OWSD PhD Fellowship
Dr Maria Zinga
About me
MZ is a clinician–scientist and university lecturer working across preventive medicine, patient safety, and pharmacovigilance. With a strong background in clinical research and health-system improvement, focuses on developing practical, scalable solutions that strengthen healthcare quality in low- and middle-income countries.Also advises organisations on safer clinical practice, digital health innovation, and capacity building, bridging medical expertise with technology to drive sustainable impact.
MZ is a medical doctor and clinician–scientist specialising in tropical medicine, preventive health, patient safety, and pharmacovigilance. With extensive experience across clinical research, global health, and health-system improvement, MZ works to bridge the gap between frontline care in low- and middle-income countries and international scientific and regulatory standards.
MZ holds an MSc in Tropical Disease Control, where work focused on climate-change vulnerability assessments and malaria epidemiology. This foundation led to a PhD in Tropical Medicine examining parasite–host interactions, with research spanning Plasmodium knowlesi biology, metabolomics, and asymptomatic malaria signatures. MZ contributed to pioneering work demonstrating P. knowlesi adaptation to invade Duffy-negative erythrocytes a finding with implications for malaria emergence in African populations. Additional research engaged with urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis, prevention strategies, and female genital schistosomiasis, particularly the underserved intersections of women’s health and parasitic disease.
Alongside academic work, MZ trained as a Safety Physician at GSK, gaining specialised expertise in patient safety and pharmacovigilance. This dual background clinical medicine and industry-level safety science shapes MZ’s mission: to strengthen the integration of patient safety and pharmacovigilance into routine care across low- and middle-income health systems. The goal is to enable African institutions to work confidently with international partners, biopharma, and regulatory bodies while protecting patients and supporting innovation.
MZ’s broader public-health focus includes advancing preventive medicine across Africa, improving adolescent health education, and expanding access to specialised care for pre-menopausal and menopausal women areas where gaps in awareness, diagnostic capacity, and service delivery remain significant.
Through research, teaching, and advisory work, MZ is committed to building safer, more resilient health systems that combine scientific evidence, digital innovation, and locally grounded capacity strengthening.