I am a PhD student at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, under the IDeAL initiative, in collaboration with Moi University, Duke University, and the University of Oxford. My PhD research explores the diversity of antigens and the specificity of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidates among naturally exposed asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals in Webuye, western Kenya. I propose utilising a high-diversity peptide microarray in conjunction with bioinformatics approaches to isolate immunological signals associated with protection. The PhD is funded by SSACAB and is supervised by Prof. Francis Ndungu, Prof. Wendy O’Meara, and Dr. Christine Markwalter.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a master’s degree in applied microbiology, both from the University of Embu. During my master’s fellowship, I explored the genetic diversity and antigenic variation of rabies viruses across different host species in eastern and western Kenya.