Episode 4: Interview with Dr. Samantha O'Loughlin, Mosquito Scientist & Geneticist

Kelli Confidential: Negotiation Essentials Empowering Extraordinary Women

With the backdrop of the crucial UN biodiversity negotiations held late last year, I open this episode with a reminder that gender parity and climate change are inextricably linked as women the world over - particularly in poorer nations - are disproportionately disadvantaged by the effects of climate change. A situation made worse in countries where women are underrepresented in government office and lacking the power to change it. So the work that Sam is doing, especially as a woman scientist in her field, is doubly important. I hope you enjoy the episode!
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Malaria is one of the most deadly diseases on the planet, which infects over 200 million people a year and is estimated to have killed over 600,000 people in 2021 alone.
And for the past sixteen years, Dr. Samantha O'Loughlin has worked for Target Malaria, a research consortium focused on developing novel genetic gene-drive methods to control the spread of this deadly disease.
About Dr. Samantha O’Loughlin

Dr Samantha O’Loughlin is a population geneticist and stakeholder engagement support officer at Imperial College London. Samantha is a self-confessed perpetual student, and has spent most of her adult life working and studying in academia. She has four degrees, including an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation and a Doctorate in mosquito population genetics. In 2006 she took on a post-doctoral research position in a new and exciting research project aiming to develop novel genetic gene drive methods for controlling the mosquito vectors of malaria. This project has since grown to become the Target Malaria research consortium.

As a mosquito population geneticist, Sam's role in the consortium has been ensuring that the methods can be applied to natural mosquito populations. She works closely with molecular biologists and modellers in the Target Malaria team, bringing them her extensive experience of Anopheles mosquito genetics and bionomics. Samantha’s working activities have grown and evolved along with the project, and in 2019 she took on a role in the global stakeholder engagement team where she engages with key stakeholders, such as mosquito scientists, the malaria control community, and regional and global policy makers.
Sam recently returned from the United Nations COP15 negotiations in Montreal where negotiations focused on biodiversity and the 17 sustainable development goals (gender equality is SDG #5). Long, gruelling and hotly debated, the Economist put it best in their article "A UN biodiversity meeting is slugging it out in Montreal".

Publications:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/s.oloughlin
Link to Target Malaria:
https://targetmalaria.org
Link to UN COP15: #cop15
https://www.unep.org/events/conference/un-biodiversity-conference-cop-15

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