Biography

Ambrose is the Head of Epidemiology and Demography. He is a paediatrician and epidemiologist with a research career of more than ten years in clinical epidemiology, pragmatic clinical trials, evidence synthesis and clinical guideline implementation. Working closely with the Kenya Ministry of Health, his early research involved conducting systematic reviews for the first national exercise to adapt the WHO paediatric clinical practice guidelines using the GRADE methodology. Following this, Ambrose was Principal Investigator on a pragmatic clinical trial to study the effectiveness of alternative antibiotics for childhood pneumonia whose findings contributed towards a major revision in the Kenyan guidelines. Building on this work, he led a successful grant application jointly awarded by the UK MRC, DFID, NIHR and Wellcome Trust to undertake a large study comparing antibiotic treatments and supportive care strategies in critically-ill children. Alongside this trial, he currently leads the Clinical Information Network - a multi-site implementation science project aimed at promoting quality of clinical documentation, research, and implementation of recommended newborn and paediatric care practices in 19 Kenyan hospitals and one in Tanzania. Ambrose has forged strong links with Government and other national and international institutions. He sits on the Child Health Expert Panel for the Ministry of Health in Kenya providing technical advice to the Ministry on Child Health priorities including immunisation, nutrition, and case management. He is also co-chair of the WHO/UNICEF Child Health Accountability Tracking (CHAT) Technical Advisory Group – a 12-member team with global representation convened to develop a standard set of harmonised indicators for tracking Child Health. As a member of the Kenya Paediatric Association, Ambrose is actively involved in advocacy, medical education and mentorship on how best to implement approaches for the prevention and management of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children.