One of the most valuable pieces of advice Jo-Ann Passmore received when she was a student was to do research that benefits the people where she lives.

For Jo-Ann, a native South African, that has meant dedicating her career to preventing HIV in women in Africa. Her research has found that genital inflammation increases the risk for women of becoming infected with HIV, and that this genital inflammation also reduces the efficacy of key HIV prevention tools. Jo-Ann has shown that bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common condition caused by an imbalance of the naturally occurring bacteria in the vagina, is a major cause of genital inflammation, among other health complications.

"The thing I'm most proud of is translating knowledge gained through my research into something that will improve lives," said Jo-Ann.

Building on her research, Jo-Ann is leading a major collaboration between African scientists to study the vaginal microbiomes of women in Africa. The initiative aims to leverage Pan-African research expertise to understand BV in Africa, and use this information to develop inexpensive, accessible tools to treat BV for women living in Africa.

Global research efforts into the vaginal microbiome have accelerated in recent years, but in general they have not prioritized the health of women in Africa or the research contributions of African scientists.

"This initiative is massive because it's led by African scientists and enables collaboration between African Centres of excellence in microbiome research to do research that focus on conditions that are critical to women in Africa," said Jo-Ann. "That's a unique agenda that aims to improve reproductive health for women, where I live."

Her team in South Africa has teamed up with researchers in Kenya. Together, they are collecting thousands of vaginal samples, with women self-collecting these samples twice weekly over two menstrual cycles. It's an intensive effort that will allow the researchers to study the complex ecology of the vaginal microbiome, which fluctuates over time. The goal is to understand the factors that lead BV to occur and to uncover novel treatments for BV.