Local Partners/Collaborators

• BRTI
• NIH

Prof midzi

• City of Harare

• MoHCC

Regional Partners/Collaborators

• Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, South Africa University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)
• The Institute of Clinical Research (KAVI-ICR) Kenya
• The Centre for Research on Emerging and re-Emergent Diseases (CREMER) Cameroon
• .Younde
• University of Cape Town, South Africa

European Partners/Collaborators

Pics

Prof Andrew Macpherson from the Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine (University Hospital Bern). https://www.mucosalimmunology.ch/en/

Pics

Prof Randall Platt (ETH Zurich) on a BRCCH project, Living Microbial Diagnostics to Enable Individualised Child Health Interventions. https://bsse.ethz.ch/platt

Pics

Professor Benjamin Misselwitz from the Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine (University Hospital Bern). https://www.mucosalimmunology.ch/en/

Professor Michael Kaess

Professor Marcus Altfeld from Leibniz Institute of Experimental Virology/Heinrich Pette Institute (HPI), Germany, https://www.leibniz-liv.de/

Professor Madeleine Bunders from Leibniz Institute of Experimental Virology/Heinrich Pette Institute (HPI), Germany

Professor Thomas Heinkeimer, Leiden University

Dr ZZZ, Leiden University

Professor Sarah Rowlands Jones University of Oxford, UK

Mentor and advisors are leaders, critical thinkers, expert in their own field of specialisation that guide, give research direction, motivator and provide support to other researchers and students in the process facilitating and ensuring good research is done

Professor Exnevia Gomo

Professor Gomo is an Associate Professor (Immunology) in the Department of Laboratory Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences Unit, and Director of the Research Support Centre (RSC), University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (UZ-FMHS) since 2011. He holds a MSc in Applied Immunology (UK), PhD in Immunology (Denmark) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Research Methodology (Denmark). Prof Gomo has extensive experience in health research in Zimbabwe with regional and international collaboration. He has held several senior research and management positions. From 1998 – 2003 he was a Principal Medical Scientist and Head of the HIV/AIDS Research Unit at the Blair Research Institute (now National Institute of Health Research). In 2003 he joined the UZ as Associate Professor. He has continued to supervise Masters and PhD students. From 2016-2018, he was South Africa Research Chair in Indigenous Health Care Systems at University of KwaZulu-Natal College of Health Sciences. Prof Gomo has over 80 publications in peer reviewed journals.

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Professor Simbarashe Rusakaniko

Professor Rusakaniko is a Professor at the University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. He holds a DPhil degree in Reproductive Health (UZ), MSc Epidemiology and Biostatistics 1997, University of Newcastle, Australia. To date he has over 120 publications published in peer reviewed journals.

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Leolin Katsidzira

Dr Leolin Katsidzira (Leo) is a gastroenterologist in Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe. He did his undergraduate, and specialist training in internal medicine at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe, and trained in gastroenterology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. His PhD thesis was on the epidemiology, and genetics of colorectal cancer in African populations. He started the Gastroenterology Clinic at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare and runs the endoscopy service at the same institutions. His main research interests are in the interplay of diet, the environment, the gut microbiota, and mucosal immunity in the emergency of inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer in Africa, and in the genesis and complications of environmental enteropathy. He maintains an active research interest in helicobacter pylori, chronic Hepatitis B & C in Africa and is actively involved in the development of clinical and academic gastroenterology in Africa. He is the current President of the National Physicians Association of Zimbabwe, and a council member of the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP). 

Prof Zijenah

Professor MZ Chirenje

Professor M Chidzonga

Professor Nathoo

Professor Chitsike

Principal Investigator (PI)

Professor Kerina Duri

PhD, Virology-Immunology, University of Oslo, Norway.

MSc, Biotechnology, University of Zimbabwe (UZ).

BSc (Hons), Biochemistry, UZ.

Prof Kerina Duri is an associate professor at the University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science. Her research interest is in understanding how maternal comorbidities such as HIV, Helicobacter pylori, intestinal helminth infections, malnutrition and mental health affect pregnancy outcomes, infant growth and health. She also has interest in immune development and dysregulation due to gut microbiota profile variations from birth to adolescence, with a special focus on HIV-exposed but uninfected infants and children. Using modest funding received from the Wellcome Trust for her postdoctoral work, the University of Zimbabwe birth cohort study (UZBCS) was established in January 2016 with the aim to understand why these HIV-exposed but uninfected babies were at higher risk of dying. The hypothesis was that their immunity was impaired during foetal development due to maternal exposure to HIV and the baby’s exposure in utero and during the breastfeeding period to the mother’s lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART).

1208 mother-infant pairs were recruited from high density residential areas in Harare. There has been an incredible accumulation of data. Mother –infant /children are now being followed up at year seven. The main strengths of this study are the relatively large sample size with appropriate controls and HIV-infected pregnant women, alongside HIV-uninfected pregnant women, recruited simultaneously from the same community. Thus, all research participants reside in highly similar environmental conditions in high-density areas of Harare, resulting in an unusually homogenous study population.

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Co-Principal Investigator

Professor Felicity Zvanyadza Gumbo

Professor Gumbo holds an MBChB degree from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in 2000, Master of Medicine degree in Paediatrics-UZ (2006) and PhD with the University of Oslo in Norway (2012).

She is involved in running academic programmes, research, and clinical teaching. She is driven to continue designing useful innovative programmes and research to reduce child mortality and morbidity. She aims to develop robust collaborative research programmes and promote quality teaching in the short term for the country.

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Co-Investigators

Dr Mazengera

Dr Chimhuya

Dr Kuona

Dr Kandawasvika

Dr Marere

Dr Ziruma