Senior Research Fellow, Philippines

John Bernardo obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2018 from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). Currently, John works as an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Public Health in UPLB where he teaches undergraduate courses in veterinary epidemiology, zoonoses, and food hygiene. Previously, he supported research around acaricide resistance and has also pursued the fields of companion animal and laboratory animal research.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Nigeria

Hassan Olayemi Alaka recently earned his qualifications as a microbiologist from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is an early-career researcher with interests in one health, neglected tropical diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and digital health. Prior to joining Scitel, Hassan received an RSTMH/NIHR early career grant, YET4H Youth Researcher Fellowship, and various leadership awards.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Nigeria

Olaoluwa received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. He has experience in disease diagnosis, laboratory sciences, and general animal health care. Previously, he researched the distribution of tick vectors amongst cattle in Nigeria. He currently works with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ekiti State, Nigeria as a Veterinary Clinician and Public Health Officer. Olaoluwa’s research interests include One Health, vectorborne diseases, and infectious diseases epidemiology.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Sudan

Esraa Mohamed is a public health professional with a background in pharmaceutical research. She is a passionate global health and health systems researcher. She has worked as a project coordinator for the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan at the Health Policy and Planning Directorate and as the head of research at a private institution. In addition, she has worked as a health systems, health economics and financing, health management, and research methodology and health policy instructor. She is eager and insistent to serve and contribute to the development of Sudan and the whole of Africa for the humanity, prosperity, health and well-being of its population to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Public Health Research & Policy Fellow, Sudan

Sara Bashir is a pharmacist, researcher, and public health practitioner. She is an advocate of addressing health challenges exacerbated by conflict and war. She is committed to evidence-based policymaking and utilizes her expertise to research and devise strategies aimed at advancing Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, particularly in conflict-affected regions. Fluent in Arabic, English, and German, Sara is passionate about learning foreign languages. In her free time, Sara usually helps the children in IDP camps in Khartoum learn the English language and maths.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Bioinformatics Fellow, Sudan

Waad Mahdi received a degree in Dentistry from the University of Khartoum and is currently pursuing her Masters of Public Health degree. Her focus areas are pandemic and epidemic preparedness, disease outbreak control, and prevention. Waad is a passionate researcher and community activist. She is fluent in English and Arabic and is dedicated to enhancing health outcomes by advancing knowledge and strategies to combat health crises.

Research Associate, Epidemiology & Bioinformatics, Kenya

Eugine holds a Masters degree in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from The Technical University of Kenya, where he developed a strong foundation in bioinformatics, epidemiology, and phylogenetic analysis. Eugine is passionate about One Health and interdisciplinary research and is dedicated to solving severe global health concerns posed by infectious diseases.

Public Health Research & Policy Fellow, Georgia

Nino Dekanoidze is a medical student and public health researcher from Georgia. As the founder of the Medical Interest Club in Georgia, Nino is committed to fostering a community of like-minded individuals dedicated to exploring the complexities of medicine. At Scitel Global, Nino pursues interdisciplinary research and policy work around health systems and emergency response in conflict-afflicted settings.

Global Public Health Research & Policy Fellow, Nigeria

Doofan Abaa is a public health laboratory professional. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public health microbiology and emerging infectious diseases at George Washington University. Previously, Doofan was a United Nations Youth for Biosecurity Fellow and a Chevening Scholar. She also worked as a Technical Officer at the African Field Epidemiology Network where she provided technical support to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on building resilient specimen transport systems. She also provided technical assistance to the Africa Centres for Disease Control in developing an African specimen referral certificate training curriculum.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Nigeria

Ms. Ishaku holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Abuja and is currently a practicing veterinarian. Previously, she served as the President of the One Health Club at the University of Abuja. In 2019, Eugenia was a Boehringer Ingelheim BVDzero (Bovine Viral Diarrhea) Scholarship Program awardee. Ms. Ishaku is passionate about strengthening animal health systems by promoting research aimed at improving disease surveillance and reducing the burden of infectious diseases to safeguard public health and livelihoods.

Health Economist, Nigeria

Kevin Diltokka received his Bachelor of Science degree and his Master of Science Degree, both in Economics, from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and went on to graduate with his Master of Public Health degree from BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Kevin worked as a Health Economist at Sightsavers Nigeria and as a Consultant at International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). He has worked on several research projects in Neglected Tropical Diseases, Health Care Financing, Health Systems Strengthening research, among others. Mr. Diltokka currently serves as a Teaching Fellow at Ahmadu Bello University Distance Learning Centre (ABUDLC).

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Nigeria

Peter Alabi holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and two masters degrees in Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology & Medical Statistics from the University of Ibadan. He was a HealthCorp Fellow at the Data Analysis Unit of the Centre for Infectious Research in Zambia between August 2019 and October 2020. Previously, Peter worked as a Technical Consultant for UNICEF’s Nigeria country office on the 2017/18 Measles Campaign, as an Epidemiologist and Data Manager for Médecins Sans Frontières (Nigeria Mission in Yobe and Borno State), and as Data Manager for the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) on the Lassa fever response in Owo, Ondo State. Peter’s research interests include infectious diseases epidemiology, vaccine epidemiology, epidemiological methods, biostatistics, and data science.

Public Health Research Fellow, Nigeria

Mrs. Sylvia Ezenwa-Ahanene is an Industrial Microbiologist. She attended the Federal University of Technology in Owerri from 2005 to 2010 and is currently pursuing her masters degree in Public Health at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. Sylvia is a Senior Scientific Officer at the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control where she coordinates responses to public health emergencies related to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. She also serves as an Infection Prevention and Control pillar member of the National Lassa Fever Technical Working Group. At Scitel, Sylvia leads research and policy work regarding sexual and reproductive health in Nigeria.

Senior Research Fellow, DRC & South Africa

Dr. Tshipamba is a veterinarian from the University of Lubumbashi, DRC. He earned his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees at North-West University in South Africa. Dr. Tshipamba has experience as a Livestock Specialist contributing to livestock production and animal disease control and conducts research on zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance. His research interests center on the application of One Health Approaches in surveilling infectious diseases amongst humans, animals, and environment.

Global Public Health Research & Policy Fellow, Uganda

Obol Sunday Jimmy has over 9 years of experience in Health System Strengthening, Program Management, and Humanitarian Response, particularly in health emergencies, outbreaks, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) initiatives. He holds a Masters degree in Medical Anthropology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health Sciences.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Kenya

Anne Miatu is a Nursing Educator at the Kenya Medical Training College. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Public Health Degree and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Ms. Miatu has worked with the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the National Ministry of Health Kenya as a clinical nurse. She has an interest in research that is geared towards preventing and managing infectious diseases, eliminating barriers to accessing health, and promoting health systems that are resilient to ensure healthy lives and wellbeing for all.

Global Public Health Research & Policy Fellow, Kenya

Beverlyne Mengo is a public health practitioner and a sexual reproductive health and rights advocate with a strategic focus on reducing the “triple threat”: Preventing teenage pregnancy, eliminating gender-based violence, and mitigating new HIV/AIDS Infections. Beverlyne has worked with the Reproductive Health Network Kenya and gained experience in sexual and reproductive health and rights programs and projects.

One Health Research Fellow, Kenya

Charles Waigwa received his Bachelor of Biomedical Science and Technology degree from Egerton University and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Genetics at the University of Nairobi. Charles has five years of experience working on research in evolutionary biology, human genetics and ancestry, one health, and public health. His research at Scitel Global explores linkages between antimicrobial use, the gut microbiome, and susceptibility to drug-resistant infections. He also supports research into the Ewaso River Basin ecosystem exploring the impacts of human and animal activity on environmental health focusing on antimicrobial residues and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Kenya

Ian Muriithi received his Bachelor of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. His undergraduate thesis research focused on sexually transmitted infections. At Scitel, Ian’s research focuses on the disease dynamics of Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Senior Research Fellow, Kenya

Lydiah Wanjiru Njihia received her Master of Applied Microbiology degree from The University of Nairobi and currently conducts research there in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology. Her research focuses on antimicrobial resistance of zoonotic bacteria, infectious diseases, understanding disease transmission dynamics, pathogen evolution and field epidemiological studies on zoonotic and infectious diseases employing the One Health concept.

Bioinformatics and Data Science Specialist, Kenya

John Njogu is a Bioinformatics and Data Science specialist focusing on virology research. He is passionate about developing robust and scalable data analysis pipelines and contributing to global efforts that catalyze African research to improve health and solve challenges affecting African populations. John is a member of the Bioinformatics Hub of Kenya and the H3ABioNet.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Kenya

Kelly Nyanchama graduated with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. She has worked as a researcher and junior fellow at the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya specializing in tropical and infectious diseases. Ms. Nyanchama is passionate about advancing the biological science in Africa and serves as an ambassador for IGEM.

One Health Policy Fellow, Kenya

Nellah Ndaka is a global health research and policy practitioner based in Nairobi, Kenya. She currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Partners in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) Board for the Academic, Research and Training constituency. Nellah has worked as an advisor to the European Commission conducting research on global emerging trends in tech and policy. Nellah pursues research and policy questions that lie at the research, policy and practice nexus and aims to bridge the translational gap between academics and policymakers across diverse sectors, at multiple levels. Nellah received her bachelors and masters degrees from SciencesPo Paris, France.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Malawi

Ms. Msiska holds an undergraduate degree in Statistics and a Masters degree in Biostatistics from the University of Malawi. She is currently a PhD student at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. Rejoice has worked as a Data Manager at the Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach (BICO) within the Deworm3 clinical trial and Onchocerciasis project. She specializes in data management, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and project management and has served as a Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for various international NGOs. Her research interests include zoonotic diseases, emerging infectious diseases, epidemiology methods, and neglected tropical diseases.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Namibia

Eugenia Nangwasha has experience in disease surveillance and health information management. She holds a degree in Public Health from the University of Namibia and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Public Health at Southern Medical University in the People’s Republic of China.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology &; Research Fellow, Namibia

Johannes Evelina holds a Bachelors degree in Public Health from the University of Namibia and is pursuing her Masters degree in Public Health at the Southern Medical University in China.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Research Fellow, Namibia

Ligola Akwenye graduated with her bachelor's degree in Nursing Science from the University of Namibia and her Masters in Public Health degree from the Southern Medical University in China. She has worked as a Senior Health Program Officer for the Kunene Health Directorate managing information systems and disease surveillance and as a Senior Health Program Officer for the Ministry of Health and Social Services coordinating infectious disease surveillance and response plans.

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Fellow, Zimbabwe

Mildred holds a bachelor’s degree in Operations Research and Applied Statistics from the National University of Science and Technology Zimbabwe and a Master of Biostatistics degrees from the University of Zimbabwe. For her master’s thesis she developed a competing risks regression model to predict the treatment outcomes of children and adolescents on antiretroviral therapy in western Zimbabwe. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Infectious Diseases Modelling in Zimbabwe with a focus on tuberculosis transmission dynamics.

Epidemiology & Bioinformatics Fellow, USA

Abdulhadi Kobiowu is a Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant in the Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology program at Virginia Tech University. His research uses functional genomics and bioinformatics to understand mosquito-borne diseases. He holds a double master's degree in Animal Breeding and Genetics from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway. Abdulhadi has expertise in statistics, population and quantitative genetics, and has won several national and international scholarships and awards including the Erasmus Mundus Masters Degree scholarship, the Japanese Government Scholarship, and the BBSRC-sponsored Ph.D. studentship in the FoodBioSystem program, among others.