ABOUT DEBORAH NARWORTEY

Deborah Narwortey is a Senior Research Scientist at the Navrongo Health Research Centre, renowned for her expertise in infectious diseases, particularly in vaccine-preventable respiratory bacterial pathogens of public health importance.

With a focus on pneumococcus and meningococcus, her work is pivotal in profiling genomic diversities, analyzing clonal lineages, and evaluating gene markers as potential vaccine targets, all aimed at mitigating the challenges presented by emerging pathogenic variants.

Deborah holds an MPhil in Clinical Microbiology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, completed in 2019, and a B.Sc. in Applied Biology from the University for Development Studies, earned in 2013. Her extensive research background includes leading and co-investigating several high-impact studies. She was the principal investigator for the study on *Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae among Healthy Children in the Kassena-Nankana Districts of Northern Ghana.

Additionally, she has served as co-investigator for the Epidemiological Surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae following the implementation of the PCV-13 vaccine and as coordinator for the Carriage Surveys Towards the Control of Vaccine Preventable Meningitis in the African Meningitis Belt. She is also a coordinator for the Severe Infectious Disease: Surveillance, Detection, Risks and Consequences in West Africa project.

Her dedication to public health research and outstanding achievements have been recognized through multiple awards, including the 2023 Best Young Research Scientist award, travel awards from the 16th European Meeting on the Molecular Biology of the Pneumococcus Conference and the Meningitis Research Foundation Conference, as well as the UDS Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Academic Performance for being the overall best graduating female student in 2013.

In 2018, she contributed to the proposal development for a Pfizer-funded Pneumococcal Carriage Study (Tracking Number: 59593883), further underlining her commitment to impactful research in public health.

Deborah Nawortey’s work continues to shape the field of infectious disease surveillance and intervention, advancing the understanding of pathogen dynamics and the development of targeted vaccines to combat health challenges in Africa and beyond.