Journey into Science and Immunology

The speaker shares a personal narrative about discovering an interest in biology during the rise of video games in the 90s, particularly influenced by a game involving mitochondrial mutations. Motivated by a challenging academic environment in biology, they navigated their educational path, fueled by a desire to understand complex illnesses like HIV and malaria. The transition into vaccine research came after a mentor highlighted the urgency of addressing malaria, which struck a chord due to its impact on children. This pivot marked the beginning of a dedicated focus on parasitic diseases and shaped the speaker's career trajectory in immunology.