Malawian doctor gets international award
Blantyre-based radiologist Sam Kampondeni has been recognised among leading global scientists at the annual meeting American Neurological Association (ANA).
In a phone interview yesterday, Kampondeni said he was happy with the recognition conferred on him.
He said: “It is a welcome recognition in the science community because there are many who publish their work. So to be recognised is a motivation that I should do more.”
Kampondeni, a leader in brain imaging for cerebral malaria, made a presentation titled MRI Brain Volume Measures as Proxy for Intracranial Pressure Predict Outcome in Paediatric Cerebral Malaria, for which he was awarded Top Honours and a cash award among over 500 scientific works presented, information obtained from www.blantyremalaria.org/news/ indicates.
The radiologists explained that his aim was to find out what happens in the brain–particularly among children who fall into a coma when attacked by diseases–and find solutions to the problem; hence, reducing deaths and number of children who become disabled due to malaria attack.
He becomes the first Malawian to receive such recognition from the ANA.
Kampondeni, who runs a private clinic in Blantyre, has worked with Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and Blantyre Malaria Project on his research. He developed the SamKam ratio that measures brain swelling and excretion of cerebrospinal fluid as predictors of disease specific dimension of slices taken from behind the splenium of the corpus callosum and the fourth ventricle.
His research started in 2008, with the work being published in 2018.
