MU-JHU RESEARCH COLLABORATION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Certified Accountant
• Director
• Director at Alines & Co Consulting

Mr. Twesigye is a Certified Accountant & Auditor currently finalising his LLB Degree at the University of South Africa. He has close to 20 years of demonstrable experience in financial management related assignments working in multi-cultural, national and international organizations, Non-governmental organizations, the Private sector and the Public Sector; including the Uganda Communications Commission, FINCA International, Deloitte & Touché East Africa and Uganda Red Cross Society. Mr. Twesigye is currently the Director at Alines & Co Consulting, a private firm that offers various consultancy services including internal auditing, IT auditing, Risk management, and corporate governance among others. He served as an audit Board committee Member for Baylor College of Medicine & Ministry of Finance. He was a past President of the Institute of Internal Auditors Uganda. Alex has also worked for the government of Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure and attached Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) as an Internal Audit & Risk Management consultant. Alex's most recent achievement is the development of an Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (ERM) software "RiskAware". The release of the first version was completed in March 2013, together with a team of Computer Scientists from Makerere University.

Brenda C. Kakayi, BPharm, DPAM, MSc Epi has over 23 years of extensive experience in studies aimed at finding means of reducing mother to child transmission of HIV, best treatment options for HIV infected patients and other options in the prevention of HIV infection of HIV-negative individuals, TB prevention and treatment studies as well as vaccines for prevention of various infections. She has been the CRS Pharmacist of Record (PoR) for close to 18 years and has worked on various NIH funded studies (ACTG, IMPAACT, MTN and HPTN) as the site PoR and Associate Pharmacist. She has experience in the pharmacy aspects involved in the conduct of Phase 1, 2, 3 and 4 trials and has demonstrated great leadership and guidance of the site's pharmacy team in the conduct of these trials. She has also been involved in protocol development for non NIH-funded studies. She is a 2023 IMPAACT Early Career Investigator Award recipient where she is studying "Insulin-like Growth Factor/Growth Hormone Levels and Stunting in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Children from the 1077BF/P1084s study".

Job Titles:

• Director
• Hospital Administrator

David Nuwamanya is a worldwide international mentor in health systems Leadership, Management and Governance under World Health Organization (WHO)/ African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). A result-oriented Administrator with 24 years of experience in the Public-Sector Management, He has good interpersonal and analytical skills. He holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and Management, and a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences majoring in Public and Social Administration plus a number of other professional qualifications. David has been a Hospital Administrator under the Ministry of Health since 1996 rising through accelerated promotion to the level of Principal Hospital Administrator in 2007. He is currently the Principal administrator of Mulago National Referral Hospital. In 2007 he was assigned as a Project Focal Person for the Rehabilitation and Remodeling of Masaka Hospital where he achieved 100% of the Project targets which included Construction of New Outpatient and theatre blocks; training staff in various fields; and equipping of the Hospital. As an Administrator, David has been involved in a number of projects under the Health Sector. In 2000 under Masaka Hospital he was a member of the team that wrote a proposal to the American Health Care foundation for the treatment of HIV patients on free ARVs which later developed into the Uganda Cares Project in Uganda. Uganda Cares is currently among the biggest Non-Governmental Organizations offering free treatment to HIV patients. In 2013 he was assigned the Project Focal Person for the African Development Bank-funded Project for Improvement of Health Services Delivery in Mulago and the City of Kampala Project (MKCCAP). The key components in this project were Rehabilitation, Remodeling and equipping of Mulago National Referral Hospital; Training of Health Workers, Improvement of systems through the Integrated Health Management Systems. In 2014 he was also assigned by the Ministry of Health to coordinate the Project of Strengthening Maternal and Neonatal Services Project (SMNUP) funded by the Islamic Development Bank. This was responsible for the Construction of the Mulago National Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital including equipping of the facility as well as training of the Health Workers. Through the execution of duties of a Hospital Administrator and Management of these projects He has acquired skills in Management, Monitoring and Evaluation; Human Resource and Financial Management; Customer Care and Public Relations, Report writing, team leadership and support.

Job Titles:

• Director of Strategic Planning and Partnerships at Makerere University - Johns Hopkins University
• Director, Strategic Planning and Partnerhips
• Director, Strategic Planning and Partnerships Division

Denis Akakimpa currently the Director of Strategic Planning and Partnerships at Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University (MU-JHU) Research Collaboration (MU-JHU Care Ltd), is a health care business strategist and public health scientist. A Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, Denis received his Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Queensland, Australia, and was the recipient of Australia Awards for Africa, and the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostic Innovation award. He comes with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and is also a Medical Laboratory Scientist. He comes to this position with extensive leadership experience in the medical research and care industry, including strategic management, business development, program and project management, diagnostic innovation, grant writing, and partnerships management. Denis has research experience as a scientist, coordinator, and investigator, and has contributed to scientific innovations protected by intellectual property rights. Over his 17-year career in the medical research industry, he has provided technical leadership in business development, strategic management, organizational design, and organizational development. This includes providing technical advice for strategic decisions and supporting the highest levels of leadership at the Executive level and the Board for the execution of strategic and business plans. Denis has outstanding experience in program and project leadership of grants funded under various arrangements in Uganda, including with nationwide scope. He has also led the design, implementation, and commercialization planning for diagnostic initiatives in the medical care space. Denis has a keen interest in partnership building, writing, branding and resource mobilization.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Physician
• Permanent Secretary

Dr. Atwine is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uganda. She is charged with technical leadership as well as stewardship of all financial resources at the Ministry. She is currently focused on introducing reforms in culture, ethics and values in the sector, which she believes will increase quality and access to health care. She is a staunch crusader against corruption in the health sector. Dr. Atwine is a physician specialist in internal medicine with post-graduate training in ‘Project Planning and Management. She also did ‘Improving the quality of Health Services, from Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. She has rich experience in International Clinical Trials and bio-ethics, especially in HIV/AIDS. A Personal Physician to the President of Uganda, Dr Atwine is also the former Director of the Health Monitoring Unit under Statehouse whose role is to ensure a responsive and accountable national healthcare system through access to care. She is a strong advocate for integrity, transparency, and results-oriented performance.

Job Titles:

• Director of the Quality Management Division
• Director, Quality Management

Dr. Agnes Mary Mugagga (MBCHB) is the Director of the Quality Management Division. She is a Medical Doctor and a Member of the Research Quality Association RQA with more than 10 years of experience in clinical research. Dr. Mugagga is committed to supporting study teams to ensure the quality and integrity of scientific research at MU-JHU. A clinician with good knowledge of GCP, local research guidelines and US-funded research guidelines and is experienced in the implementation and maintenance of QA systems.

Job Titles:

• Senior Investigator for MU - JHU Care Ltd

Dr. Brenda Gati Mirembe is a medical doctor and Senior Investigator for MU-JHU Care Ltd. She has over 10 years of experience in research conduct most especially in the area of primary HIV prevention among adolescent girls and women. She has worked on a number of studies looking at various PrEP products for HIV prevention under the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) and HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) portfolios in various capacities. Dr. Mirembe's passion is to see more diverse products for HIV prevention that women can choose from that include multipurpose technologies. Products that can empower women and young girls to take control of their lives, their sexual health and control of sexually transmitted infections in general.

Job Titles:

• Consultant

Dr. Irene Lubega is a Consultant Paediatrician with over 20 years of experience working a Mulago National Referral Hospital and conducting research at MU-JHU Care Ltd. She has been an Investigator in several HIV clinical trials that focused on prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. These studies included among others, the NIH funded HIVNET012, HIVIGLOB/NVP, PROMISE Study and the P1092 study. She is currently the Co-PI for the MIRASOL study, a pathogen reduction study to improve blood safety.

Job Titles:

• Researcher
• Associate Director, Clinic Division

Job Titles:

• Investigator and Program Manager for the Mirasol

Dr. Ronnie Kasirye is an Investigator and Program Manager for the Mirasol trial (MERIT). A trial evaluating the use of pathogen reduction technology to improve blood safety. He is an Epidemiologist with vast experience in clinical research and management in health. Before joining MU-JHU he worked as the Deputy Director for the Ugandan Academy for Health Innovations and Impact at the Infectious Disease Institute, a Postdoctoral fellow with the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (Tanzania), and a Senior Scientist with the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS. Most of his work has been in the fields of HIV and malaria where he has authored a number of publications. Ronnie holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London) and a Bachelor's degree in Medicine and Surgery from Makerere University.

Job Titles:

• Chairman
• Chairman of the Board
• Director - General of the Uganda National Health Research Organization

Dr. Sam Okware is the Director-General of the Uganda National Health Research Organization; he regulates epidemiological, biomedical and social research in HIV/AIDS. He holds a PhD in emerging new infections and has got 25 years of experience in the management of public health services. When the HIV AIDS pandemic emerged he was the Director responsible for Public Health and communicable disease control in the Ministry of Health, Uganda. He coordinated the early containment of HIV AIDS in the country. He is known for his pioneering work and research on HIV/AIDs. He led the development and implementation of the first national AIDS control program in Africa, which remains the basis of AIDS control in the region. The program was associated with a remarkable decline in the HIV prevalence from 18% to 6% in Uganda. Community-based programs for schools, religious and civil society were critical elements of these interventions. Dr. Okware coordinated the evolution of the AIDS Support Organization (TASO) and UWESO for orphans. From 2017 to 2020 he was Chairman of the national HIV Prevention Committee composed of various partners and stakeholders at the Uganda AIDS Commission.

Job Titles:

• Director, Research

Job Titles:

• Director, Human Resource Division

Job Titles:

• Director, Psychosocial Support

Job Titles:

• Director, Clinic Division

Job Titles:

• Vice Chairperson
• Vice Chairperson of the Board
• Vice President
• AIDS Researcher

Prof. Brooks Jackson became the UI Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Carver College of Medicine in November 2017. As vice president for medical affairs, he is responsible for integrated planning and operations for the University of Iowa Health Care, which is comprised of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and UI Physicians, the state's largest multi-speciality physician group practice. A powerful resource for Iowa, UI Health Care has a total impact of more than $4 billion on the state's economy and is responsible for more than 33,000 jobs in the state. Jackson is an internationally recognized AIDS researcher who is board-certified in pathology and transfusion medicine. He was the Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health-funded International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network, which conducted landmark clinical trials for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and the treatment of pediatric HIV infection and complications.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Medical Doctor

Prof. Florence Maureen Mirembe is a medical doctor, a practicing Obstetrician/Gynaecologist. She is a retired Professor from Makerere University, College of Health Sciences where she worked as a University Professor, a researcher, a clinical service provider and mentor to many within her own discipline and other related areas. She is currently a professor at Uganda Christian University in the Faculty of Science and Technology- Save the Mother program which she and two other colleagues founded.

Job Titles:

• Director

Professor Mary Glenn Fowler is a paediatrician and clinical researcher who has focused her research career on HIV prevention and treatment in the U.S. and internationally. She received her BA from the U. of Washington, her Medical degree from U. of Oregon Health Sciences, completed her pediatric residency at Wake Forest Medical Center, Bowman Gray School of Medicine and did a fellowship in Developmental Pediatrics at U of North Carolina-Chapel Hill., NC. She then stayed on as faculty in Department of Pediatrics UNC-Chapel, until she moved to the DC area, and did an MPH at Johns Hopkins U. School of Public Health, after which she worked on prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and pediatric HIV treatment at the Division of AIDS, NIAID from 1991-1999; then for six years at CDC before moving to The Johns Hopkins U. School of Medicine, where she worked onsite at the Makerere U. Johns Hopkins U. (MU-JHU) Research Collaboration in Kampala Uganda from 2005 through 2014. Dr. Fowler then moved back to Johns Hopkins U. School of Medicine, Baltimore MD. For the past three decades Dr. Fowler has devoted her research career to the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT); along with treatment and care for HIV infected mothers, children; and more recently to HIV prevention among high-risk women and adolescents. During her research career, Dr. Fowler has helped support a number of cutting-edge HIV prevention and treatment clinical trials in both Africa and the Far East (Thailand and India). These trials have contributed to our knowledge of PMTCT and treatment interventions which are safe, efficacious and deliverable in resource-limited settings among breastfeeding HIV Infected women; to optimizing antiretroviral treatment regimens that optimize overall maternal and child survival; and to highly efficacious and safe PrEP among high-risk women and adolescents. Her international research has included the landmark HIVNET 12 trial, as well as multiple other PMTCT trials addressing ways to reduce the risk of transmission from mothers to infants during both pregnancy and breastfeeding. These trials including the CDC funded Kisumu Breast milk open-label trial conducted in 2003-2005, which assess the safety and efficacy of maternal ART for PMTCT, as well as two large trials assessing the safety and efficacy of infant NVP to prevent transmission during breastfeeding, the PEPI trial conducted in Malawi and the multisite HPTN 046. Most recently Dr. Fowler chaired the IMPAACT PROMISE 1077BF and 1077FF trials which were conducted at 15 African and 1 Indian site that compared the efficacy/safety of maternal ART to other effective regimens.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Clinical Researcher

Job Titles:

• Director
• Principal ( Head ) of Makerere University College of Health Sciences

Prof. Nelson Sewankambo is a Professor of Medicine and former Principal (Head) of Makerere University College of Health Sciences a position which he took up after serving as Dean of Makerere University Medical School for 11 years. He has devoted the last 20 years of his professional life to the advancement of medical education, research and capacity development. He is the Principal Investigator of NURTURE: Research Training and Mentoring Program for Career Development of Faculty at Makerere University College of Health Science D43TW010132 (08/31/15-08/31/2021) which has supported 70 junior and mid-level faculty with appropriate mentorship, research support and skills training that has enabled them to transform into independent research leaders. He has led teams of academicians composed of experts in Europe, North America and Africa to develop and manage a very successful model for strengthening a medical school in the developing world - the Infectious Diseases Institute at Makerere and there are now plans to replicate this in Nigeria. He also initiated a successful research capacity building consortium currently involving six African institutions (3 universities and 3 research institutes) and two universities in the UK, Cambridge University and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He provided leadership for an Africa wide initiative for Strengthening Research Capacity in Africa (ISHReCA). He was the Principal Investigator of a 5 university Consortium a capacity-building Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). He was the founder Principal Investigator in Uganda for the internationally re-known Rakai Health Sciences Program (formerly Rakai Project) where he continues to be an active researcher/investigator and has contributed to a large volume of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals together with providing mentorship and development of many Ugandan junior and mid-level researchers.

Philippa Musoke, MBChB, FAAP, PhD, MU-JHU Executive Director, is a paediatric infectious disease specialist by training and the former Head of Paediatrics and Child Health at Makerere University, College of Health Sciences. She has published widely on the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) clinical trials and on paediatric antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings. Dr. Musoke has served as a technical advisor to WHO and is the Chair of the National PMTCT Technical Advisory Committee and Paediatric ART sub-committee for the Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH). She has been a lead investigator on a number of NIH DAIDS PMTCT clinical trials; HIVNET012, PETRA, HPTN046, SWEN/HIVIGLOB, PROMISE and IMPAACT 2010; and also served as lead investigator for an operational PMTCT project using peer ‘sengas' (or culturally influential ‘aunties') to improve adherence to ART and retention in care for pregnant women on Option B+ in Kampala and a rural Mpigi District. After the HIVNET 012 trial results were released in 1999, Prof. Philippa Musoke and other investigators at MU-JHU assisted the MOH with the national scale-up of the single-dose nevirapine (NVP) regimen for PMTCT across Uganda and subsequent improvements in eMTCT interventions. She has also been involved in multiple paediatric HIV/TB treatment trials including pharmacokinetic studies; P1060, P1070, P1092, P1093, P1115, Odyssey, ARROW, D3 and SHINE. She also received the EGPAF International Leadership Award where she conducted a study to determine the efficacy of the adult fixed-dose combination ART in children when paediatric formulations were not readily available. She is currently the Executive Director for MU-JHU Care Ltd and the principal investigator of the CDC funded Birth Defects Surveillance project.

Job Titles:

• Director

Richard Brough was the Executive Director at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), College of Health Sciences, Makerere University from 2014 to 2018; and was IDI Head of Strategic Planning and Development from 2005 - responsible for strategic planning, resource generation, grants management, and monitoring and evaluation. Dr. Brough's professional background is operational research (PhD from University of Warwick, UK) followed by management consultancy in London. Since 1992, he has worked full-time in institutional development, health services planning and strategic health program management in the South Pacific, Philippines, India, Uganda and Indonesia for a range of development agencies; and in both Government and NGO sectors.

Zubair Lukyamuzi, MBChB, MPH, is a researcher with more than 6 years of experience in clinical research with a focus on infectious diseases, particularly HIV management and prevention research. Since 2015, he has worked as a medical research officer and coordinator on the IMPAACT network, PEPFAR non-network, Gilead health science and NIH funded studies including the large PRomotion Of Mother and Infant Survival Everywhere (PROMISE), PRomise Ongoing MOniToring and Evaluation (PROMOTE) and Bone mineral density changes among people living with HIV who have started with TDF containing regimen (BONE-STAR). He has been also a principal investigator on NIH funded grants including the NIH funded "Health Professions Education and Training for Strengthening the Health Systems and Services in Uganda_ HEPI-SHSSU (Grant no. IR25TW11213), and Fogarty-NIH funded grant #D43TW009340 which he used to conduct a study evaluating the role of Community Health Workers in supporting disclosure among Adults living with HIV in heterosexual relationships. He is skilled in implementation research with a WHO certificate in implementation science, and a certificate in advanced epidemiology from the University of California, San Francisco, USA.