“With enough funding, universities will be able to expand, do more in terms of disease response, and study diseases that are endemic to Africa, such as Lassa fever.”
During his stay at Pompeu Fabra University, Prof. Mustapha was particularly inspired by the hands-on approach of his hosts where fellows and supervisors exchanged and refined their translational research project, with a feedback loop that challenged assumptions and accelerated their understanding of Lassa fever and mpox which they have studied for a long time without access to the same facilities and broader set of ideas they were exposed to in Barcelona.
For Prof. Mustapha, this experience further fuelled his interest in Lassa fever. He even shared that he learned more about the virus during his two-week stay in Barcelona than anywhere else. It also prompted deeper reflection on how such expertise and capacity could be cultivated within Nigeria. He stressed that translational research should be strengthened not only by Africa-Europe collaboration but also by intra-Africa collaboration. Drawing from his experience, Prof. Mustapha called for African countries to build research ecosystems that can host valuable exchanges that can be creative and adapted to local realities. He is hopeful that the network he developed through the Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence on this fellowship is already laying groundwork for future collaboration, from aiming to secure joint grant applications to establishing shared research pipelines.
Prof. Mustapha imagines a future where a discovery made in Nigeria could be rapidly validated by colleagues from across the continent: with the potential innovation tested and eventually taken up by pharmaceutical companies for large-scale production across different countries. Joint funding, he added, could help build the critical mass around which a regulatory ecosystem can be established to make this vision a reality.
The fellowship also reshaped his understanding on the importance of how discoveries can be translated from lab to market to ensure they have an impact within society. “You need to design your research in such a way that, right from the outside, you’re thinking of making an impact,” he reflected.
Another key lesson from the fellowship was the importance of engaging not only regulators and policymakers but also communities. "If we don't talk to the people that matter and the regulators, for example, policymakers and even people in the community, we cannot make a discovery," he said. “With enough funding, universities will be able to expand, do more in terms of disease response, and study diseases that are endemic to Africa, such as Lassa fever”.
Meet Prof. Mustapha
Prof. Mustapha Umar Imam, Professor of biochemistry and Director of the Centre for Vaccine Research and Biotechnology at the Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria
Professor Imam is a molecular biotechnologist and translational vaccine researcher. His work focuses on translating molecular discoveries into practical health interventions relevant to Africa, including vaccine development, diagnostic tools, and preventive strategies for chronic and infectious diseases. He holds an MBBS from Bayero University Kano and a PhD in Molecular Biotechnology from Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Translational research project: Developing a preventative mRNA vaccine candidate for Lassa fever
Host institutions
- Makerere University – supervisor: Prof. Damalie Nakanjako
- Radboud University – supervisors: Prof. Benjamin Mordmüller, Prof. Marien De Jonge & Prof. Quirijn de Mast
- Pompeu Fabra University – supervisor: Prof. Andreas Meyerhans
- University of Bern – supervisor: Dr. Phaedra Simitsek
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About the AU-EU Health Partnership
The AU-EU Health Partnership is a broad coalition from Africa and Europe working together to strengthen health systems, improve health security, and increase access to pharmaceuticals in Africa. Encompassing myriad projects and partners at the continental, regional, and country levels, the initiative is making critical contributions to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages (SDG 3). Health is also one of the pillars of the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, which aims to boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.
The partnership benefits from coordinated implementation and focuses on five interconnected themes:
· Manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines, and health technologies (MAV+)
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
- Sustainable health security using a "One Health" approach (HSOH)
- Digital health for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage (DH)
- Support for public health institutes (PHI)
Team Europe actors include the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as well as EU Member States including Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.