Valentina Marchese MD, PhD, MSc. 
Valentina is a medical doctor specialised in infectious diseases, with a PhD in International Cooperation from the University of Brescia (Italy), and an MSc in Public Health from the LSHTM. Her area of expertise encompasses the clinical dimensions and public health aspects of neglected tropical diseases, particularly schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis. For the Implementation Research Group, she held the position of Head of Operations in Madagascar for a period of two and a half years. She is currently involved in the group’s projects in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe and in advocacy and research activities for the Italian Society of Migration Medicine
 

Irina Kislaya, PhD
Irina holds a PhD in Public Health from Universida de Nova de Lisboa and a Master’s in Statistics from Universidade do Minho, Portugal. She specialises in infectious disease epidemiology and biostatistics, with a focus on population-based health surveys, vaccine effectiveness and the impact of public health interventions. She contributes to several research projects in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, bringing methodological expertise, with a particular focus on study design, sampling strategies, and data analysis.
 

Jana Christina Hey, PhD
Jana is an infection biologist and did her PhD in the field of neglected tropical diseases. In the Implementation Research Group, she combines her expertise of basic science and laboratory work with implementation/operational field-work, having worked with schistosomiasis, dengue virus and HPV in Madagascar. She supports and represents the group in several multi-country projects with a focus on female genital schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 

Pia Rausche, MSc
Pia is pursuing a PhD in Global Health Epidemiology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Her multidisciplinary background includes non-profit management experience in the USA and research at the Bordeaux Population Health Centre. With her research she is combining qualitative and quantitative methods to improve women’s healthcare access in rural Madagascar. Additionally, she is particularly passionate about neglected tropical diseases and the non-peer communication about this diverse group of conditions.
 

Lara Schramke, MSc. 
With a background in Psychology and Biomedical Sciences, Lara brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her current interests in epidemiology and fieldwork. She has been involved in a range of research and non-research related field activities focused on supporting vulnerable populations. With the start of her PhD in 2025, she continues in this direction by contributing to the limited body of research on neglected tropical diseases, particularly among marginalized communities in diverse settings. 
 

Noëla Christine Andriamanoha, MD, MSc.
Noëla is a trained physician with extensive field research experience, having coordinated tuberculosis studies at the Institut Pasteur of Madagascar. She completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Paris-Saclay. Since 2023, she is supporting the group from field implementation to scientific conferences and workshops. Her PhD focuses on strengthening women’s health, particularly targeting female genital schistosomiasis, by building partnership bridges between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Madagascar.
 

Aaron Remkes, BSc. (Hons), Data manger
Aaron is a psychologist educated at the University of Stirling (UK) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA). He later pursued his medical studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, where he is now completing his medical doctorate at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. His work focuses on infectious disease epidemiology and global health, drawing on extensive field and clinical experience in Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar, Botswana, and South Africa to apply data-driven approaches that advance health equity and empower neglected populations.
 

Dr. med. Jean-Marc Kutz, MD, Switzerland
Jean-Marc is a physician and associate researcher who has been part of our group since 2021. He regularly supports the field implementation of studies and coordinates partnerships to drive breakthroughs in neglected tropical disease research. His doctoral work focused on female genital schistosomiasis and HPV infection in Madagascar.
 

Prof. Rivo Andry Rakotoarivelo, Madagascar
Rivo is a Medical Doctor and Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. He is Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Tambohobe University Hospital, Fianarantsoa, and President of the Multidisciplinary Association on Health, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Innovation (APSIAN). His academic and clinical work focuses on infectious and neglected tropical diseases. He has implemented and coordinated numerous studies and clinical trials on schistosomiasis, tuberculosis, vaccination and HPV, HIV, and other infectious diseases. Beyond research, he has actively contributed to the development of several national strategic documents for the prevention and control of these diseases.
 

Dr. Tahinmandranto Rasamoelina, Madagascar
Tahinamandranto is a Scientific Officer at the Centre d’Infectiologie Charles Mérieux, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar and associated with our group at the BNITM. He holds a PhD in Biotechnology, and a Master's degree in Health Sciences, Technologies and Health from the University of Grenoble Alpes, France. He has been working on Neglected Tropical Diseases and infectious diseases for six years being a principal co-investigator in collaborative studies conducted with national and international partners. He coordinates projects on the biological diagnosis of leprosy and deep mycoses in Madagascar as well as epidemiology and molecular studies on HIV, hepatitis B, acute respiratory infections and meningitis.