Dr. Makobu Kimani, MBChB

Makobu Kimani is a Medical Doctor, with Post Graduate training in Public Health (Epidemiology and Biostatistics). Over the last eight years he has worked with populations that are at a disproportionally higher risk of acquisition of HIV/AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya. Kimani has also been a clinical safety advisor for an RCT inducing immune-quiescence in female sex workers. He has been part of a team that defined the minimal care package for services to female sex workers and MSM/MSW. This is currently being implemented by the Ministry of health in Kenya.

Kevin Wamae

Email : KWamae@kemri-wellcome.org

Kevin has a background in bioinformatics and his interests are in malaria elimination.

Malaria is a leading cause of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. When one is infected with the malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, they may develop symptoms of malaria or carry the parasite without presenting with any symptoms. These individuals who do not present with symptoms of malaria are said to be asymptomatic. The major problem associated with asymptomatic malaria infections is they become a constant source of parasites that sustain malaria transmission.

Kevin’s is looking to employ molecular and bioinformatics tools to further our understanding of asymptomatic malaria infections. A deeper understanding of these infections will help tackle them with a goal of eliminating malaria.

Dr. Esther Muthumbi, MBChB

Esther is a Medical Doctor and Epidemiologist at the Epidemiology and Demography Department, KEMRI – Wellcome Trust. She is interested in infectious disease epidemiology and mathematical modeling. She has worked on several projects at KWTRP including an analysis of risk factors for pneumonia in adults, invasive salmonellosis in Kilifi and has coordinated research activities for the adult bacterial diseases study and SHINDA 2 study. Her current research work is focused on understanding the transmission of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) in the community.

Publications:

1. Muthumbi EM, Gordon NC, Mochamah G, Nyongesa S, Odipo E, Mwarumba S, et al. Population-Based Estimate of Melioidosis, Kenya. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(5):984-987. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2505.180545
2. Gilchrist JJ, Rautanen A, Fairfax BP, Mills TC, Naranbhai V, Trochet H, Pirinen M, Muthumbi E, et al., Risk of nontyphoidal Salmonella bacteraemia in African children is modified by STAT4. Nat Commun, 2018. 9 (1), pp. 1014.
3. Muthumbi E, Lowe BS, Muyodi C, Getambu E, Gleeson F, Scott JAG. Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia among adults in Kenya: a case–control study. Pneumonia. 2017;9:17. doi:10.1186/s41479-017-0041-2.
4. Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Kenyan Adolescents With α⁺Thalassemia. Etyang AO, Khayeka-Wandabwa C, Kapesa S, Muthumbi E, Odipo E, Wamukoya M, Ngomi N, Haregu T, Kyobutungi C, Tendwa M, Makale J, Macharia A, Cruickshank JK, Smeeth L, Scott JA, Williams TN. | J Am Heart Assoc. 2017 Apr 5;6(4). pii: e005613. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.117.005613. PMID: 28381468
5. The Health Care Sector Response to Intimate Partner Violence in Kenya: Exploring Health Care Providers’ Perceptions of Care for Victims. Nguyen QP, Flynn N, Kitua M, Muthumbi EM, Mutonga DM, Rajab J, Miller E. | Violence Vict. 2016;31(5):888-900. Epub 2016 Aug 12. PMID: 27523028
6. Invasive Salmonellosis in Kilifi, Kenya. Muthumbi E, Morpeth SC, Ooko M, Mwanzu A, Mwarumba S, Mturi N, Etyang AO, Berkley JA, Williams TN, Kariuki S, Scott JA. | Clin Infect Dis. 2015 Nov 1;61 Suppl 4:S290-301. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ737. PMID: 26449944.

Dr. Jacquie Narosto Oliwa, MBChB

Jacquie is a paediatrician and clinical epidemiologist, currently pursuing her PhD studies at the Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her interests lie in health systems research, specifically use of implementation science theories to improve quality of care to sick children.  Her PhD work involves understanding and improving case detection of tuberculosis (TB) in children, including use of new and emerging diagnostic tests.

Her past research work involved being an investigator on a large multi-site clinical trial on treatment of severe pneumonia in children and an observational study on optimising diagnosis of TB in children-both contributed to policy change in Kenya. She was also the lead in a project implementing use of donated medical equipment and best clinical practice guidelines to improve quality of care in maternal, new-born and child health in several hospitals in rural Kenya.

She serves on the Paediatric TB Technical Working Group, advising the Kenya National TB Programme on matters pertaining to childhood TB. She was involved in updating the Paediatric TB guidelines, developing a training curriculum and delivering training to health care workers in Kenya. She is also a member of the Union of Lung Health and the WHO Child TB subgroup-involved in global child TB policies.

Nadia Tagoe

Nadia is a Project Management Professional (PMP) with a background in development management. She has an interest in research capacity strengthening in Africa and has been involved in programme management and research management. Her work experience includes managing several research capacity building grants and developing research management systems at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. She has a Master of Science degree in Management and Implementation of Development Projects from University of Manchester, UK; and a Bachelor of Science in Building Technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Nadia’s PhD is examining the processes used in managing health research capacity strengthening consortia and the interaction between consortium management and capacity development. Her study is embedded in the DELTAS Africa Learning Research Programme.

Peter Macharia

Peter Macharia is a PhD candidate of spatial epidemiology at The Open University UK, supported by the Initiative to Develop Research Leaders (IDeAL), based at the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP).  His PhD research focuses on modelling subnational child mortality, its determinants and their contribution since 1965 in Kenya. This work will allow benchmarking, inform policies, resource allocation and the realization of SDGs

Prior to this Peter was a geospatial modeller with the spatial health metrics group within KWTRP, where he worked on mapping populations at risk of malaria, coverage of malaria interventions, access to health services and developed spatial models to quantify bed-nets needed at each health facility in Kenya

He holds a MSc in Geospatial Information System (GIS)  and Remote Sensing from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology(JKUAT), Postgraduate Diploma in Health research methods  from Pwani University and BSc in Geomatic Engineering and GIS from JKUAT

His interests are in disease mapping and spatial epidemiology (child mortality, its determinants, access and utilization to healthcare).

Peter is a member of The International Society of Geospatial Health , The GIS chapter of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya and The American Association of Geographers

Publications:

1. Sub national variation and inequalities in under-five mortality in Kenya since 1965 (2019). Macharia PM, Giorgi E, Thuranira PN, Joseph NK, Sartorius B, Snow RW, Okiro EA | BMC Public Health 19:146 [ PMID: 30717714] [PMCID: PMC6360661]
2. What mapping Kenya’s child deaths for 50 years revealed – and why it matters (2019). Macharia PM and Okiro EA The Conversation
3. Spatio-temporal analysis of Plasmodium falciparum prevalence to understand the past and chart the future of malaria control in Kenya. (2018). Macharia PM, Giorgi E, Noor AM, Waqo E, Kiptui R, Okiro EA, Snow RW|Malaria journal
4. National and sub-national variation in patterns of febrile case management in sub-Saharan Africa: an insight into public health sector service delivery. (2018). Alegana VA, Maina J, Paul O Ouma PO, Macharia PM, Wright J, Atkinson PM, Okiro EA, Snow RW, Tatem AJ|Nature Communication
5. Access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: a geocoded inventory and spatial analysis. (2018) Ouma PO, Maina J, Thuranira PN, Macharia PM, Alegana AA, English M, Okiro EO, Snow RW|Lancet Global Health
6. Coverage of routine reporting on malaria parasitological testing in Kenya, 2015–2016. (2017) Maina JK, Macharia PM, Ouma PO, Snow RW, Okiro EA|Global health action 
7. Spatial models for the rational allocation of routinely distributed bed nets to public health facilities in Western Kenya. Macharia PM, Ouma PO, Odera PA, Snow RW, Noor AM (2017)|Malaria Journal
8. Spatial accessibility to basic public health services in South Sudan. Macharia PM, Ouma PO, Gogo EG, Snow RW, Noor AM (2017).|Geospatial Health
9. A national health facility survey of malaria infection among febrile patients in Kenya, 2014.Githinji S, Noor AM, Malinga J, Macharia PM, Kiptui R, Omar A, Njagi K, Waqo E, Snow RW (2016).|Malaria Journal