R. Geigy Foundation-Award 2016,
Country: Côte d’Ivoire, born: 1978
«I want to improve the health of people in my home country»
Epidemiologist, Dr. Jean T. Coulibaly has devoted his scientific career to better understanding the epidemiology and transmission of bilharzia and other helminth infections in his home country. He develops and evaluates novel tests for better diagnoses and explores new chemotherapies for treating helminth infections. Thanks to his research, there is a test that can quickly detect the parasite causing bilharzia in the urine. Laborious stool examinations are no longer needed. “I always wanted to work for better health in my home country, Côte d’Ivoire”, he says. Today he leads the monitoring and evaluation unit at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS) in Côte d’Ivoire in Western Africa.