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

Throughout her career, she has worked both independently and as a team member on research projects related to fish parasitology, the parasite fauna of eutrophicated lakes, endangered species, invasive species, acclimatization, and long-term changes in parasite fauna, among others. Her contributions to these fields have resulted in several peer-reviewed articles and presentations of her research findings at numerous national and international scientific conferences.

Dr. Novokhatskaya's expertise extends beyond traditional biology and genetics. After successfully completing her Master's Thesis Project, which played a pivotal role in the research and development of innovative non-invasive prenatal testing technology, she joined NIPD Genetics Ltd. In this capacity, she has been instrumental in promoting the newly developed product for the prognosis and prevention of genetic diseases on an international scale.

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