Jennifer Keiser—Improving treatment of helminth infections

Abstract

The young Jennifer Keiser grew up in Munich, Germany, and followed both her grandfather (a chemist) and her older sister (medicine) into a life of science. While studying in high school, she worked part-time in a pharmacy, and became fascinated by medicinal drugs and their structure and function. “Rather than become a medical doctor, I thought pharmacy would offer the most rewarding career for me”, Keiser told The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Today, she is head of the Helminth Drug Development Unit at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), an associated institute of the University of Basel, in Switzerland.