Uzal shares his story of resilience, which features a successful training opportunity in the UK, awarded and funded by the BactiVac Network.
BactiVac Network offers training opportunities around the world
BactiVac Member Uzal Umar is a Lecturer and Research Associate at University of Jos Plateau State in Nigeria. Back in 2010, he began a PhD at University of Leicester. Sadly, after three years of work, Uzal was unable to finish his final lab work due to funding issues. He was forced to suspend his studies and look for alternative means of financing the degree. As he was unable to source the funds, the PhD was not completed and Uzal returned home to Nigeria.
Uzal later re-enrolled and essentially began his doctorate journey from scratch. Along the way, he was encouraged to become a Member of BactiVac Network, to widen his community and look for new opportunities. In 2022, Uzal was awarded a Travel Bursary to attend BactiVac 3rd Annual Network Meeting but was unable to attend due to VISA issues. The following year, he earned another Travel Bursary but was again denied the opportunity due to his Visa.
Finally, in 2025, Uzal returned to the UK with the support of a BactiVac Catalyst Training Award. He spent two months at the University of Birmingham with Dr David W. Cleary, and one month at De Montfort University with Dr Raymond Allan, studying genomic and phenotypic characterisation of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates.
Uzal praised his UK hosts as providing ‘everything he has needed in his career.’ Their support with scientific writing, data analysis, and the introduction of new laboratory techniques has been invaluable. Upon his arrival, David was leading a course on analysing microbial genomic data, and Uzal was fortunate to secure the final available place. David and Raymond trained Uzal in advanced techniques in the UK, including how to culture and work effectively with Streptococcus pneumoniae strains. Importantly, they helped him adapt these methods for use in Nigeria, where essential reagents such as Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) growth medium can be costly and difficult to obtain. By optimising protocols for resource-limited settings, they ensured that the techniques would be both practical and sustainable upon his return. With these new skills and insights, Uzal is confident that he is now producing the highest-quality work of his academic career.
Whilst in Birmingham, Uzal was also finally able to attend a BactiVac Annual Network Meeting. Our 6th Annual Network Meeting was held at the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre, where Uzal was able to experience two full days of expert scientific talks, discussion, and networking.
Then in Leicester, Uzal was able to reconnect with some of the people that he had previously worked with in 2013, who recognised the journey and the effort taken to reach where he is today. Uzal leaves the UK with a solid network of scientific connections; new, transferrable knowledge; and a feeling of fulfilment after his previous experience in the UK was cut short.
Uzal’s next step is to complete and submit his PhD thesis. Following his highly positive experience in the UK, he is keen to return in the near future to build on the collaborations he has established and to further develop the expertise he has gained.
He hopes to secure funding that will enable him to bring the bacterial isolates he collected in Nigeria to the UK for further study. As part of his PhD project, he collected 235 nasopharyngeal swab specimens from children across a range of risk groups, from which he successfully isolated approximately 105 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains. Due to financial constraints, he was unable to transport these isolates during his recent visit. Access to these samples in future collaborative work would provide a valuable opportunity to expand his research and deepen understanding of pneumococcal epidemiology in Nigeria.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to host Uzal in my lab. Understanding pneumococcal epidemiology in at-risk populations is an incredibly important area of research and I’m glad that the genomic analysis training I was able to provide, facilitated by BactiVac, will support Uzal in this next phase of his journey.
Uzal working at University of Birmingham
Uzal working in the lab
There is also a desire to share his training and experience with the scientific community at home in Nigeria. With new techniques and equipment, Uzal feels that he can make a unique impact, with his recent training allowing him to adapt his home environment based on the resources available.
It was a pleasure hosting Uzal during his BactiVac Catalyst Training Award. Uzal is a talented researcher, who has shown incredible drive and resilience to enhance his academic profile. This award afforded Uzal the opportunity to develop new skills in investigating pneumococcal biofilms, providing him a platform to assess future therapeutics. The research has fostered new ideas in how to explore pneumococcal disease and I look forward to working with him in our future collaborations.
As Uzal returns to Nigeria, he does so with new skills, confidence and a clear sense of purpose. His journey shows that setbacks need not define the future with resilience and the support of others, they can become the foundation for new opportunities. Through collaboration and shared expertise, Uzal has turned a lost opportunity into a pathway for impact, both in his own career and within the wider scientific community. As he reflects, ‘BactiVac provided me with an important goal. I was given the chance to rekindle a lost opportunity.’
Catalyst funding is available to support training opportunities and exchanges, prioritising LMIC members, for the transfer of knowledge and skills in bacterial vaccinology. You can find out more via the BactiVac website.
Assistant Professor in Microbial Genomics
Staff profile for Dr David Cleary, Assistant Professor in Microbial Genomics, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham.
