Justin Komguep Nono is an Immunoparasitologist and molecular biologist specialized in the study of Schistosomiasis and currently working as Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Head of the associated unit of Immunobiology of Helminth Infections at the Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies of Cameroon, with a secondment as honorary senior Lecturer at the Division of Immunology of the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Dr. Nono’s current research interests revolve around the mechanistic bases of human-schistosome interactions with a focus on host determinants of susceptibility/resistance to infection and pathology, parasite ploys at play to evade the human host immune responses, and the ultimate problem of developing novel vaccines and/or vaccination strategies against schistosomiasis.
His research approaches include immuno-epidemiological surveys, host omics, immune phenotypical and functional typing, all techniques put to contribution during clinical surveys he primarily carries out in endemic populations from rural Cameroon
He has been a successful recipient of funding and awards from the United Nations (through the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology), the European Union (through the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership), the United Kingdom Royal Society, Merck KGaA, the African Academy of Sciences, the South African Academy of Sciences, and the Claude Leon Foundation.
Dr. Nono also engages in the teaching and training of students in the immunobiology of helminth infections as he remains a strong advocate of local capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa in support of the transition towards locally-driven research, to facilitate the control and elimination of Schistosomiasis globally in particular, and to foster development in general.
He is the current co-chair of the UK-based Research Working Group of the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance, the vice-president elect of the Cameroon Immunology Society (CIS), the central African representative at the executive committee of the Federation of African Immunology Societies (FAIS) and a founding member of JRJ Health, a Cameroon-based association for the promotion of Health and well-being; he also serves as the Chief of Service of the Grant Management Office of the Institute for Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies in Cameroon and is a member of other strategic international research societies such as the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the German Society for Parasitology. He is an ad hoc reviewer of more than 40 International research journals, university thesis committees, funding agencies such as the European Union, the South African national Research Foundation, and a WHO regional expert for schistosomiasis. He also serves as academic editor for top-tier immunoparasitology journals such as Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, Frontiers in Public Health and Frontiers in Tropical Diseases