Background
Following completion of his Bachelor of Science degree and a short stint as a research intern at the Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, Herbert was awarded a Masters of Research (MRes) fellowship in 2007 to study at the University of Leeds.
On completion of his masters, he re-joined the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme to pursue a PhD in 2009 under the Supervision of Professor Tom Williams from KEMRI and Professor Alex Rowe from the University of Edinburgh, UK. The project mainly involved looking at the association between host genetic factors associated with the red blood cells and their association with protection against severe malaria in African children.
Herbert successfully completed his PhD in 2013 and has joined Professor James Beeson’s group as a postdoctoral scientist. His project will focus on gaining new insights into the mechanisms of immunity to malaria and the pathogenesis of malaria disease particularly in pregnant women.
Appointments
- 2018: Fellow, Australian Centre for Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination (ACREME)
- 2016: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Immunology Monash University
Qualifications
- 2013: PhD, The Open University/The University of Edinburgh/KEMRI-Wellcome Trust
- 2008: MRes, The University of Leeds, UK
- 2006: BSc, The University of Nairobi, Kenya
Awards
- 2019-2020: CASS Foundation Medicine Science Grant
- 2018-2019: Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination (ACREME) Seed Grant
- 2018: CASS Foundation Travel Award
- 2017: Harold Mitchell Foundation Postdoctoral Travel Fellowship
- 2016: International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria Travel award, Brisbane, Australia
- 2015: Elsevier Best Postdoctoral Poster Presentation, Malaria in Melbourne Conference, Australia
- 2012: Early Career Research Poster Prize, Molecular Approaches to Malaria, Lorne, Australia
- 2012: Molecular Approaches to Malaria 2012 Meeting Travel Scholarship, Lorne, Australia
- 2011: British Society of Parasitology 2011 Spring Meeting Travel Award, Nottingham, UK
- 2007-2008: Marie Curie Early Stage Training Masters Fellowship, University of Leeds, UK
Projects (3)
Current (3)
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Clinical studies on malaria
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Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
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Major advances in understanding malaria immunity and biology
Publications (18)
2021 (4)
- Multi-functional antibody profiling for malaria vaccine development and evaluation.
Opi DH, Kurtovic L, Chan JA, Horton JL, Feng G, Beeson JG
Expert Rev Vaccines. 2021 Sep; 20(10):1257-1272
- Recent clinical trials inform the future for malaria vaccines.
Kurtovic L, Reiling L, Opi DH, Beeson JG
Commun Med (Lond). 2021 Aug; 1:26
- Reduced risk of placental parasitemia associated with complement fixation on Plasmodium falciparum by antibodies among pregnant women.
Opi DH, Boyle MJ, McLean ARD, Reiling L, Chan JA, Stanisic DI, Ura A, Mueller I, Fowkes FJI, Rogerson SJ, Beeson JG
BMC Med. 2021 Aug; 19(1):201
- High Antibodies to VAR2CSA in Response to Malaria Infection Are Associated With Improved Birthweight in a Longitudinal Study of Pregnant Women.
McLean ARD, Opi DH, Stanisic DI, Cutts JC, Feng G, Ura A, Mueller I, Rogerson SJ, Beeson JG, Fowkes FJI
Front Immunol. 2021 Jun; 12:644563
2020 (1)
2019 (2)
- Targets of complement-fixing antibodies in protective immunity against malaria in children.
Reiling L, Boyle MJ, White MT, Wilson DW, Feng G, Weaver R, Opi DH, Persson KEM, Richards JS, Siba PM, Fowkes FJI, Takashima E, Tsuboi T, Mueller I, Beeson JG
Nat Commun. 2019 Feb; 10(1):610
- Challenges and strategies for developing efficacious and long-lasting malaria vaccines.
Beeson JG, Kurtovic L, Dobaño C, Opi DH, Chan JA, Feng G, Good MF, Reiling L, Boyle MJ
Sci Transl Med. 2019 Jan; 11(474):eaau1458
2018 (2)
- Iron deficiency during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of adverse birth outcomes in a malaria-endemic area in a longitudinal cohort study.
Fowkes FJI, Moore KA, Opi DH, Simpson JA, Langham F, Stanisic DI, Ura A, King CL, Siba PM, Mueller I, Rogerson SJ, Beeson JG
BMC Med. 2018 Sep; 16(1):156
- Two complement receptor one alleles have opposing associations with cerebral malaria and interact with alpha(+)thalassaemia.
D Herbert Opi, Olivia Swann, Alexander Macharia, Sophie Uyoga, Gavin Band, Carolyne M Ndila, Ewen M Harrison, Mahamadou A Thera, Abdoulaye K Kone, Dapa A Diallo, Ogobara K Doumbo, Kirsten E Lyke, Christopher V Plowe, Joann M Moulds, Mohammed Shebbe, Neema Mturi, Norbert Peshu, Kathryn Maitland, Ahmed Raza, Dominic P Kwiatkowski, Kirk A Rockett, Thomas N Williams, J Alexandra Rowe
Elife. 2018 Apr; 7:e31579
2017 (1)
2016 (2)
- Admixture into and within sub-Saharan Africa.
Busby GB, Band G, Si Le Q, Jallow M, Bougama E, Mangano VD, Amenga-Etego LN, Enimil A, Apinjoh T, Ndila CM, Manjurano A, Nyirongo V, Doumba O, Rockett KA, Kwiatkowski DP, Spencer CC; Malaria Genomic Epidemiology Network. (including Opi DH as Collaborator)
eLife. 2016 Jun; 5(pii): e15266
- Red blood cell complement receptor one level varies with Knops blood group, alphathalassaemia and age among Kenyan children.
D H Opi, S Uyoga, E N Orori, T N Williams, J A Rowe
Genes Immun. 2016 Feb; Epub ahead of print
2015 (1)
2014 (1)
2010 (1)
- High mortality from Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children living with sickle cell anemia on the coast of Kenya.
Charlotte F McAuley, Clare Webb, Julie Makani, Alexander Macharia, Sophie Uyoga, Daniel H Opi, Carolyne Ndila, Antony Ngatia, John Anthony G Scott, Kevin Marsh, Thomas N Williams
Blood. 2010 Sep; 116(10):1663-1668
2009 (2)
- Blood groups and malaria: fresh insights into pathogenesis and identification of targets for intervention.
J Alexandra Rowe, D Herbert Opi, Thomas N Williams
Curr Opin Hematol. 2009 Nov; 16(6):480-487
- Bacteraemia in Kenyan children with sickle-cell anaemia: a retrospective cohort and case-control study.
Thomas N Williams, Sophie Uyoga, Alex Macharia, Carolyne Ndila, Charlotte F McAuley, Daniel H Opi, Salim Mwarumba, Julie Makani, Albert Komba, Moses N Ndiritu, Shahnaaz K Sharif, Kevin Marsh, James A Berkley, J Anthony G Scott
Lancet. 2009 Oct; 374(9698):1364-1370
2008 (1)
- Haptoglobin HP2-2 genotype, alpha-thalassaemia and acute seizures in children living in a malaria-endemic area.
Richard Idro, Thomas N Williams, Samson Gwer, Sophie Uyoga, Alex Macharia, Herbert Opi, Sarah Atkinson, Kathryn Maitland, Piet A Kager, Dominic Kwiatkowski, Brian G R Neville, Charles R J C Newton
Epilepsy Res. 2008 Oct; 81(2-3):114-118
News Articles (14)
2021 (4)
2019 (3)
2018 (2)
2017 (2)
2015 (2)
2014 (1)
