Vestergaard welcomes Dr. Jackline Martin through I2I Placement Programme to advance vector control

SWITZERLAND—Vestergaard and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) have announced Dr. Jackline Martin’s appointment as a Vector Product Development Associate at Vestergaard.

She joins the company through the I2I Vector Control Professional Placement Programme (VCP3), a collaborative initiative aimed at bridging research and industry in the fight against vector-borne diseases.

This announcement follows Vestergaard’s recent commitment to combating sleeping sickness by signing the Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).

As part of this pledge, the company has donated “Tiny Targets,” an innovative vector control tool designed to curb the spread of the disease.

Vector control remains a key strategy in the fight against malaria, a major public health challenge across sub-Saharan Africa.

The VCP3 programme, coordinated by Innovation to Impact (I2I) within LSTM, provides African scientists with practical experience in vector control innovation by partnering with industry leaders.

Through a one-year secondment, participants engage in hands-on learning, ensuring that research insights directly influence the development of effective malaria control tools.

Dr Martin will be based at Vestergaard’s East Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya, where she will contribute her extensive experience in mosquito behaviour and product evaluation to advance vector control solutions.

With 12 years of experience in field-based research, she previously worked as an Entomologist at the Pan-African Malaria Vector Research Consortium (PAMVERC) in Tanzania and earned her PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Her expertise will be instrumental in testing and developing innovative tools for malaria prevention.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Dr. Martin emphasized that knowledge exchange is key to driving sustainable impact.

 She stated that sharing expertise fosters stronger solutions, turning individual insights into collective action and ensuring knowledge becomes a catalyst for lasting change.

Dr. Rinki Deb, Director of Science, Research, and Market Access at Vestergaard, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that Dr. Martin’s expertise will complement Vestergaard’s focus on innovation and product evaluation.

 She expressed confidence that this partnership will help bridge the gap between research, science, and industry, ultimately contributing to the development of next-generation vector control tools.

Kirsten Duda, Communications Officer at LSTM, also highlighted the unique opportunity that VCP3 offers.

She noted that the programme allows African scientists to work closely with leading industry partners for an entire year, gaining insights into product development, commercialization, and market access.

According to Duda, this collaborative effort not only enhances individual expertise but also strengthens industry-research partnerships, fostering cross-sector innovation.

Through this initiative, Vestergaard and LSTM continue to drive meaningful progress in the fight against malaria, ensuring that scientific advancements translate into practical solutions that save lives.

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