The YERUN Mobility award provided me the opportunity to visit Dr. Ruth Mackay at The Diagnostic Chip Laboratory (DoCLaB) at Brunel University, London, and Dr. Harding-Esch from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The title of the project was: Organ-on-a-chip; combining innovative diagnostics and public health practice to optimize sexually transmitted infections control.
I am working in the field of sexually transmitted infections as an epidemiologist at the Public Health Service South Limburg. The DoCLaB group have developed rapid point of care tests for sexually transmitted infections (STI). Currently they are working on organ-on-a-chip , this novel model is being developed to mimic the lower female reproductive tract with respect to bacterial vaginosis. LSHTM has experience with STI point of care tests in low and middle income countries.
My visit to Brunel consisted of two weeks. Most of the time I stayed at Brunel University, but I also visited LSHTM for two days. During my stay I participated in two seminars, where I dissiminated my previous PhD research. Dr. Mackay, Dr. Harding-Esch and I had several meetings to discuss our joint research paper and future collaborations. They gave me the opportunity to meet collegues from different disciplines during my stay. This enabled me to visit an STI clinic in London, and also experience the clinical aspect of research.
Geneviève is a Public Health Epidemiologist with a special interest in Infectious Diseases. Her main area of expertise is Sexually Transmitted Infections. In December 2015, she obtained my PhD at Maastricht University. The title of her dissertation was ‘Chlamydia trachomatis testing policy and control: the neglected role of the anorectal site’. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at Maastricht University, together with the Public Health Service of South Limburg, the Netherlands.
Click here to access Geneviève’s ORCID.
