Dr Anna Roca, Deputy Leader of the Disease Control and Elimination Theme of the MRC Unit The Gambia has been awarded the title of Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Umberto D’Alessandro, MRCG at LSHTM Unit Director said, “I would like to congratulate Anna for her nomination as Professor of Epidemiology at the LSHTM. I have been working with Anna for the past 10 years and I believe this is a well-deserved title that adequately reflects the research program she has developed, both innovative and responding to health priorities in The Gambia and in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, Anna has contributed substantially to the Unit’s capacity building activities by supervising and mentoring young African scientists.”

Professor Roca is an infectious disease epidemiologist with significant experience leading research groups in Southern and Western Africa. She has served in several international pneumonia experts groups; including WHO, BMGF, GBD and DoV. Her work includes studies on the transmission dynamics of bacterial infections and how these dynamics are modified by public health interventions that are deployable in resource-constraint settings.

During the last few years, Professor Roca’s portfolio has mainly focused on the impact of using oral azithromycin (through mass drug administration or administration of the drug during labour) on bacterial transmission, severe infection (i.e. sepsis and meningitis) and mortality. Her work extends into the effect of these interventions on establishing antibiotic resistance in the community.

We congratulate Professor Roca for this achievement, and look forward to more contributions through her expertise and experience.