OUR ALUMNI | AIMS SOUTH AFRICA

Comfort Jones, from Nigeria, found that her interest in mathematical modelling in addressing public health problems was piqued by the Clinic on Meaningful Modelling of Epidemiological Data (MMED) that was offered during her time at AIMS in 2024. The workshop is a collaboration between AIMS SA and the South African Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA). Comfort’s mathematical journey began at the University of Uyo where she graduated with a first-class honours degree in Mathematics. In 2024, she obtained her Structured Master’s Degree in Mathematical Science from AIMS with support from the Mastercard Foundation. She was one of the top achievers of the January 2024 cohort. She credits the quality of education and the courses taught at AIMS as having a significant impact on her journey and career path. She is currently enrolled for a MSc Research Fellowship in Epidemiological Modelling with SACEMA at Stellenbosch University. She was alerted of this opportunity through the AIMS network. Her research thesis focuses on the benefits of adding wastewater surveillance as a routine method for infectious diseases, focusing on Hepatitis E. Through her work, Comfort is contributing to innovative approaches in public health monitoring that could have significant impact across Africa and beyond.

Ndivhuwo is an alumnus of AIMS South Africa, graduating in 2013, and currently serves as a Quantitative Risk Analyst at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). In this role, he focuses on the development and validation of credit risk models used for regulatory capital calculations under the Advanced Internal Ratings-Based (AIRB) framework. He is also involved in research assessing the application of machine learning techniques to estimate Basel risk parameters, contributing to the development of evolving credit risk policies and regulatory standards.

Zinhle graduated from AIMS South Africa in 2015 and is currently a Junior Researcher at the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA). Her research focuses on applying mathematical modelling to study the effects of climate change on vector-borne diseases. Her current work uses mathematical models to evaluate the potential risk and spread of dengue virus if introduced in South Africa.