Fellow at the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Birmingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF), which is located at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. She started this role in February 2022 and is involved with the day-to-day running of vaccine clinical trials. Prior to this, she worked as an anaesthetist in Birmingham. She is taking a break from Anaesthetics to gain further research experience, and is excited to be collaborating on projects with the ACES team.

Eika Webb

Eika is currently an academic clinical fellow in infectious diseases in Birmingham following foundation training in Oxford and two years of working in emergency medicine both in the UK and the tropical north of Australia. She has an interest in global health, completing the Diploma in Tropical Medicine in Liverpool (2021) and is looking forward to going to Rwanda and working alongside the Rwanda ACES team.

Alice Taylor

Alice is an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham. Prior to joining this team, Alice completed her foundation years and a fellowship in HIV and Genito-Urinary Medicine in London. Alice has an interest in public health, health equity and vaccine provision. Alice is looking forward to working closely with the Rwanda ACES team.

Alice Packham

Alice has an interest in vaccinology and its applications for global health equity, developed through her work as co-investigator for COVID-19 preventive vaccine, early therapeutic and inpatient treatment clinical trials at St Thomas’ Hospital, London (2021-2022) and studying the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in London (2022). She carried out clinical foundation training in Birmingham during the initial COVID-19 outbreak.