Ifakara Health Institute is proud to announce that our very own Dr. Punam Amratia, Senior Research Scientist and Technical Lead for the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP), has been selected as one of 6 faculty fellows within the first cohort of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Faculty Fellowship Programme at the University of Oxford.

A collaborative and groundbreaking programme

The programme, launched in collaboration with the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), is a groundbreaking effort to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance scientific progress. Funded by Schmidt Sciences, the initiative will support 18 research fellows over the next five years, providing them access to world-class mentorship, training, and computational resources at Oxford University.

Fellows will work closely with Oxford faculty within the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and will be affiliated with one of four partner colleges—Somerville, Reuben, Linacre, or Mansfield College.

Focus areas of the fellowship

The fellowship focuses on three critical domains, Climate change, environment, and biodiversity
Food and water security, STEM applications in biomedical research.

Unlike traditional AI programmes, this fellowship prioritizes applied AI research that accelerates scientific discovery in these domains, while allowing fellows in Africa and India to maintain their positions at their home institutions.

As part of Ifakara’s strategic direction to remain at the forefront of emerging technologies serving our communities, we are excited to see how Dr. Amratia will leverage this opportunity. 

About Dr. Punam Amratia

Dr. Amratia brings over a decade of experience in malaria epidemiology, biostatistics, and spatial analytics, contributing to global efforts that inform malaria policy and intervention planning. She holds an MSc in Epidemiology from Imperial College London and a PhD in Emerging Pathogens from the University of Florida, and is affiliated with The Kids Institute, Australia.