Augustino Alfred Chengula, is a Lecturer of Virology and the Head of Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology, and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania. He holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and an MSc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, both from SUA, as well as a PhD in Veterinary Sciences (Majoring in Virology) from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Norway.
During his master’s studies, Augustino conducted research titled “Molecular Epidemiology of Rift Valley fever and its socio-economic impacts in selected areas of Tanzania.” For his PhD, he conducted research titled “Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) – development of PCR-based diagnostic assays and insights into infection mechanisms.” Augustino is involved in teaching Virology to undergraduate and postgraduate students, conducting research, and carrying out consultancies in virology and other fields of veterinary medicine and allied sciences at SUA. He also works as a part-time lecturer at other universities. Additionally, he supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students at SUA and other universities.
Augustino has broad interests and experiences in the field of Virology, focusing on viral epidemics in humans and animals. Main areas of interest include viral genomics and surveillance, viral diagnostics and virus-host-interactions (ecology of viruses) to develop new affordable viral diagnostic tools, viral vaccines, and antivirals. He is also interested in the application of Phage Technology (Phage Tech) for controlling antibiotic-resistant pathogenic strains of bacteria in humans, animals, and the environment. He has been involved in researches investigating viruses infecting human (Rift Valley fever virus, dengue virus, rotaviruses and Marbug virus), cattle (Rift Valley fever virus, Lumpy skin disease virus, Foot and Mouth disease virus), sheep and goats (Bluetongue virus and Peste des Petit Ruminants virus), chicken (Newcastle disease virus, Mareks disease virus and Infectious bursal disease, fish (Tilapia Lake virus and Iridoviruses) and dogs (Canine parvovirus). Currently, he is involved in several projects, as indicated in the research section. Augustino has authored a number of articles published in refereed international journals and as chapters in international peer-reviewed books, as shown in the publication section.
Finally, Augustino, who has an excellent command of both English and Kiswahili languages, is open to collaboration with anyone interested in conducting research in the field of virology and other areas of veterinary, human, and wildlife health.