Professor Henry Mwandumba has been appointed as director of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme (MLW). MLW is a longstanding partnership between The Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES), the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University of Liverpool (UoL). The partnership is funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Professor David Lalloo, Director of LSTM, said: “I am delighted to announce that, following an international search and rigorous appointment process, Henry Mwandumba has been offered the post of Director of MLW. Henry has been acting as Interim Director since August 2022. I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Henry every success in the post.”
Born in Malawi, Henry is delighted to become the first Malawian Director of MLW and explains why his appointment is an important step forward: “I am delighted and honoured to lead this great organisation as its Director. My appointment is an important milestone in MLW’s history and is testament to the Programme’s exceptional success in developing and nurturing transformative global scientific leaders. With the support of the MLW community, partners and stakeholders, I am confident that we will take MLW to the next chapter of sustainable growth and success.”
In 2022, Professor Mwandumba was awarded the Weber-Parkes Prize, from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), during the Harveian Oration Lecture, at RCP in London. He received the prestigious award for his ground-breaking work in unlocking causes, patterns of transmission, and effective treatments, in the area of tuberculosis. The award is traditionally given to somebody who can demonstrate excellent work in the field of tuberculosis, in the UK or abroad.
Henry began his career by studying medicine at the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine and specialised in general (Internal) medicine and infectious diseases in Liverpool. His research focuses on understanding the immunopathogenesis of HIV- associated illnesses to improve patient outcomes. His research has three major themes: HIV, tuberculosis, and vascular diseases.
Henry also heads up the Mucosal and Vascular Immunology Group at MLW, is a Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi, and Honorary Consultant Physician at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool.
He is the Immediate Past President of the Federation of African Immunological Societies (FAIS) and Immediate Past Treasurer of the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP). His research is supported by funding from Wellcome, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK and the German Research Foundation (DFG). He was Cornell University’s Distinguished African Scholar in 2015, was awarded the MRC/DfID African Research Leader Award in 2017, the Royal Society Africa Prize in 2019 and the Weber-Parkes Prize in 2022.
Henry’s appointment as Director is effective immediately.