Abena Amoah '00 - Ghana/Netherlands
- MH Global Alum Alliance
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
We are delighted to share our latest Global Alum Alliance feature interview, as we celebrate the lives and achievements of alums around the world. This In the Spotlight interview focuses on Abena Amoah '00, an immunoepidemiologist and biomedical researcher in the Netherlands and Ghana.
Please get in touch if you feel your story would be of interest, or would like to recommend a fellow alum!
Spotlight on…
Name: Abena S. Amoah
Class Year: 2000
Country: Ghana / Netherlands
Major: Biological Sciences
Profession: Immunoepidemiologist
"My work is driven by a simple but uncomfortable truth: vaccines do not always work equally well for everyone, and the gaps are often greatest in the communities that need protection the most."
Abena Amoah ’00 is an immunoepidemiologist at Leiden University Medical Center and head of the HypoVax Global Knowledge Hub. From her beginnings in biological sciences at Mount Holyoke to leading pivotal vaccine research in Ghana and Malawi, Abena has dedicated her career to addressing global health inequities. In this interview, she discusses her journey from the lab to the field, the impact of her work on COVID-19 policy, and how her MHC education provided the foundation for her success. Read on!
1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Abena Amoah, and I am an immunoepidemiologist and biomedical researcher at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.
In my current position, I lead the HypoVax Global Knowledge Hub, a network focused on understanding vaccine responses and immune variation across different populations worldwide. I completed my bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at Mount Holyoke College, followed by a master’s degree in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK and a PhD in immunoepidemiology from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
My scientific journey has taken me from basic laboratory research in the United States to a decade of population studies and field work in Ghana, Malawi, and the Netherlands. Over the years, I have helped run large field studies on parasitic worm infections, allergies, asthma, COVID‑19, and vaccine responses.
2) Was there a particular event or time when you recognized that being a scientist would be your life and your living?
I cannot pinpoint one particular event, but the realization grew gradually and crystallized after my undergraduate studies. I first worked as a research assistant at Rockefeller University in New York City in a laboratory focused on the biology of addictive diseases. I was in this position for just over two years before leaving the US for field research in Ghana, two and a half years after graduating from Mount Holyoke.
Working in rural Ghana, I witnessed the impact of parasitic infections on people’s lives and saw how being a research scientist could be both intellectually satisfying and socially meaningful. My decision to pursue graduate degrees in epidemiology and immunoepidemiology was driven by curiosity, field work, and the potential for research to change lives.
3) You specialize in understanding variations in vaccine responses across geographical areas and populations. What is your drive and what do you hope to achieve?
My work is driven by a simple but uncomfortable truth: vaccines do not always work equally well for everyone, and the gaps are often greatest in the communities that need protection the most.
In parts of Sub‑Saharan Africa and other low‑ and middle‑income regions, vaccines against diseases such as malaria and rotavirus can show markedly lower efficacy than in high‑income countries. I am motivated to understand how factors such as parasitic infections, environmental exposures, urbanization, and socioeconomic conditions shape immune responses at the population level. Through HypoVax Global, our goal is to build collaborative research that identifies the mechanisms behind these differences and translates them into better vaccination strategies.
4) What has been one of the most rewarding moments in your career as a scientist?
One particularly rewarding moment was during the COVID‑19 pandemic, when results from a longitudinal urban–rural population study in Malawi in Southern Africa provided surveillance information on SARS‑CoV‑2 infection. These data helped inform the government of Malawi’s COVID‑19 policies and guidelines. Seeing research directly support public health decision‑making was deeply meaningful.
5) What are the main challenges faced by scientists in your sector?
Currently, there is a crisis in global health in which funding cuts are affecting research into many diseases, including the so‑called neglected tropical diseases. These cuts risk allowing such diseases to continue exerting a heavy burden on the poorest people on the planet. In addition, the impact of climate and environmental changes is likely to lead to the emergence and re‑emergence of infectious diseases that could cause future pandemics.
6) What advice would you give to young women today who want to pursue a career in the science field?
Follow your heart and stay curious. Also, find mentors and allies who can help guide you along the way, but learn to advocate for yourself. Always seek out opportunities that build your research portfolio.
7) How did your MHC experience contribute to your career and life aspirations?
Mount Holyoke College gave me an early and powerful example of women leading, which also helped boost my confidence. The multidisciplinary liberal arts education taught me to move comfortably between biology and other fields, a skill I still apply in my day‑to‑day life. I also completed a minor in anthropology that continues to be useful to this day.
8) What is your most fondest memory of your time back at MHC?
My fondest memory is not one single moment but the friends I made during my four years in South Hadley. I am still very close to some of the friends I met in my first year during orientation week; these were the people I spent hours with in the dining halls chatting after dinner or staying up all night studying before an exam. In September last year, some of these friends and I went on holiday to Lisbon and, although I had not seen some of them in years, it felt as if we were back in South Hadley having dinner in Wilder, Torrey, Ham, or 1837.
Interview conducted Winter 2026 by Silvia Maulini '80
