Mary was trained in clinical medicine where she obtained her diploma and later worked as a clinical officer with the Tanzanian government. Subsequently, Mary spent time working worked for organizations including the Tanzania Red Cross Society and a national family-planning NGO called UMATI. She is currently working at Concern Worldwide in Tanzania. Mary’s areas of specialization include reproductive health, adolescent sexual reproductive health, STIs & HIV/ AIDS and gender. While in Ireland, Mary will be trained in social science research design, data analysis and qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her training will aid her both with her immediate goal of completing a research paper necessary for the achievement of her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, which she is completing through Open University (Dar-es-Salaam), and will also help her in her work with Concern Tanzania in the longer term.

The CDPC hosted Mary between July and October 2009.
 

Anderson WambuguAnderson Wambugu obtained his MSc in Biotechnology at Kenyatta University, after having completing his undergraduate studies at Kenya Polytechnic.

Anderson is currently employed at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Kabete, Kenya, where he works to improve the livestock industry in the region through development of vaccines and diagnostics of diseases of economic importance. These diseases include heart water, CCPP, avian flu, Rift Valley fever and CBPP. He has also worked as the only biological scientific research associate with Washington State University for nine years, in their Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Programme (SR-CRSP) based in Kenya and has vast knowledge of hybridoma technology.

Anderson is also involved in recombinant DNA work for the expression of possible diagnostic reagents and components. As much of his work involves proteomics and molecular biology techniques, Anderson’s training with the CDPC will cover aspects of immunochemistry, advanced molecular biology and proteomics (including cloning and expression work). He will train with the Consortium from January to May 2009.

Michael Kibe is a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine at the University of Nairobi, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Dr Michael KibeBiochemistry and Molecular Biology. Michael obtained his Ph.D from Brunel University in Middlesex, U.K., after having completed a Masters at the University of London and an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry/Botany at the University of Nairobi.

Michael has published widely and has been awarded numerous post-doctoral fellowships in Japan (Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine), the United States (The Albert Enstein College of Medicine, New York), Kenya (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) and France (Centre Natonal de la Recherche Scientifique and Universite des Science et Technologies de Lille).

Michael’s research interests are in infectious diseases focusing on diagnostics, vaccines, differential gene expression, multidrug resistance, data mining and functional genomics in intracellular protozoan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii and Theileria parva. He has recently been researching plant bioactive compounds for treatment of drug resistant bacteria and parasite isolates.

Michael will train with the CDPC from January to May 2009.

Idda Mosha is a Medical Sociologist from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She obtained her BA (Sociology) from the University of Dar es Salaam where she

Idda Mosha

researched the attitudes of youths on condom as a preventive measure against HIV/AIDS in Moshi rural district.

Idda obtained her MA (Sociology) from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2005, where she completed her dissertation on reflections on condom use among adults, a case study of the police officers cohort in Dar es Salaam.

Since 2007, Idda has been working as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).

During her training period in Ireland, Idda studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she learned took classes in qualitative and quantitative research methods and statistics. In particular, she learned about survey methods, sampling techniques, data summarization and presentation, probability and sampling, interpreting data using SPSS, correlation and regression and inferential statistics and continuous data.

While in Ireland, Idda learned that she had been successful in her application for a Ph.D in Medical Sociology at the University of Radboud Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and began research there in January 2009.

Kalule has been involved in teaching, research, and community outreach as a Makerere University academic member of staff since February 2007. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Dr Kalule John BoscoMedicine degree in Microbiology at Makerere University's Medical School in Kampala and will begin research in Immunology of neglected diseases in Uganda in 2009. In May 2007, he was trained in management of Avian Influenza by the National Task Force on Avian Influenza.

As part of his duties at the university, he teaches Immunology to undergraduate students and is also part of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Gender Committee.

During Kalule's first degree, he carried out research aimed at livelihood enhancement of dwellers of peri-urban Kampala and the evaluation of selected management parameters affecting small scale commercial poultry farmers; and during this research he interfaced extensively with peri-urban low income earners.

While in Ireland, Kalule trained in the Immunology laboratories at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and given training in the following techniques:

• Cell culture
• PCR
• Plasmid cloning
• Water microbiology
• Food microbiology
• ELISA
• H and E staining
• Flow cytometry
• PCNA staining
• Agarose gel electrophoresis
• RFLP
• Clinical microbiology

Kalule was also heavily involved in the CDPC Education Outreach lecture series, where he toured the country with the CDPC's Education Officer Joe Clowry, giving presentations to second-level students on HIV/AIDS and other diseases of poverty.

Kalule spent a week training in University Hospital Galway, where he was given training in salmonella serotyping, phage typing, pulse field gel electrophoresis and public health microbiology. During his time off, Kalule visited Dublin and spent a weekend in Southampton, England, where he visited family friends.

Brenda is 31 years old and has trained professionally as a medical doctor. Her research interests include, in particular, infectious disease, anDr Brenda Nabitulad she is currently pursuing immunology as method in which to study this. Brenda is also interested in teaching and academia, and hopes to be a professor one day. While she hasn’t yet undertaken any major research, she hopes to launch into it upon completion of her MMed. Brenda’s other interests include reading; in particular, cooking, art and travel.

Brenda trained with the CDPC from July to October 2008. During her time in Ireland, she worked in Immunology labs in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, learning molecular techniques including:

• PCR
• Nucleic acid isolation
• Tissue culture
• Isolation of PBMCs
• HLA typing
• Electrophoresis
• Immunoassays using ELISA

Brenda spent much time lecturing on the CDPC's Education Outreach lecture series, where she toured the country with CDPC Education Officer Joe Clowry, giving presentations to second-level studentson HIV/AIDS and other diseases of poverty.

Brenda also spent time training at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where she learned techniques including immunofluoresence, radioimmunodiffusion and sero HLA typing. During her free time, Brenda spent time in Cork and Dublin, not forgetting to visit the Guinness Brewery before she left!