Unicaf Online Journal – Public Health

Editor-in-Chief: Dr Robert Ridley

Dr Robert Ridley’s career spans academia, industry, international public health and diplomacy.  He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Unicaf University in Malawi in July 2020, after serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor from October 2018. He was previously Vice-Chancellor at Mzuzu University in Malawi from 2013 to 2017, and Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Malawi from 2011. His academic expertise covers malaria drug and vaccine research, public health, public private partnerships and innovation, with over 100 scientific publications and several patents. Following an honours degree at Cambridge University and a PhD at Wolverhampton, he held positions at the University of Malawi, McMaster University and Edinburgh University from 1980 to 1992.

From 1992 to 1998 he was a Vice-Director at Roche pharmaceutical company in Switzerland, heading their malaria drug discovery programme. In 1999 he was instrumental in establishing the Medicines for Malaria Venture, an international public private partnership linking academics to pharmaceutical companies through the provision of grants for the discovery and development of antimalarial drugs, where he served as Acting Chief Executive Officer and as Chief Scientific Officer. From 2002 he joined the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) at the World Health Organization in Geneva, where he was Director from 2004 till he returned to Malawi in 2011. TDR provides support for research and capacity building on diseases of poverty, acting at the interface of research, evidence generation, policy and the implementation of health interventions for the strengthening of health systems.

Associate Editor-in-Chief: Dr Olga Novokhatskaya

Dr Olga Novokhatskaya is a biologist and medical geneticist currently serving as Dean of the School of Doctoral Studies (Federal) at Unicaf Ltd. She holds a Master’s degree in Biology from Petrozavodsk State University (Russia) and a Master’s degree in Medical Genetics from the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics. She earned her PhD in Biology from the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Throughout her career, Dr Novokhatskaya has contributed both independently and collaboratively to a range of research projects, with a primary focus on fish parasitology. Her work encompasses studies on the parasite fauna of eutrophicated lakes, endangered and invasive species, acclimatisation processes, and long-term ecological changes in parasite communities. These contributions have resulted in several peer-reviewed publications, as well as presentations at numerous national and international scientific conferences.

In addition to her academic research, Dr Novokhatskaya has developed expertise in applied genetics and biotechnology. Following the successful completion of her Master’s thesis—which contributed to the research and development of innovative non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) technology—she joined NIPD Genetics Ltd. In this role, she has played a key part in the international promotion and dissemination of advanced genetic screening solutions aimed at the prognosis and prevention of genetic diseases.

Editorial Board: Dr Yiota Apostolou Christou, Dr Marios Kantaris, Dr Victor Adamu, Dr
Wilfred Masebo, Dr Ioanna Koliandri