ASSOCIATE Professor Brenda Kwambana

Brenda Anna Kwambana-Adams is an Associate Professor in Clinical Sciences and a Wellcome International Intermediate Fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW).

At MLW, she leads the Vaccines Theme and heads the Pneumonia and Meningitis Pathogens Research Group. She also co-directs the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Vaccines to Control Respiratory Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance Across Africa (VacAMR), spearheading collaborative efforts to improve vaccine impact and curb antimicrobial resistance. Brenda co-chairs the Global Meningitis Genome Partnership (GMGP), which promotes sequencing and metadata sharing for vaccine-preventable meningeal pathogens and supports the development of governance and data access frameworks.

A molecular microbiologist with a strong interest in vaccinology, Brenda’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive transmission of bacterial pathogens, particularly Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Using advanced ’omics technologies, she examines pathogen–host interactions to inform the design and implementation of more effective vaccine-based prevention and control strategies. Her work aims to generate actionable evidence that can shape vaccine development, deployment, and public health policy.