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. Andrew has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science and Technology from Maseno University, 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. His research interests are in emerging and re-emerging infectious and non-communicable diseases in Kenya.

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.

Lukoye Atwoli

Dr. 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.

Nancy Booker

Dr. Booker, PhD, is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean at the 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. Dr Booker specializes in broadcast journalism, multimedia storytelling, media management and health communication, and has several academic publications in these areas.

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.

Angela Koech-Etyang

Dr. Koech, MBBS, is an Assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aga Khan University and a research scientist at the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, AKU-East Africa. She is a clinically qualified obstetrician with 8 years research experience in maternal health.

Rachel Maina

Rachel is a clinical psychologist (PhD student, MClinPsych) currently working with Aga Khan University as a Research Associate in Brain and Mind Institute. She is skilled and competent in using psychological assessment to create a hypothesis regarding a person’s behavior and personality as well as offering management in the form of psychotherapy. She is an accredited practitioner in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Her mental health research interests are broad and include suicide interventions within hospital and community settings; substance use prevention; mental and physical health connection; as well as neurocognitive measurements and development. She is a recipient of several research grants including a NIH Early Career Researcher PaM-D Developmental Research Grant. She is involved in policy development at the national level where she helps in aligning mental health activities to psychosocial best practices and citizen needs. To this end, she sits in the National Suicide Prevention Technical Working Group. She enjoys time out with family and friends, travelling, food and dancing.

Zul Merali

Dr. 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.

Anthony Ngugi

Dr. 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.

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. His research interests include insomnia, rumination, sleep hygiene, mental health and psychosocial support, health psychology, smartphone addiction, psychological resilience, and well-being.

Agnes Mutua

Agnes is the coordinator for the PRECISE-DYAD study at the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University.  She has an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a BSc in Environmental Health from Kenyatta University, and has postgraduate training in Health Research Methods from KEMRI-Wellcome Trust. Agnes’s research interest is in the relationships between nutrition, social determinants, biological risk factors, and child development and to improve developmental outcomes in young African children. Agnes previously worked as a research officer at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme where she investigated the effects of vitamin D/ iron status and anemia on child neurodevelopment.

Ferdinand Okwaro

Dr. Okwaro, PhD, is a Medical Anthropologist with over 10 years of post-doctoral research experience conducting health research in various contexts and fields at Institutional and community level. His main expertise is in the design and implementation of health research projects employing a mixed method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies. He is also experienced in policy analysis and engagement as well as in evaluation of health programs.

James Orwa

James is the Data manager at the Aga Khan University, East Africa, in the department of population health sciences in-charge of coordinating data management and analysis core activities and data management and analysis for project on UtiliZing health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa through Data Science (UZIMA-DS). He received his MSc in Biostatistics from Hasselt University Belgium and 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.

Saleem Sayani

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.

Marleen Temmerman

Dr. Temmerman, PhD, is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women, Child and Adolescent Health, Aga Khan University 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.

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.

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.

Symon Kariuki

Dr Kariuki heads the Neurosciences Department at KEMRI-WTRP and is a Co-Investigator in the UZIMA DS Early Childhood Development Study. His research interests are in neurodevelopmental comorbidities of epilepsy, and the downstream impacts of pregnancy and early life adversity to the development of these disorders. He has led or collaborated in various pieces of work involving longitudinal or cross-sectional analysis of developmental outcomes following adversities in pregnancy and early life.

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.

Miriam Nyawira

Miriam is a research project coordinator at the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Program, Neurosciences Unit, working with the UZIMA-DS research hub. She has extensive experience in coordinating research projects, with background training in Health Research Methods, Nursing and Public Health, Leadership, Development, and Mentorship. Miriam has authored and co-authored several academic publications among them on the suicidal mind in persons with psychosis and the correlates of suicidality in low- and middle-income countries.

She is delighted to be part of this hub that is dedicated to improving health outcomes in Africa through data science.

Jessica Baker

Ms. 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.

Paul Clyde

Paul Clyde, PhD, is President of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, the Tom Lantos Professor of Business Administration, the Movses and Maija Kaldjian Collegiate Lecturer in Business Economics and Public Policy at the Ross School of Business. Over the past 20 years, he has worked with dozens of companies experimenting with different business models in low- and middle-income countries. This work includes advising or directing more than 100 projects with firms in finance, education and healthcare industries in more than a dozen low- and middle-income countries.

Raymond De Vries

Dr. Raymond, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Learning Health Sciences and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. He is also visiting professor at CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. Professor De Vries served as CBSSM Co-Director from August 2013 to March 2017 and CBSSM Associate Director from April 2017 to December 2020. He is particularly interested in the regulation of science and the production of scientific knowledge; clinical trials of genetic therapies; the export of western moral traditions to non-western societies; and the social, ethical, and policy issues associated with the medicalization of pregnancy and birth.

Elena Frank

Dr. 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 gender differences in depression. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Dr. 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. 

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.

Jian Li Wang

Dr. Wang, PhD, is a psychiatric epidemiologist with research interests in two areas: risk prediction analytics and workplace mental health. In risk prediction research, Dr. Wang’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.