Dr Fraction Dzinjalamala

Head, Clinical Sciences Department

fdzinjalamala@must.ac.mw

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Dr Fraction Dzinjalamala is a Senior Lecturer (since January 2022), the Acting Head of the Department of Clinical Sciences (since 1st April 2024) and a member of the MUST Research Ethics Committee (MUSTREC) at the Malawi University of Science and Technology. 

He holds a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cape Town (RSA) and MSc in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Glasgow (UK). Dr Dzinjalamala, a former Bioethics fellow of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics (USA) is also a licensed and practicing clinician with a Diploma in Clinical Medicine from the Malawi College of Health Sciences. 

His primary research interests are malaria chemotherapy, molecular basis of antimicrobial drug resistance, clinical pharmacokinetics, Bioanalytical method development and validation, Radiopharmacology and radiation safety in diagnostic imaging science, Phytomedicine and ethnopharmacology. 

Currently with no active funded research project, he has already generated preliminary research data for grants applications and is undertaking data analysis and manuscript preparation for submission to peer-reviewed journals for publication. He has published more than 28 scientific papers (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fraction-Dzinjalamala/publications), edited a medical book and written two book chapters on Malaria (Epidemiology of Malaria in Malawi, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253873826_Epidemiology_of_Malaria_in_Malawi) as well as bioanalytical methods (WHO. Methods and techniques for assessing exposure to antimalarial drugs in clinical field studies: informal consultation organized by the World Health Organization with the technical support of the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011) and "Pamene Palibe Dokotala". 

Dr Dzinjalamala has many years of teaching in universities having worked for 10 years at the former College of Medicine (COM now known as KuHeS) as Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry. While at COM, he also served as a member of the College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (COMREC) for 6 years during which time he served as the Vice Chair of COMREC for at least three years. For 3 years out of the 6 years as a COMREC member, he represented COMREC on the National Health Sciences Research Committee (NHSRC). He also served as a member of Senate in University of Malawi representing the College of Medicine. 

Before joining College of Medicine, he had held the post of Research Scientist for 10 years at the Blantyre Malaria Project/Malawi-Liverpool Welcome Trust Program on research that focused on the molecular basis of antimalarial drug resistance, malaria pathogenesis in pregnancy and the pharmacokinetics of antimicrobials (anti-TB and antimalarials) and anticonvulsants. Thus, Dr Dzinjalamala has significant research, leadership and academic experience that includes curriculum development and academic program implementation. His outreach activities have included teaching of the Pharmacology course for Diploma programs in Nursing, in Anesthesia, and in Clinical Medicine at the Malawi College of Health Science where he has also participated in the development and review of the curriculum for the Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor of Science in Clinical Medicine Programs.