Setting academic levels high

ENZO AMUELERosalia Joseph is the first female and locally trained entomologist in Namibia, and she has shown that with hard work and dedication anything is possible academically. The 26-year-old is a postgraduate research fellow at the University of Namibia (Unam) multidisciplinary research entre in the biomedical research laboratory. She grew up in the garden town of Okahandja, Nau-Aib Primary School and continued to JG van der Wath Secondary School.She holds an honours degree in environmental biology from Unam and recently completed a master’s degree in medical entomology and is due for graduation this year in April. Entomology is the study that is concerned with how insects transmit diseases to humans. Asked by The Zone why she decided to venture into this field of study, Rosalia explained that during her studies in environmental biology she learnt how the weather and environmental conditions affect the spread of diseases like malaria because of how disease vectors flourish during rainy seasons.Rosalia’s interest and hard work have been key factors towards her academic success.“I grew a great curiosity about how these diseases affect human beings and how to prevent their transmission,” she says.“I have always had an interest in research and how medicine improves people’s lives, especially from watching TV and my own life experiences. When the opportunity presented itself, I went for it,” she adds.Rosalia is set to continue with malaria research in conjunction with supporting the goal of eliminating local malaria transmission by 2022. She will also be looking at the dynamics of other arboviruses, both in people and animals, with the support of her mentor Prof Davis Mumbengegwi.Rosalia further commends Unam for growing research and innovation as well as investing in research training and infrastructure which can help solve many local challenges such as malaria.“I also had the opportunity to learn not only from National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme (NVDCP) staff hands-on but also from training by experts from UCSF, University of Notre Dame and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) in the United States, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), as well Wits University one of the best in Africa and our very own Biomedical research laboratory on molecular biology,” she concludes.Fun facts about Rosalia Joseph• I could never get tired of listening to Westlife• The meal I look forward to the most is anything made from dough.• One thing on my bucket list is to skydive.• If I could get paid to blog about anything, I would write about mosquitoes.• I am an empath.

Setting academic levels high

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Republikein 2025-11-05

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Setting academic levels high

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