Divya is the Research Lead in Sites and Systems where she aims to strengthen health systems and increase access of affordable medicines to those communities most affected by escalating infectious diseases.
The aim of the Sites and Systems team is to develop a global network of strategic sites that build context specific knowledge and serve as hubs to support health systems against infectious diseases, for example in regulatory systems strengthening.
Divya joined Wellcome in 2015 working in the Science division as a member of the infection and immunobiology team. She developed strategic initiatives in immune mediated inflammatory diseases, neuroimmunology and allergy, and managed Wellcome’s investments based in South Africa, AHRI and CIDRI-Africa. In 2021, she was the Epidemics Research Lead, where she led Wellcome's Covid-19 response to increasing genomics surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in low- and middle-income countries.
Before joining Wellcome, Divya carried out research in immunology and immunotherapy. She has a PhD in Immunology from Imperial College London and held post-doctoral fellowships in Canada to investigate the role of signalling pathways in T cell development.