Infectious Diseases of the Nervous System

BIOGRAPHY

EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND:
Prof Molyneux began work as a doctor in Malawi in 1974, first in a mission clinic, then at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre. She spent 11 years working in emergency medicine at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool before returning to Malawi in 1995 as head of the University of Malawi College of Medicine Department of Paediatrics.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Although retiring as head of department in 2009 Prof Molyneux continues to work as a consultant paediatrician in Malawi. Prof Molyneux and her husband Malcolm were awarded the OBE in 2007 for their contribution toward health services in Malawi. Guided by her belief in doing simple things and doing them well, she showed that a 4-week course of chemotherapy led to cure rates of 50% for Burkitt's lymphoma—the most common form of childhood cancer in Malawi. She set up an accident and emergency unit and halved inpatient mortality through simple emergency triage procedures and improved staff training. She also did clinical research into treatment for meningitis, which is exacerbated by the high prevalence of HIV and can be overlooked or misdiagnosed in the crush of malaria cases.