Ms Jessica Akester

Jessica is the Project Manager at H3D, where she oversees both the internal and external portfolio of projects. Her role involves various operational activities that contribute to H3D's mission, and she is passionate about building drug discovery capabilities on the continent.

Jessica completed her BSc and BSc (Hons) degrees in Chemistry at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2014. She then pursued an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Kelly Chibale. In 2017, Jessica joined the H3D team as a medicinal chemist, working on TB and malaria projects at various stages of the drug discovery pipeline. After five years in the lab, she transitioned into a project management role, where she leverages her scientific experience and knowledge to support the success of the projects.