senjutisaha.bsky.social

When you are at an outdoor conference in Kigali and a cat decides you’re the chosen one #UnexpectedFriendships #Kigali #ConferencesWithCats

Today, October 12, 2025, is an extraordinary day.

Starting today, 50 million children across Bangladesh will be vaccinated with the typhoid vaccine, free of cost. This vaccine will protect children from typhoid fever, a disease that has affected countless families for generations.

Beautiful day, blue sky, a jet d’eau and an amazing friend!

Having girlfriends scattered across the world is the best thing ever! Got to steal some precious time with the brilliant Emma Hodcroft @firefoxx66.bsky.social in Geneva - scientist & all-around superstar. Emma, you’re amazing. Thank you for making the trek. My heart (& podcast storage) is full ❤️🌍

The world feels heavy with so much uncertainty. But standing here, working alongside incredible scientists & institutions like the WHO, I feel grateful, hopeful. Even in difficult times, people are working tirelessly to ensure children everywhere, including in 🇧🇩, have access to life-saving vaccines.

All daughters inherit 50% of their father’s genes but how many inherit his mentor too? Prof. Mathuram Santosham, an incredible human being, public health specialist & advocate, is mentor to both Baba and me. What an incredible 3 days filled with love & science.

At Building Scientists for Bangladesh, we do not just train the next generation of scientists - we learn with them.

Raisa drew all her teammates and co-created this scrapbook. I wish I could acknowledge my team in papers the way she did here!

#ScienceCommunication #STEM @chrfbd.bsky.social

Have you ever seen DNA this pretty? Did you even know it could be this pretty?
Raisa (grade 11) built it. Munima (grade 10) is bringing it to life with color.
How could I not love my job when it brings me moments like this?

#BuildingScientistsForBangladesh @chrfbd.bsky.social!
#BSB

Been a hard few days in a hard world. But this picture from our youngest trainees, some only in grade 10, white lab coats, purple gloves, ready to fight for peace with pipettes, petridishes & microscopes, makes it all easy somehow.
What a privilege to learn from & with the next generation.

Outbreak of Ceftriaxone-Resistant <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Serovar Typhi, Bangladesh, 2024 Ceftriaxone-Resistant <em>Salmonella</em> Typhi, Bangladesh

One ceftriaxone-resistant #typhoid case last year set us on a path that is now live on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
47 cases in months, resistance rose from 0 to 5%. We spoke with patients, sequenced samples. 4.3.1.2.B1 lineage+blaCTX-M-15 on pCROB1. #AMR #PublicHealth
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...

Nothing beats that first streak.
The moment you realize you are touching the world of the invisible.

This is a trainee at CHRF streaking bacteria for the very first time, as part of the Building Scientists for Bangladesh program. That joy never gets old.

Thanks Illumina for such a fun tour!! Who knew watching flow cells being made could be so thrilling!

What an absolute privilege to represent #Bangladesh at @humancellatlas.org meeting in Singapore with the incredible @chrfbd.bsky.social single-cell genomics team! Grateful to @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social & @gatesfoundation.bsky.social for supporting single-cell genomics capacity in Bangladesh.

শুভ নববর্ষ!
Happy Bengali New Year!
- from ours to yours ❤️
@chrfbd.bsky.social

Olivia came from Minnesota to Bangladesh to train with us at @chrfbd.bsky.social, learn pathogen genomics in a resource-constrained setting. Now she’s in Belgium, chasing her passion for science.

We met in Ghent, caught up, caffeinated, conspired to collaborate.

From Dhaka to Ghent… where next?

I carry all of you with me, in every challenge, in every victory. Because we are in this together, and together, we will go on.

We will go on.

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

#WomenInScience #WeBelong #StrongerTogether

It is these connections - the quiet nods of understanding, the fierce solidarity, the shared determination—that keep me going.

And then there are the allies. The ones who make space, who listen, who stand with us - not as saviors, but as partners in change.

There were and are always women beside me. Women who walk ahead and show me the way. Women who stand next to me, reminding me that we belong here. Women (and girls) who are just starting out but already carrying the fire.

To the women in science. To the allies in science. To the ones who lift each other up.

I spend my life in science, constantly trying to figure out where I fit in. At times, it feels like pushing against an invisible force-one that questions, doubts, resists. But through it all, I am never alone. 🧵

9/ And finally,
@yogihooda.bsky.social, Arif Tanmoy & Team @chrfbd.bsky.social - incredible work in getting all of this together so quickly. Such a privilege working with you all & Prof Samir!

8/ As we celebrate holidays, let’s remember: surveillance is year-round work. Outbreaks like this highlight the critical need for vigilance, diagnostics, and public health action.

7/ Huge thanks to Popular Diagnostic Centre Ltd. and their incredible lab team for collecting, recording, and sending isolates. Surveillance saves lives, and this network is proof of that. 🙌

6/ Most patients recovered, but resistance data required shifting treatments.
This highlights the need for robust diagnostics, antimicrobial stewardship, and #typhoid conjugate #vaccines (#TCVs) to curb resistance.

5/ Genomic analysis links these strains to other countries in the region but with independent acquisition of resistance. No travel histories among patients suggest local transmission, emphasizing the need for ongoing surveillance.

4/ This lineage is NOT extensively drug-resistant (XDR). It remains susceptible to chloramphenicol & cotrimoxazole. However, 3rd generation cephalosporins is the most common empirical treatment in South Asia, so resistance to it poses a significant public health threat.

3/ We identified 47 cases of ceftriaxone-resistant typhoid. Of these, 17 were sequenced, revealing a new genotype-plasmid combo:
Genotype 4.3.1.2 carrying the blaCTX-M-15 gene on the pCROB1 plasmid—a novel lineage named 4.3.1.2.B1.

2/ In April 2024, our expanded typhoid surveillance network detected a case of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella Typhi. At first, we thought it was a sporadic case that would fade. But it did not. By September, ceftriaxone-resistant strains made up 5% of all typhoid cases across 5 districts.

Investigation of an ongoing outbreak of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in Bangladesh We report an outbreak of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella Typhi in Bangladesh, with 47 cases identified from April-September 2024. Isolates belong to genotype 4.3.1.2 and harbor the blaCTX-M-15 gene o...

1/ Outbreaks don't stop during holidays. #Surveillance is year-round work and here is an urgent report on an ongoing outbreak of ceftriaxone-resistant #Salmonella #Typhi in Bangladesh.
📄 Findings: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵

I made a best friend this week in Geneva. Her name is Rêv. We met at a restaurant.

It was definitely love at first sight but she might not know yet that we are BFFs. I will tell when we meet again.

Thanks to the friend who introduced us.

Had the amazing opportunity to present our work at HCA Asia. RSV infections are a major health burden amongst children in Bangladesh and we aim to learn about the pathophysiology of RSV infections using single cell sequencing. Stay tuned for more insights from our work!

Can’t be in Hong Kong and not dim sum all day all night!