Elijah Paintsil , PhD

Mentor

Joseph Schlessinge, PhD

Background

Dr. Paintsil is an associate research scientist in pediatrics and pharmacology. He received his medical degree from Ghana Medical School in Ghana, Africa. He was medical director of TB and STDs/HIV Service at Battor Catholic Hospital in Ghana and district director of health services in the North Tognu District in Ghana.  He did his residency in pediatrics at Lincoln Medical Center in Bronx, NY and completed a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the Yale University School of Medicine. He plans on a career as an independent investigator, studying transmission dynamics and molecular epidemiology of blood borne infections among injection drug users.

Project Description

Dr. Paintsil’s project, Viability of HVC in syringes using a novel microculture system, uses a novel hepatitis C virus (HCV) cell culture system to investigate in detail the risks of HCV transmission during drug preparation and injection by propagating viable virus from syringes and other injection paraphernalia prepared under varying physical and chemical conditions. He is also determining the effectiveness of bleach and other potential disinfectants on inactivating HCV in syringes.