Bio


Jay is a consultant paediatrician and sub-specialist in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology based at the KEMRI Centre for Geographic Medicine Research Coast and Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya. Jay is the Founder and co-Director of the Childhood Acute Illness & Nutrition (CHAIN) Network of partners in Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Burkina Faso), South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh), UK, USA, Canada and The Netherlands. The CHAIN Network is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The team aims to better understand infectious, immune, metabolic, nutritional, health systems and social pathways to childhood mortality to identify actionable interventions through an epidemiological cohort, systems biology analysis pipeline, social science platform and a multicentre clinical trials platform. Jay joined the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya in 1997. He undertook a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship on invasive bacterial infections and their relationships with malaria, HIV and malnutrition. After completing specialist training in paediatrics and sub-specialist training in paediatric clinical immunology and infectious diseases in the UK, Jay returned to Kilifi.

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Current Work


The focus of his clinical research is serious infection and survival in vulnerable groups of young infants and children, teaching, training and mentorship. The research group addresses aetiology, clinical features and risks for mortality of serious infections in infants and children; mechanistic studies including microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, immunology, metabolomics and proteomics; and clinical trials, including early pharmacokinetics and safety trials, and large international multicentre phase III trials on antimicrobial and nutritional interventions in vulnerable paediatric populations. Jay is involved in the Kenyan national training programme on integrated management of severe acute malnutrition and is an expert adviser to the Ministries of Health and the World Health Organisation.

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Research Groups


Recent publications


Prevalence and Predictors of Adverse Birth Outcomes and Their Implications in Assessing the Safety of New Maternal Vaccines in Kenya.
Nyiro, J. U., Bukusi, E., Mureithi, M. W., Walumbe, D., Nyaguara, A., Kipkoech, C., Nyawanda, B., Bigogo, G., Otieno, N., Aol, G., Audi, A., Murunga, N., Berkley, J. A., Nokes, D. J., Munywoki, P. K.
Pediatr Infect Dis J, (2025). 44:S114-s118

Prediction of inpatient mortality in hospitalised children in low- and middle-income countries: An external validation of paediatric mortality risk scores.
Brals, D., Pradhan, A., Andre-von Arnim, A. V. S., Oron, A. P., Ngari, M., Ngao, N., Mupere, E., Chisti, M. J., Lwanga, C., Afroze, F., Bandsma, R., Walson, J. L., Berkley, J. A., Voskuijl, W.
J Glob Health, (2024). 14:4235

Effect of tropical climates on the quality of commonly used antibiotics: the protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Suleman, S., Hasen, G., Melaku, T., Belew, S., Thitiri, J., Shangala, J., Obiero, C. W., Ngari, M., Berkley, J. A.
BMJ Open, (2025). 15:e090849

Impact of HIV exposure without infection on hospital course and mortality among young children in sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-site cohort study.
Lwanga, C., Aber, P., Tickell, K. D., Ngari, M. M., Mukisa, J., Atuhairwe, M., Brown, L., Mupere, E., Potani, I., Shahrin, L., Morgan, B., Singa, B. O., Nankabirwa, V., Mugambe, R. K., Mukasa, Z., Walson, J. L., Berkley, J. A., Lancioni, C. L.
BMC Med, (2024). 22:573

Cohort profile: the WHO Child Mortality Risk Stratification Multi-Country Pooled Cohort (WHO-CMRS) to identify predictors of mortality through early childhood.
Schwinger, C., Kaldenbach, S., Berkley, J. A., Walson, J. L., Argaw, A., Chowdhury, R., Strand, T. A., Rollins, N.
BMJ Open, (2024). 14:e085164