Kemri | Wellcome Trust

Seminal intervention trials that fed directly into national and international policy

Conducting seminal intervention trials against malaria that have fed directly into national and international policy which has contributed to the prevention of millions of deaths; these include trials of impregnated bed nets, the prevention of malaria in pregnant women, interventions to improve community based treatment and interventions to increase access to safe effective drugs.

Developing new approaches to mapping and estimating the burden of diseases globally

Developing new approaches to mapping and estimating the burden of malaria and other diseases in Kenya, Africa and globally and making it openly available for policy makers and researchers.

New approaches to building scientific capacity and leadership in Kenya and the region

Developing new approaches to building scientific capacity and leadership in Kenya and the region by attracting the brightest graduates as masters and PhD students and providing the infrastructure for them to develop their careers as researchers. Researchers trained though the programme have won international recognition and gone on to lead research groups in many institutions in Kenya and the region.

Cutting edge research to better understand immunity to malaria, bacterial and viral diseases

Conducting cutting edge research to better understand immunity to malaria, bacterial and viral diseases. This feeds in to our participation in large trials of a range of new vaccines to protect children from some of the most important causes of disease and death.

New approaches to community engagement and working in vulnerable communities

Developing new approaches to community engagement and understanding the ethical dimensions of working in vulnerable communities which have been widely influential in international health research.

How to not only know major causes of acute illness but also their long term effects on children’s development

Establishing a unique long term picture of population health in Kilifi County through a platform that links clinical events with high quality laboratory data and demographic surveillance of a population of nearly 300,000. These approaches have been extended with colleagues across Africa to understand not only the major causes of acute illness but the long term effects on childrenâ€™s development.

Understanding of how different bacterial, parasitic and viral infections interact with host factors

Developing a focus on the sick child, which has provided a new understanding of how different bacterial, parasitic and viral infections interact with host factors such as nutrition and genetic factors. This has led to large scale intervention trials to improve the treatment of sick children and country wide work to understand how best to improve service delivery in the Kenyan health system