Rokhaya Gueye

Senegalese biochemist who developed affordable malaria diagnostics

Dr. Rokhaya Gueye (b. 1978) created the first plant-based malaria test kit using genetically modified tobacco plants. Her groundbreaking research at Cheikh Anta Diop University reduced malaria test costs from $2.50 to $0.25 per unit.

Unlike conventional methods requiring complex lab infrastructure, Gueye's PhytoTest works through simple leaf extracts. This innovation has been deployed in 23 rural clinics across Mali and Burkina Faso, increasing early diagnosis rates by 68% according to WHO data.

Her team's most radical achievement was bypassing pharmaceutical patents by open-sourcing the tobacco plant genome modifications. This approach, detailed in her TEDx talk 'Why Plants Should Fight Diseases', challenges Big Pharma's monopoly on tropical disease solutions.