Bidding our International Fellows farewell - Claire Chewapreecha

This is the third post in our series in which we are reflecting on the International Fellows who have come to the end of their tenure - Daniela Robles, Pablo Tsukuyama and Claire Chewapreecha, and who will continue to actively collaborate with the Sanger Institute moving forward.

International Fellows have established positions in Research Institutes from Low and Middle Income Countries. By joining the International Fellow scheme, they can advance their own science in the Sanger Institute environment and help us design and deliver our scientific strategy.

Claire Chewapreecha is a Wellcome International Intermediate Fellow at the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) where she leads the Melioidosis Genomic Group in Bangkok and is a lecturer at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, ???????????????? y. In November last year, she won the Nature’s Inspiring Women in Science awards within the Scientific Achievement category, which is a recognition of her academic work.?

Her research focuses on melioidosis, a neglected tropical disease that is estimated to affect 165,000 people worldwide each year, of whom over half die from the disease. Claire began studying melioidosis after discovering the high mortality rate of this neglected disease during a visit to a hospital in Ubon, Northern Thailand. Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, which lives in soil and water in tropical and subtropical regions and enters human bodies through skin abrasions, ingestion or inhalation.

Dr Chewapreecha is on a mission to change things both in Thailand and beyond and has built global collaborations to study the disease and the bacterium that causes it. Becoming an International Fellow at the Sanger Institute helped her broaden the global collaborations she has already started framing.?

Earlier in the year, she and her team developed a new rapid test that could save lives by diagnosing patients in hours instead of days. Alongside the test, Claire has been working with Professor Nick Thomson at the Sanger Institute, focusing on the genetics of Burkholderia pseudomallei. She is seeking to uncover the key to its virulence, and why it impacts some patients more than others.

Claire says: “My research is highly collaborative, bridging efforts between the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Thailand and the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK. Together, we conduct quality research that draws on the strengths of each institution. At MORU, in Thailand, our research is guided by local needs. We focus on endemic diseases, with patients and communities directly shaping our agenda, ensuring that our work remains impactful and relevant. This mission is also aligned with the Sanger Institute's goal of fostering global health research and supporting collaborative science.”?

Claire also recognises the ability to help her team grow as part of her becoming an International Fellow, having nominated some of the students in her team for their master’s degree at Sanger, one of whom is now also undertaking a PhD at the Institute.?

When asked about what’s next, Claire highlighted her work with the Parasites and Microbes programme and a new collaboration with the Human Genetics Programme at the Sanger Institute. By regularly attending team meetings at Sanger, she feels she is continuously learning and is now looking to extend her work on the Melioidosis project and expand to neighbouring countries in close proximity to the lower Mekong basin.

Learn more about Claire’s work: https://sangerinstitute.blog/2024/03/14/hope-for-tackling-deadly-bacterial-disease/