In 1979, LSHTM student Dr Helena Vrbová took on an exciting role researching malaria in Madang, Papua New Guinea. Eager to put her knowledge into practice, she immersed herself in both the project and the local community. Tragically, just three years later, while still working in Madang, Helena passed away at the age of 29. To honour Helena’s life and her dedication to the fight against malaria, her mother, Professor Gerta Vrbová, established the endowed Helena Vrbová Scholarship, which supports students with a passion for malaria research, helping them to pursue international projects without being limited by financial constraints.
Last year, in 2024, recipient Winston Lam used the scholarship to fund a project which was conducted in Peru, and shares his research experiences of his six-week thesis trip.
“I am so grateful to have received the Helena Vrbová Scholarship for my research into malaria’s epidemiology, as it has truly allowed me to explore a question close to Dr Vrbová’s esteemed legacy - how research can work to serve the needs of underheard communities in global health. During my MSc project, under LSHTM and the wonderful mentorship of Dr Marta Moreno Leirana, I worked between two Peruvian universities’ teams: Dr Dionicia Gamboa and her Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) Amazonia ICEMR team, and Dr Stella Chenet and her Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza (UNTRM) IET team. Each brought incredible and deeply insightful experiences.
My research analysed factors influencing Plasmodium vivax malaria transmission in Santa Emilia, a newly water-connected Peruvian Amazon riverine community and a key hotspot for relapsing and asymptomatic infections. I investigated how myriad factors can shape infection risk, including mosquito parity and biting times, river water types, and the potential influences of climate change, bednet usage, and population migration patterns. Such insights are vital in contributing to the refinement of constantly adapting local elimination and PAHO-level strategies.
I thoroughly enjoyed the six-week thesis trip to Peru, which fostered cultural exchange and a deep connection with the research teams and affected communities. Moreover, field visits to communities and laboratories in rural Loreto revealed not only the scientific but also the human dimensions of malaria; they shaped my answer to where we lie in facing the enduring gap between innovation, implementation, and community-based interventions.
These experiences reaffirmed my belief that impactful infectious disease research must begin with empathy and grounded, bottom-up engagement - a lesson I have been privileged to learn, and one this scholarship has inspired me to uphold as I continue through medical school in Hong Kong and pursue a career in clinical infectious diseases that I hope will honour even a fraction of Dr Vrbová’s legacy.”
Winston Lam, MSc Control of Infectious Diseases (2024) (intercalated).
“Our awareness, empathy and drive to support infectious disease research, particularly in as deadly a disease as malaria can be, is truly best supported by bottom-up approaches gained through visiting and engaging with the most affected communities. I am deeply grateful to the Helena Vrbová Scholarship for enabling me to reach this understanding and to pursue a field I have grown profoundly passionate about.”
Winston Lam, MSc Control of Infectious Diseases (2024)
If you would like to find out more about giving in memory please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office T: +44 (0)20 7927 4772 E: [email protected].