Welcome to the ABIC Researcher Showcase Blog Series! This initiative is spearheaded by the ABIC Communications & Awareness Working Group, in an effort to ensure local and global visibility of members of the African bioimaging and microscopy community, and the amazing work that they do.
In today's interview, we are speaking to Seth Domfeh. Seth is a lecturer in molecular cell biology, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. Seth's current research interest is in Hepatitis B virus infection and malaria, in which his image of nuclear localisation of IRF9 in HepG2 cells stimulated with IFN-α won him the 2nd prize of the 2024 ABIC Imaging Competition.
What inspired you to pursue a career in science?
I was inspired to pursue a career in science due to my curiosity and desire to face the challenge of solving unsolved problems. Notably, scientific research originates in an essential human character: curiosity; consequently, I always want to understand the root cause of a problem and find a solution to that problem.
Were you aware of research or science as a career option prior to your university studies?
I learned science during my secondary education and was exposed to professional careers in science, including medical laboratory science, medicine, and nursing. Yet, I was unaware of research as a career option before my university studies.
What led you to choose a career that involved microscopy and image analysis?
I am a trained medical laboratory scientist and was exposed to brightfield microscopy earlier in my career to diagnose malaria and other infectious diseases in a hospital setting. However, with further training in immunology and molecular cell biology, I became interested in the cellular expression and localisation of proteins, leading to my career in fluorescence microscopy and image analysis. I am currently focused on discovering therapeutics blocking malaria parasite transmission. Also, I seek to unravel toxins or genes collaborating with the hepatitis B virus to cause liver cancer among Africans and identify therapeutic targets, making bioimaging indispensable.
When did you first find out about microscopy and its possible benefits to your research?
Although I had experience with brightfield microscopy earlier in my career in 2010, I was first exposed to using the microscope as a quantitative tool in 2018 at the Introduction to Light Microscopy and Image Analysis Workshop organised at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Ghana. In 2022, I also had the opportunity to attend the Imaging Africa Workshop organised at the Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) Imaging Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa, which rekindled the benefits of microscopy to my research. I use phenotypic imaging of malaria parasite gametocytes to characterise novel transmission-blocking drugs and also identify cellular localisation of target proteins during hepatocarcinogenesis.
What research project(s) are you working on, or particularly excited about?
Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is endemic in Africa and the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma, a highly aggressive liver cancer typically diagnosed at an advanced stage worldwide, especially in Africa, with a poor survival rate. Interestingly, not everyone with chronic hepatitis B virus infection develops hepatocellular carcinoma; thus, I am focused on identifying the triggers of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocarcinogenesis among Africans and identifying targets for therapy. Also, I am exploring the area of malaria transmission research. Mosquitoes transmit malaria parasites, and gametocytes are the only parasite stage transmitted from the infected host to mosquitoes; therefore, gametocytes are the prime target for transmission-blocking interventions. However, most antimalarial drugs are not gametocytocidal, rendering patients receiving many of these drugs as reservoirs for parasite transmission; hence, I am focused on characterising novel transmission-blocking natural products. What excites me about my research focus is joining colleagues in the scientific community to solve African health problems.
"What excites me about my research focus is joining colleagues in the scientific community to solve African health problems."
Can you describe a recent breakthrough or a significant finding from your research and its potential impact?
Cryptolepine is an alkaloid in the medicinal plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. As part of my PhD research, we established that cryptolepine and Nibima (herbal preparation from C. sanguinolenta for managing malaria in Ghana) inhibit hepatitis B virus replication; therefore, Nibima and other herbal drugs containing cryptolepine could be studied extensively for managing chronic hepatitis B virus infection in resource-limited regions since over 80% of people in these regions depend on herbal medicine for their primary healthcare needs. Managing chronic hepatitis B virus with cheaper herbal drugs will make chronic hepatitis B virus management accessible, reducing the future burden of hepatitis B virus-associated liver cancer in Africa.
How has being a researcher in Africa impacted you, whether in your actual research or in your perspective about research?
Being a researcher in Africa is saddled with limited resources and facilities for quality research. I feel that some research hypotheses are not meant for African scientists to solve because of the lack of support. For example, I wanted to evaluate the nuclear localisation of a protein. However, without the Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) Imaging Centre, through its prestigious Visiting Research Program, my concept would have been on the shelf in Ghana because I cannot access resources to test the hypothesis. So, Africa's limited resources and support woefully impact the scope of my research focus and experiments.
Has your experience in your field of research led you to encounter other opportunities to interact with other African microscopists, outside of those in your lab or imaging facility?
I have been privileged to interact with Dr Michael Reiche and Dr Viantha Naidoo of the Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) Imaging Centre. I spent four weeks at the imaging centre as a visiting researcher. Moreover, through the Imaging Africa and OpenScopes workshops organised at the AMI Centre, I have been privileged to interact with other African microscopists, including Dr Caron Jacobs.
What type of microscope are you currently using? Is this microscope optimal in helping you answer your research question?
I can access a brightfield microscope without a fluorescence-detecting device, which is suboptimal to test my research hypotheses. This microscope cannot resolve the cellular location of proteins, which is critical in my experimental designs.
What do you envision for the future of science and microscopy in your region over the next decade, and how do you hope to contribute to this future?
In the next decade, I envision unlimited access to resources and facilities for quality bioimaging experiments in the WHO African region. I hope to contribute to this vision by securing donor grants and awards for research in Africa and training the next-generation African scientists to address African health problems.
Our deepest gratitude to Seth for conducting this interview with us, and through it, showcasing what it means to find solutions in the face of limitations.
If you would like to keep up with Seth, be sure to follow him on his LinkedIn profile.
Thank you for reading!
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