Eva Akurut

Akurut is passionate about understanding the role of tuberculosis in cancer development. With a background in Biochemistry and a Master’s in Bioinformatics from Makerere University, she has pursued impactful research, supported by funding from the Nurturing Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Capacity program. As a Fogarty Master Fellow at the Infectious Disease Institute, she developed an in silico vaccine for drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis. Her research includes contributions to the Childhood Acute Nutrition (CHAIN) study, analyzing proteomic data to identify differentially expressed proteins and their correlation with outcomes at discharge and 6-month follow-up; understanding the differences in vaccine responses in rural and urban populations; modelling transmission dynamics of infectious diseases among others. Proficient in immunoinformatics, proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and disease modelling, Akurut is now a PhD student in Bioinformatics, funded by the SHE DATA program under the African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data-Intensive Sciences (ACE). Her current focus is on the mechanisms linking Tuberculosis (TB) to an increased risk of lung cancer.