Bio

Patience Kiyuka is a Principal Research Scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and serves as the malaria work package lead at the East Africa Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR3). EACCR3 is part of the EDCTP2 program, which is supported by the European Union. Her research encompasses infectious disease studies, science communication, and capacity building.   Some of her career highlights include winning the National Academies Eric & Wendy Schmidt Award for Science Communication in 2023, being recognized as a National Geographic Explorer in 2022, and securing fellowships as a fellow at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Oxford, UK, in 2023, and as a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health in the USA in 2021.   Patience is dedicated to mentoring early-career researchers, especially women in science. She actively participates in these efforts through the Capacity Building for Female Scientists in East Africa (CAFÉ-SEA) project. CAFÉ-SEA is a multidisciplinary PhD training program, funded by UKAID and DFID through the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). The programme aims to equip female scientists from underrepresented countries in the Eastern Africa region with essential skills and knowledge in infectious diseases research.   Patience earned her PhD in Life Sciences from the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. She also holds an MSc in Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a BSc in Biochemistry from Kenyatta University in Kenya.

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Current Work

My current work at KEMRI- Wellcome Trust Research Programme is multifaceted and centered on improving public health outcomes through enhanced disease diagnosis, surveillance, and targeted intervention strategies. Here’s a consolidated description of my projects:

  • Monitoring Febrile Infections: I lead efforts to monitor acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses. By deploying advanced molecular diagnostics and epidemiological surveillance, we aim to identify the underlying pathogens more accurately and thereby improve clinical management and treatment outcomes.
  • Malaria Research in Pregnant Women: My team investigates Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in pregnant women receiving IPTp-SP. This research evaluates how IPTp-SP influences gametocyte prevalence, which is crucial for understanding malaria transmission dynamics and optimizing preventive strategies in pregnancy.
  • Enhanced Malaria Surveillance: I oversee surveillance projects that focus on improving diagnostic accuracy for malaria episodes. By integrating innovative diagnostic tools and data analysis, we are refining our ability to differentiate malaria from other febrile illnesses, which ultimately guides better treatment decisions.
  • Improving HPV Vaccine Uptake: Recognizing the critical need to boost vaccine coverage, I am mapping the barriers to HPV vaccine uptake to improve vaccine acceptance and reducing HPV-related disease burdens.
Collectively, these projects represent a holistic approach that combines rigorous field surveillance, innovative diagnostics, and strategic public health interventions to enhance disease management and prevention

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Recent publications

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