Irene Nambuya is a Research Technician based in the MacDonald Lab. Read about Irene’s start in research at the MRC/Uganda Virus Research Institute, how a merit scholarship opportunity at The University of Manchester ultimately led to her work with the MacDonald Lab unraveling immune complexities in pancreatic cancer treatment, and the inspiration she finds in Manchester’s collaborative immunology community.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background in research 

I come from Uganda and I have a bachelor’s degree in biomedical laboratory technology from Makerere University, Uganda.

In October 2020, I won the equity and merit scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in clinical immunology at The University of Manchester. My research project aimed at investigating the impact of S. mansoni infection on host immune responses using murine models.

I am currently working as a Research Technician in the MacDonald laboratory. Part of my work involves supporting the Immodulon study that aims at investigating the key innate and adaptive cell types and mediators involved in the inflammatory and immunological response elicited by IMM-101, a heat-killed preparation of the environmental bacterium Mycobacterium obuense (NCTC13365) that is currently planning to enter Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.

Before joining The University of Manchester to pursue a master’s degree, I worked in Prof. Alison Elliott’s laboratory as a Laboratory Technologist, under the immunomodulation and vaccine programme (IVAC) at the Medical Research Council (MRC)/Uganda virus research institute (UVRI) in Uganda for 4 years. During that time, I worked as a Project Analytical Manager for some of the research studies conducted, including those aimed at investigating the immunological effects of chronic helminth infection and the impact these effects on major infectious diseases including tuberculosis, malaria, HIV infection and other emerging non-communicable diseases like asthma.