Dr Pascale Ondoa is a virologist currently serving as the Director of Science and New Initiatives at the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM). Dr Ondoa obtained her medical degree from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon in 1992 and briefly worked as a medical doctor at the Centre Jamot, the tuberculosis reference hospital of Yaoundé. In 1996, she obtained a Master’s in Biomedical Science from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. Later on, she obtained a Master’s in Molecular Biology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels in 1999 and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Virology) from the University of Antwerp, Belgium in 2001.

From 2002-2009, she conducted her post-doctoral studies at the immunology unit of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, focusing on models of resistance to HIV infection, in humans and in non-human primates, incomplete immune restoration upon suppressive antiretroviral therapy and the development of alternative laboratory assays to monitor HIV treatment in resource-limited settings.

 In 2009, Dr Ondoa joined the Amsterdam Institute for Global health and Development (AIGHD) as a senior scientist, under the leadership of the late Professor Joep Lange. She was involved in the research and implementation aspects of various projects looking at HIV drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa, exploring ways to mitigate barriers to laboratory test uptake, and addressing gaps in laboratory systems in resource-limited settings of Africa. Since 2017, Dr Ondoa has provided scientific leadership to the ASLM team for the building of medical laboratory services, systems, and network capacity throughout Africa. She remains affiliated to AIGHD as an assistant professor and continues to contribute to the supervision of students conducting research in global health.

Subscribe to ASLM’s newsletter