Prof Marleen Temmerman

Prof Temmerman, PhD, is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Director of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Centre of Excellence in Women, Child and Adolescent Health, and Chairholder of the Aga Khan University -UNESCO Chair.

She is a well-recognized global leader in women, adolescent and child health and rights. She brings academic, technical, political, governance, management and leadership skills to the table as well as diplomacy, advocacy, fundraising, training and clinical expertise.

Zul Merali

Prof Merali, PhD, is a Professor, College of Medicine – East Africa, Aga Khan University. He is the Founding Director of the Brain and Mind Institute at the Aga Khan University, and was the CEO and VP Research at the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research. He was the founding scientific director of the Canadian Depression Research and Intervention Network (CDRIN), a pan-Canadian network of clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience, focused on depression.

Prof Anthony Ngugi

Prof  Ngugi, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Population health with close to 15 years of experience in health research in Africa. His research interests include statistical epidemiology, maternal and child health, epidemiology of epilepsy, community health and health information systems. He has co-developed and co-led and analyzed large mixed design multi-country studies aimed at profiling the epidemiology of epilepsy and covering over 600,000 population in demographic surveillance systems in sub- Saharan African Countries.

Prof Nancy Booker

Prof Nancy Booker, PhD, is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean at the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications. She has had a distinguished career as an academic, teacher, researcher and media practitioner with over 18 years teaching and academic administration experience. Prof Booker specializes in broadcast journalism, multimedia storytelling, media management and health communication, and has several academic publications in these areas.

Farhana Alarakhiya

Ms. Alarakhiya is a veteran in the world of Big Data analytics and AI and has spent the last decade building SaaS solutions that enable transformative outcomes by unlocking the power of data. She considers herself to be a DRIP destroyer, eradicating the problem for many of being “Data-Rich but Insight Poor” As the Chief Data Innovation Officer at Aga Khan University, her work is focused on coupling data with smart driven people to deliver social, economic, and environmental impact that can change the world.

Prof Lukoye Atwoli

Prof Atwoli, MBBS, PhD, is the Dean, College of Medicine – East Africa, Aga Khan University. He leads and participates in mental health research locally and globally. He is a member of the WHO World Mental Health Surveys Consortium, which is the leading collaborative project in psychiatric epidemiology globally. He was also the Global Technical Director for the citiesRISE initiative (www.cities-rise.org), whose goal is to help make five cities mental health friendly (Nairobi, Chennai, Bogota, as well as Seattle and Sacramento). The initiative works with young people in these cities to increase connectedness, improving their coping ability by working to build resilience and hopefulness, and linking those in need to care.

Peris Musitia

Ms. Musitia is a Research Manager at the Institute for Human Development. She oversees the core administrative functions at the UZIMA-DS Hub and provides support for various research and project endeavours, particularly those focused on mental health and maternal and child health. Musitia ensures that all projects comply with research ethics guidelines, coordinates data dissemination initiatives, and facilitates the capacity building of research fellows within the hub, as well as managing grants and sub-grants for the hub.

She has background training in Development Studies, with a bachelor’s degree in Disaster Management from Masinde Muliro University and a master’s degree in Development Studies from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Development Studies. She has experience in research coordination and management for maternal and child health-related projects. Her interests lie at the intersection of climate change and the health system, with a focus on mental health-related research.​

Linda Khakali

Linda Norah Khakali holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi and is currently a master’s student in rural sociology and community development at the same institution. She has also pursued other professional development courses in project management in global health, conducting research responsibly, leadership in global health, and monitoring and evaluation in global health from the University of Washington. She is a qualitative and quantitative expert with experience in developing study protocol, ethical approval coordination, continuous quality improvement, quality stakeholder negotiation and engagement. she has worked with key populations, people who inject drugs, female sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), and people living with HIV. She has featured in a publication on tobacco use behaviors among people living with HIV in Nairobi.

Andrew Aballa

Andrew is a medical research scientist with in-depth knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods and complementary disciplines such as data analysis and scientific writing. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science and Technology from Maseno University, Kenya, specializing in Medical Biotechnology, and a Master of Science degree in Infectious Diseases from Kenyatta University. He has worked as part of research teams in accredited research organizations such as the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), where he gained and sharpened research skills, key among them project design, data collection, and data management and analysis. Andrew supports research initiatives for the UZIMA-DS Hub, through programming and pretesting of research tools, engaging key authorities in field sites, and administrative duties, including grant support. His research interests are in emerging and re-emerging infectious and non-communicable diseases in Kenya.

Dr Angela Koech

Dr Koech, MBBS, is an Assistant professor in the Aga Khan University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a co-principal investigator of the PRECISE Project at the AKU-East Africa Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health. She is a medical doctor and holds an MMed (Obstetrics and Gynaecology) degree from the Aga Khan University and an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has seven years’ experience in clinical medicine and over three years’ experience in clinical research in the area of maternal and newborn health. She has been involved in setting up and conducting several clinical studies alongside a perinatal surveillance program at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust research programme in Kenya. Her previous work has been in the areas of maternal Group B Streptococcus and its role in neonatal disease, fetal growth and aetiology of preterm birth/low birth weight, preeclampsia and its risk factors and the role of inflammatory markers in preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes. She has publications in peer reviewed journals and has presented in several local and international conferences.

Willie Njoroge

Willie holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology from Central China Normal University and a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honors) in Clinical Psychology and Sociology from the University of Namibia. He is currently a PhD candidate in Applied Psychology at Southwest University, Chongqing, China. He is a seasoned academician who brings cumulative experience in applied psychology research, consultancy, leadership, and mentorship. He is a seasoned academician who brings cumulative experience in applied psychology research, consultancy, leadership, and mentorship. His research interests include insomnia, rumination, sleep hygiene, mental health and psychosocial support, health psychology, smartphone addiction, psychological resilience, and well-being. He is also a member of the Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association and strongly advocates serving humanity in research-oriented mental health prevention, promotion, and psychosocial support.

James Orwa

James is in-charge of coordinating data management and analysis core activities and Data Management and Analysis (DMAC) project  under the UtiliZing health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa through Data Science. He received his MSc in Biostatistics from Hasselt University Belgium and is currently enrolled for PhD program in public health at Ghent University Belgium. His main areas of research revolves around HIV/TB, and maternal newborn and child health. James has authored several journals papers either as first or collaborating author in peer-reviewed journals. James has a professional skill in data management and analysis using R, STATA, and SAS software.

Dr Saleem Sayani

Dr Saleem is an international leader in health care Information Technology (IT). He has over 30 years of international experience in delivering innovative technology solutions that drive change and business success in cross-cultural environments. As a digital transformation leader, he has played an instrumental leadership role at various organizations in delivering and implementing technology solutions that foster innovation, business growth and performance.

Currently, he serves as the Director for the Technology Innovation Support Centre at the Aga Khan University and the Director of the Aga Khan Development Network Digital Health Resource Centre (AKDN dHRC), where he leads and manages digital health systems and a portfolio of innovative digital health projects, programs and solutions. He provides leadership, strategic direction and guidance across AKDN entities to deliver health care services and learning programs in South-Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has helped nurture a culture of creativity and innovation within AKDN, which has resulted in 12 patentable digital health ideas/solutions in biomedical engineering. In 2019, Saleem was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Digital Health Expert in its Global Digital Health Expert group to help WHO in its efforts to advance the digital health ecosystem globally.

Stephen Wong

Stephen Wong has spent over three decades helping organizations realize and enable their data and analytics strategy. He launched his career working at SAS, the largest privately owned software company and leader in enterprise analytics, where he worked with multiple Fortune 100 companies across the full data life cycle. He is currently the Principal Data Lead and Architect at the Aga Khan University in the office of the Chief Data Innovation Officer. At AKU, he is bringing his vast experience and knowledge to build Big Data platforms focused on population health management with the objective of improving the quality of life of communities in East Africa. Prior to AKU, he was Director at CIBC and Scotiabank, two of the largest banks in Canada. While there, he focused on Enterprise Data Governance so is well versed in the complexities of regulatory compliance and data governance policies.

Prof Samad Zainab

Dr. Zainab Samad, MBBS, is chairwoman of the Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University in Pakistan and currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University. Dr. Samad’s clinical and research efforts are focused on understanding the epidemiology and outcomes of heart disease.

Victor Mwandije

Victor Mwandije is a Project Officer at the Institute for Human Development (IHD). He has a bachelor’s degree in Social studies (Sociology) from Moi University. His expertise is in qualitative and quantitative research, Monitoring, Evaluation Research & Learning (MERL) with a stronghold in qualitative research. He has worked with various non-profit organizations including LVCT Health, Innovations for Poverty Action Kenya (IPAK), Partners for Health and Development in Africa (PHDA) and SWOP Kenya. Victor is passionate about supporting the development of research-based interventions that promote child, maternal and adolescent well-being.​

Tom Joe Omollo

Tom Joe works as a Project Assistant for the UZIMA-DS Project housed under the Institute for Human development (IHD) at the Aga Khan University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with IT from Maseno University and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Kenyatta University. Tom Joe has a wealth of experience in mixed-methods research, Monitoring and Evaluation and Data Analysis. His research interests are in Maternal, Child and Mental Health.

Daisy Chelangat

Ms. Chelangat is a PhD fellow at the Institute for Human Development. She has a master’s degree in applied Statistics from Kabianga university and a bachelor’s degree in applied Statistics with Computing from Maasai Mara University. She has over five years of experience in research, data analysis, reporting and manuscript writing. As a methodologist, her work in UZIMA is focused in the development of machine learning predictive models for maternal and child outcomes in the Kenyan coast. Her professional interests lie in using statistical and machine learning methods to obtain meaningful insights from data.

Edwin Dzoro

Dzoro is pursing an Msc. Data Science and Statistics at the Hasselt University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Nairobi and a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research Methods from Pwani University. His project will focus on using data science methodology and machine learning to develop predictive models to identify sources of risk and resilience among at-risk children and adolescents.

Dr David Andai

Dr Andai is a Medical Officer (from Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology) and a Health Data analyst. He is passionate about Mental Health and bridging the gap in access to medicine and essential services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

As a registered General Practitioner, he’s provided services at Equity Afya Medical Clinic and offered his services in advocating for Mental Health in workplaces.

He interned as a Research Data Analyst at the Aga Khan University, UZIMA-DS Project and the Brain and Mind Institute, in delivering insight into the Data Quality of wearable technologies for determining mental health indicators in Health Care Workers.

He has a keen interest in the advancement of Machine Learning and Data Science principles in Neuroscience and Mental Health.

Faith Neema

Ms. Neema is a PhD fellow at the Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development, supporting the UZIMA-DS Hub Maternal, Newborn and Child Health project. working on a project that deals with Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Her PhD is in Applied Mathematics (Applied Machine Learning), a comprehensive program that merges advanced mathematical techniques with practical applications in machine learning. She also holds an MSc in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a master’s degree in Machine Intelligence from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Ghana.

Neema is passionate abou​​t finding solutions to health-related problems using Artificial Intelligence. Her PhD program will significantly contribute to the promotion of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Kenya by leveraging the expertise gained in applied machine learning to develop predictive models, identify trends, and uncover correlations within healthcare data. She hopes to enable more accurate and timely interventions, improving healthcare outcomes for mothers and children across Kenya, and ultimately advancing the overall healthcare landscape in Kenya.

Amos Bunde

Amos is a Data Engineer/Architect Team lead at the AKU Data Innovation Office. He is currently pursuing an MS in Information Systems and Computing at Liverpool John Moore University and holds a BSc in Applied Statistics with Computing mirrors. He is dedicated to transforming data challenges into strategic opportunities. Within Aga Khan University, he spearheads the creation of data architectures that steer research objectives. His scope extends to various domains including cloud infrastructures, pipeline construction, data workflow abstraction, machine learning and design. Beyond technical skills, Amos leads by example, mentoring cross-functional teams and nurturing a culture of innovation. Amos views himself as a perpetual learner, fuelled by a genuine enthusiasm for machine learning, data streaming and quantum computing. Amos is passionate about coding, mentorship and basketball, and is proud to support the UZIMA-DS Hub.

Nigel Kamotho

Nigel , a data science, and data protection expert at AKU’s Data Innovations Office, leverages his unique skillset to navigate the complex world of data sharing. He crafts robust data governance frameworks, ensuring secure and responsible data sharing practices. Currently, his focus lies on implementing data science projects on the cloud for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

Antony Kagure

As a Product Marketing Specialist at the Aga Khan University Data Innovation Office, Antony brings life to the work the data team does by providing awareness internally and externally on how the UZIMA-DS Hub uses data to transform health outcomes in Kenya. He is passionate about storytelling, particularly, transforming the complex into easy-to-consume simplicity. He hol​ds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Marketing specialization from the University of Nairobi. His expertise is in content marketing, social media marketing, social media management, data storytelling, and community building​​.​​

Dorcas Mwigereri

Dorcas is a PhD Fellow in the Population Health Department, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. She is an experienced researcher, skilled and versatile Machine Learning Engineer and Computer Scientist with great experience with Python, R, PHP, Java and other web technologies ,C#, Postgress, MySQL, SQL Server 2008 and XML. She is one of the awardees of the UZIMA-DS Pilot grants, specifically the Ante-natal risk stratification of gestational diabetes mellitus in the 1st and 2nd trimester using Machine Learning models, which aims to address the current gaps in predicting Gestational Diabetes Mellitus(GDM) by overcoming specific limitations in existing research.

Florence Jaguga

Dr ​Florence is an Implementation Scientist Consultant with the Brain and Mind Institute, tasked to conduct a baseline mental health survey of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Aga Khan University Campuses. She holds a master’s degree in Psychiatry and a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery degree from Moi University School of Medicine. 

Her expertise includes treatment and prevention of substance use disorders, implementation science research, human rights for persons with disability and mental health conditions, and policy formulation. Dr Florence’s research work uses implementation science approaches to find practical and affordable solutions for increasing access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and prevention services in Kenya.

Onesmus Wanje

Onesmus is currently pursuing a MPH at Pwani University and holds a BSc in Community Health. He has extensive experience in community engagement for women’s health research, youth programming, policy advocacy, and implementation research. He supports UZIMA’s dissemination and sustainability core with community engagement efforts focused on maternal and child health.

Anita Kerubo

Anita Kerubo is a graduate researcher with a statistics and data science background. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Statistics and Data Science at Hasselt University in collaboration with the Aga Khan University’s Institute for Human Development. She focuses on applying statistical and machine learning methods to study cognitive health in children and adolescents.

Her work includes mixed-methods research, statistical modelling, and AI applications in neuroscience and global health. Anita is passionate about utilising data-driven insights to improve brain health outcomes in Africa.

Moses Mukhanya

Moses is a Data Manager at the Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development. He holds a Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics from Strathmore University, funded by the UZIMA-DS project, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Kibabii University.

Moses is interested in applying artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning to address health-related challenges. He believes that advancements in data science offer valuable opportunities for the early detection of health issues, enabling timely and effective interventions.

Dr Eileen Weinheimer-Haus

Dr Eileen Weinheimer-Haus is a Project Senior Manager in the Department of Learning Health Sciences and the Center for Global Health Equity at the University of Michigan. She has been a project manager with Dr Akbar Waljee since 2018 and works closely with him in his role as the AKU-UM Collaborative Director and PI of the UZIMA-DS Research Hub. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, she spent time in the private sector and public sector in the areas of nutrition, exercise, metabolism, and aging. She holds a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Ball State University and a doctorate in Nutrition Science from Purdue University.

Chelsea Tatchin

Chelsea Tatchin, MBA is a project manager at the University of Michigan in the Department of Learning Health Sciences. She supports the UZIMA-DS Hub. Her background is in pre-award and post-award administration and finance at both the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Chelsea brings administrative expertise to her role in supporting Dr Waljee’s team since 2022. Some of her interests are operational efficiency and upscaling those around her. She is excited to support global health outcomes through UZIMA-DS.

Jessica Baker

Jessica Baker is a project manager at the University of Michigan working with the UZIMA-DS Hub. Her background is in nursing, where she has worked in both the inpatient and outpatient settings caring for a variety of patients with differing acuities. Upon receiving a master’s degree in Health Care Informatics, she joined UM in 2020 to begin working as a project manager with Dr Waljee and his team. One of her main interests is the intersection of technology and health care to optimize care and improve patient outcomes. She is excited to be a part of this Hub which is at the forefront of utilizing data science to improve health outcomes in Africa.

Elena Frank

Dr Elena Frank is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan. Her research interests focus on the drivers of stress and depression during physician training, and the use of mobile technology to assess and treat depression and differences in depression for men and women. Dr Frank has been the Director of the Intern Health Study for the past four years, which focuses on studying physicians in their first year of post-medical school training using genomics, mobile technology and other tools to understand how stress leads to depression.

Dr Cheryl Moyer

Dr Moyer, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research focuses on the social and cultural factors that influence maternal and neonatal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa with an emphasis on facility-based delivery, neonatal mortality, social autopsy, and the assessment of ‘near -miss mortality’-or those mothers and babies who suffer a life-threatening complication but ultimately survive.

Dr Srijan Sen

Dr Sen, MD, PhD, is the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences, Director of the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center, and Associate Vice President for Research – Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr Sen’s research focuses on the interactions between genes and the environment and their effect on stress, anxiety, and depression. He also leads the Intern Health Study, a multi country longitudinal study of depression and stress among over 20,000 first-year medical residents and has significant expertise in utilizing mobile technology tools to identify predictors of mental health outcomes among medical trainees.

Zhenke Wu

Dr Wu, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Biostatistics, core faculty in the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), and Faculty Associate in the Quantitative Methodology Program, Survey Research Center of Institute for Social Research (ISR), at the University of Michigan. His research interests include the design and application of statistical methods that inform health decisions made by individuals, or precision medicine. Dr. Wu has extensive experience designing and applying novel methods for implementing mobile health interventions and analyzing mobile health data.

Ji Zhu

Prof Zhu, PhD, is a Professor of Statistics at the University of Michigan, the director of the PhD program in Statistics and the Associate Chair of the Department. He is an international leader in statistical machine learning, high dimensional data analysis, and network analysis. He has worked with healthcare researchers on multiple risk prediction projects in the fields of hepatology, genetics, breast cancer, and gastroenterology.

Geoffrey Siwo

Dr Siwo, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Department of Learning Health Sciences and a Research Associate at the University of Michigan Center for Global Health Equity. His research integrates fundamental biology with computational approaches such as AI and systems biology to drive equitable advances in drug discovery and clinical medicine. Previously, he was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame and a Research Scientist at IBM Research Africa and the IBM TJ Watson Research Center. He has served as founder of several technology companies including Anza Biotechnologies and Helix Nanotechnologies and as advisor to Saguaro Capital Management and Immusoft Corporation. 

Noni Mumba

Ms. Mumba, MA, currently heads the Engagement platform at the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP). She has a background in Strategic Behaviour Change Communication, Social Marketing and more recently community and public engagement. Her main interest is in how to develop meaningful interactions between Researchers and Communities in LMICs: not only ensuring that community views and perspectives influence the conduct of research, but also that communities can be inspired by researchers from the region, and scientists by the lessons of quality science communication.

Karisa Kazungu

Karisa is a holder of BSc degree in public health and is passionate about participatory and socially acceptable approaches to finding solutions to the diverse societal problems of public health concern. He is an Assistant Research Officer at KWTRP for the UZIMA-DS under the Dissemination and Sustainability core, in charge of community and public engagement, creating platforms that foster meaningful interactions between researchers and the communities. Additionally, Karisa coordinates media engagement that serves as a vital platform for disseminating health information, discussing public health issues, and engaging with a diverse audience.

Fredrick Odhiambo

Fredrick is the UZIMA-DS Research Project Coordinator at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi. His background training is in clinical medicine and public health, with an extensive experience in coordinating research activities, HIV-related projects. He plays a pivotal role in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the UZIMA_DS research project. Fredrick is passionate about promoting child and maternal well-being and impact outcomes.

Prof Jian Li

Prof Li, PhD, is a psychiatric epidemiologist with research interests in two areas: risk prediction analytics and workplace mental health. In risk prediction research, Dr. Li’s team developed and validated the first sex specific prediction algorithms for the risk of developing major depression in the general population using data from over 10,000 Canadians who were followed for four years. His team also developed and validated the first risk calculator for predicting recurrence of major depression in depressed patients using the longitudinal data from the US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Presently, He is leading a national randomized controlled trial to evaluate the benefits and potential psychological harms associated with disclosing personalized depression risk information.