October 2022: Catherine Kamwana, fellow from Malawi, and Dr. Stella Mazeri, mentor from the University of Edinburgh, talk about the importance of having an appropriate mentoring programme during their fellowship. Dr Stella Mazeri is a Chancellor's Fellow at the Roslin Institute and the Royal Dick Veterinary School. She originally qualified as a veterinary surgeon, and is now a veterinary epidemiologist working on zoonotic disease control, with a particular interest in rabies control in sub-Saharan Africa and India. She has extensive experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of complex epidemiological studies in the United Kingdom, India, and several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. She teaches on a range of undergraduate and MSc veterinary courses on topics including epidemiology, disease control and statistics. Dr. Mazeri organised a series of lectures on epidemiology and statistics as part of the teaching programmes for the Fleming Fund fellows in all the cohorts that have worked with the University of Edinburgh. She has been particularly instrumental in supporting the research project carried out by the fellows in Malawi and will continue to assist the fellows with data analysis. We asked Stella to reflect on her experiences as a mentor, working with the Fleming Fund fellow in Malawi. Image What were your expectations at the beginning of the mentorship? I was looking forward to working with Catherine, understanding her training needs, but also learning from her own experience in animal health surveillance in Malawi in order to develop an appropriate mentorship programme. Describe your collaboration/relationship with the fellow? Because of the travel restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic, it was particularly difficult for all of us to establish a good mentor/mentee relationship at the start of the fellowship programme. Nevertheless, we tried to keep in touch regularly, through formal meetings and even WhatsApp communication. Our collaboration and friendship became even more intense after we had the opportunity to meet first in Edinburgh and then several times in Malawi and Uganda. I hope that Catherine will see in me a person she can always turn to when she needs advice for her future endeavours. What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your mentorship? It was a great opportunity where I learned a lot, not only about mentoring, but also about the veterinary needs in Malawi, and I hope that this is just the beginning of our collaboration with the Malawi Fleming Fellows. Were your expectations met during the mentorship? Absolutely! Despite the initial communication challenges, we managed to establish a good professional and personal relationship that will hopefully last beyond the fellowship. What advice would you give to future fellows? A Fleming Fellowship is a great opportunity for learning and career development. Work hard, be collaborative, communicate your challenges, and enjoy it! Image Dr. Stella Mazeri and Catherine Kamwana during the collaborative project planning workshop in Lilongwe, Malawi in June 2022. AMR Surveillance Animal Health fellow Catherine Kamwana Catherine Kamwana has a BSc in Animal Science and a diploma in Animal Health and Production. She works as a laboratory technician at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Lilongwe, Malawi. She manages the helminthology and protozoology departments. Previously, she worked as a Deputy Veterinary Officer focusing on public health issues in Kasungu District Administration. She is currently an AMR surveillance fellow at the University of Edinburgh and recently participated in a One Health study in Malawi. Image What were your expectations at the beginning of the fellowship? At the beginning of the fellowship, I had hoped to expand my knowledge and improve my skills in research and conducting surveillance. I wanted to learn how to work with different institutions to disseminate results and advise policy makers. I also hoped to build a professional network with fellows from different countries. Describe your collaboration/relationship with the mentor? Professionally, we had regular meetings in addition to scheduled group sessions. My mentor assisted me in various areas, such as finding links to important journals, writing abstracts, and using apps for data collection, such as KoboCollect. She made connections with other professionals to support my capacity building, and she went above and beyond in Edinburgh to support me in learning R. The greatest strength of my relationship with my mentor is her ability to get down on my level to support my personal development. What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your fellowship? I learned that personal skills can be developed in many ways, including conversations and discussions outside of class. Working together on a One Health project, I learned how to interact and collaborate with different professionals and personalities to achieve common project goals. Were your expectations met during the fellowship? Yes, I have improved my study design skills, professional networks, and learned some analysis skills. I also learned how to use the KoboCollect app to collect survey data and how to develop SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by mentors and fellows from Malawi to help research assistants perform routine procedures during sample collection for a collaborative project. What advice would you give to future fellows? Fellowship can never be successful without personal commitment, and it is also about building teams that are able to work together and achieve results. Globally, we all work together as a team to fight drug resistance for a healthier world. Related Links Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme Fleming Fund fellows at the University of Edinburgh Dr. Stella Mazeri profile This article was published on 2024-06-20
