About Dr. Zs. (Zsofia) Igloi
Introduction
Transitioning to public health in 2016 proved to be the pivotal move of my career, revealing my true professional passion: delivering high impact, population level projects that make a tangible difference. With a broad range of interests and experience, I thrive on juggling diverse, simultaneous initiatives.
Field(s) of expertise
Education and career
Professional development
After completing my BSc and MSc in biology at the University of Szeged (Hungary) in 2007, I moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a PhD at the University of Leeds, followed by a post doctoral fellowship. My doctoral research centered on hepatitis C virus, where I investigated key cellular interactions and evaluated potential drug targets.
In 2015, I joined Public Health England’s Ebola response team, spending three months in Sierra Leone as a laboratory technician and manager. This field experience opened piqued my interest in public health.
From 2016 to 2018, I completed the EUPHEM fellowship at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)—an ECDC funded training program. The fellowship trained me as a public health microbiologist and equipped me with advanced epidemiological tools for disease surveillance and outbreak response.
Since 2019, I have joined the Erasmus MC’s arbovirus and emerging virus reference laboratory in a researcher function. In this role, amongst others, I oversee laboratory preparedness, drive applied research, develop and implement diagnostic assays, and serve as the focal point for the WHO Yellow Fever Laboratory Working Group.
Key achievements at Erasmus MC
- COVID 19 response: Led multiple assay evaluation studies for antibody and antigen rapid tests, including large scale community testing of antigen kits in Rotterdam.
- iMONSTER biobanking initiative: Conceived and launched a novel biobank that fills a critical gap by collecting diverse specimen types from individuals infected with exotic viruses, thereby facilitating future diagnostic development and validation.
- Yellow fever network leadership: Produced comprehensive guidelines, authored manuscripts, and fostered collaborations across the Yellow Fever Laboratory Network, strengthening regional diagnostic capacity.
