PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Olayinka Asafa is a PhD candidate from Nigeria, studying at RIRCA through the BRAINS Scholarship.
He’s fascinated by one simple question: how does a mother’s immune system give a baby the best possible start in life? Breast milk is more than nutrition. It’s a living biological system, packed with antibodies, immune cells, and protective molecules that help shape a baby’s immune system during the most vulnerable stage of life.
Those antibodies and immune factors help protect newborns while their own immune system is still learning. His research asks an important question: how do we preserve all of those benefits while ensuring breast milk remains safe? Olayinka studies how pathogens such as CMV and HIV, along with factors like processing, can affect breast milk and how its safety can be optimised without compromising the biological quality that makes it so valuable.
Ultimately, his work is about giving every newborn the healthiest possible start.
Olayinka has been awarded the 2026 African STARS Fellow in the Young Professional Programme at CERI – Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, Stellenbosch University in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.