Chiara Carrara’s research project aims to bridge the disciplinary divide between biology and anthropology to develop a comprehensive understanding of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections among mothers and children in the Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania.

Over the past decades, biological research has advanced knowledge of parasite life cycles and infection dynamics, with public health efforts primarily focused on mass drug administration (MDA). However, these strategies have had limited long-term success in controlling infections, in part because they overlook the critical influence of culture, diet, and everyday practices on health outcomes.

By integrating parasitological data on infection prevalence with ethnographic insights into hygiene practices, dietary habits, and local health beliefs, the project seeks to generate an interdisciplinary and comprehensive understanding of how STHs are transmitted and persist within specific social and environmental contexts.

Grounded in a bottom-up, community-centered approach, the research emphasizes the co-production of knowledge and the development of interventions that are both scientifically robust and culturally meaningful. By centering local voices and lived experiences, the project aspires to contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and context-sensitive public health responses, attuned to the needs and realities of the communities it engages.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Elisio Macamo, Univerity of Basel
Co-Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jakob Zinsstag, Swiss TPH
Co-Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Cristina Miceli, University of Camerino (Italy)

Chiara Carrara is a biologist, nutritionist, and PhD candidate at the Centre for African Studies, University of Basel. She holds a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Biological Sciences with a focus on Nutrition and Functional Foods from the University of Camerino. As part of her academic training, she conducted research and coursework at the University of Seville, in Spain, the Agricultural University of Athens, in Greece, and the State University of Zanzibar and the Public Health Laboratory Ivo de Carneri, in Tanzania. Her research background lies in genomics and public health, with a specific focus on gut microbiota, nutritional habits, and parasites infections in mothers and children in the Zanzibar Archipelago.

Chiara has also worked as a nutritionist with a particular expertise in the field of gut microbiome and its role in overall health in both healthy and clinical patients.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiara-carrara-736a46254/?trk=public-profile-join-page

• Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) Infections
• Gut Microbiota and Nutrition
• Interdisciplinary and Community-Centered Health Research
• Global Health in African Contexts
• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• One Health

• Nguélé, Toussaint A., Mozzicafreddo, M., Carrara, C., Piersanti, A., Salum, S.S., Ali, S.M., & Miceli, C. (2024). Interplay Between Helminth Infections, Malnutrition, and Gut Microbiota in Children and Mothers from Pemba, Tanzania: Potential of Microbiota-Directed Interventions. Nutrients, 16(23), 4023. DOI: 10.3390/nu16234023 
• Nguélé, Toussaint A., Carrara, C., Mozzicafreddo, M., Chen, H., Piersanti, A., Salum, S.S., Ali, S.M., & Miceli, C. (2024). Association Between Food or Nutrients and Gut Microbiota in Healthy and Helminth-Infected Women of Reproductive Age from Zanzibar, Tanzania. Nutrients, 16(9), 1266. DOI: 10.3390/nu16091266

• 9th International Congress: Targeting Microbiota
  Paris, France | October 19–21, 2022

In-person participation at the congress organized by the International Society of Microbiota (ISM). Presented a poster titled "Investigation on the associations between nutritional habits and gut microbiota in a vulnerable population of mothers and children from Zanzibar (Tanzania)."

• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)
• Swiss Society for African Studies (SSAS)
• Graduate School of Social Sciences (G3S)
• Graduate Network African Studies
• Federazione Nazionale degli Ordini dei Biologi (FNOB)