Calmes Ursain Bouaka Tsakeng

Calmes is a biochemist who undertook medical and clinical studies in biochemistry at the University of Dschang (Cameroon) where he obtained a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences in 2016 and 2018 respectively. During his career he did many internships within hospitals to familiarize himself with patient-care methods, collection of different types of samples (blood, urine, stools…) and several clinical diagnostic tests. During his Master’s degree, he familiarized himself to molecular biology tools and focused on the molecular evaluation of Diminazene-aceturate resistance in trypanosomes circulating in domestic animals from Campo and Bipindi sleeping sickness foci in southern Cameroon, where he highlighted high level of trypanosome resistance to these trypanocides.

Calmes was selected as PhD student within the PIIVeC project where is mentored by Dr Tito Tresor MELACHIO TANEKOU (RCDF) and registered successfully as a PhD student in Biochemistry at the University of Yaounde I. Within the PIIVeC project, he will focus on the genetic diversity of the tsetse fly microbiome and its implication in new strategies to control trypanosomiasis. Here he will highlight if exist, the change in fly microbiome diversity before and after the vector control and thus, the potential link of some bacteria taxa with the remaining tsetse flies after vector control with tiny targets.

By working on this project he hopes to obtain his Phd, and begin his career in fighting the vector-borne diseases.