Germana Bancone
Germana obtained a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology in Rome in 2008 studying haemoglobin variants of West African populations. Her main interest was the genetic of resistance to malaria in humans and the evolution of advantageous polymorphisms in African populations. While working in Burkina Faso during her first year of post-doc, she focused on the impact these same haemoglobin variants had in the transmission capacity of Plasmodium falciparum from the human host to the mosquitoes. In 2010 she started working at the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit at the Thai-Myanmar border on the characterization of genotypes and phenotypes of G6PD deficiency in Karen and Burman populations in the framework of a research program for the deployment of primaquine. Her main interest remains the study of inherited red blood cells disorders (IRD) but more in relation to clinical outcomes such as the haemolytic risk during treatment of malaria with 8-aminoquinolines, the causes of anemia during pregnancy and the onset of neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. Furthermore she is interested in validating new point-of care tools for diagnosis of G6PD deficiency and anaemia. In SMRU she leads the activities of the haematology laboratory in support to both clinical and research work.
Abstracts this author is presenting: