Host organisation: Oxford University, UK
Project title: Proteomics and Expression Pathways of Sickle Cell Anaemia
Dr Haddy Fye currently leads the novel Mass Spectrometry platform at the MRC Gambia Unit; a platform which applies cutting edge scientific methods to the identification of small molecular targets usable as markers of prognosis, diagnosis and outcome in numerous disease models.
After completing her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2013, she opted to return home to the Gambia as an early career research scientist. She joined the PROLIFICA team with a keen desire to gain experience and offer her expertise on the first chronic liver disease study in Africa offering treatment to patients infected with the hepatitis B virus.
AREF Fellowship research project:
Dr Fye used her Fellowship to apply her experience in metabonomics and proteomics systems biology to the oft-neglected area of sickle cell disease (SCD). This is the most common inherited disorder affecting people of African descent, resulting in significant mortality and morbidity, especially in children.
Her Fellowship research included working with well-established research teams in Tanzania, Imperial College London as well as with former colleagues at the University of Oxford. During her Fellowship, she was based at the Target Discovery Institute at the University of Oxford.
The pilot work from her Fellowship provided a strong basis for a more substantive grant application in the future. Dr Fye’s ambition is to contribute towards greater awareness of this condition as well as to offer a cost-effective diagnostic method with the potential to be utilized as part of routine pre-natal screening panels.