I am a public health expert, research scientist and associate professor at the University of Malawi, College of Medicine (CoM). My research career has focused on the epidemiology of malaria and HIV. As an educator, I run various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, including HIV, Research Methodology and Maternal and Child Health. I participated in the establishment of the MPH programme at the CoM and served as its Course Coordinator for nearly 2 years. I also worked as the field Director of the Fogarty-sponsored Infectious Disease Epidemiology Training Programme at the CoM (5 D43TW006568, PI Steven Meshnick) for nearly 4 years, which supported several Malawian students to undertake Masters and PhD studies. Over the years, I have gained great experience setting up and running epidemiological studies in Malawi and training students at the CoM, in conceptualizing research questions that attempt to address the health needs of Malawi. I have also successfully supervised several postgraduate students at Masters and doctoral levels. Currently, I am the PI of two large HIV research projects (including an implementation research project) which could serve as excellent platforms for postgraduate students to undertake their research projects. As an Associate Professor, one of my goals is to train of a critical mass of infectious disease epidemiologists to serve in academic, research and public health institutions in Malawi.
I currently serve as Co-PI for the MHIRST D43 Training Grant through UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases.