​Population Health Faculty  

Our team consists of highly-skilled multi-disciplinary faculty with expertise from the medical, public health, social, demography, statistical and policy sciences. Our vision is to contribute to the health of populations, particularly those most in need, by using a population health science approach.

Full-Time Faculty​

Dr Anthony Ngugi (PhD, MSc, DLSHTM)
Associate​ Professor and Chair

Dr Anthony Ngugi is the Chair and an Epidemiologist at the Department of Population Health at the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. He is a trained Veterinary Surgeon (2001, University of Nairobi, Kenya). He graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (2007, University of Nairobi, Kenya) and a PhD and Post-graduate Diploma (research) in Epidemiology and Population Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2012, London, United Kingdom) on Epidemiology of epilepsy in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Ngugi is a population health researcher with over 10 years of experience in health research in Africa. His interests include epilepsy, health systems strengthening, community health and maternal and child health and statistical aspects of epidemiology.

He has co-led a large multicenter study of epidemiology of epilepsy covering over 600,000 population in demographic surveillance sites in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa. Dr Ngugi has also been involved as a co-investigator in the Countdown to 2015 Kenya Country Case Study and Principal Investigator in the Countdown to 2030 - Kenya Chapter. These analyses are aimed at tracking country progress and its determinants towards the achievement of MDGs and SDGs targets related to Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health.

Dr Ngugi is a member of the International Epidemiological Association (IEA) and the Health Systems Global (HSG). He sits in the global Aga Khan University Research Council (URC), the Aga Khan University (Nairobi) Research Committee (RC), and the Family Medicine Departmental Research Committee (DRC). He also coordinates the Research Methods course for the Medical College in Nairobi.​

Publications

Dr Eunice Muthoni Mwangi, ​(Phd, MPH, BEd Sci)

Assistant Professor

Dr Eunice Muthoni Mwangi is a Health Systems Management scientist at the Department of Population Health​, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa​. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master’s in Public Health from Moi University, Kenya and a PhD in Health Systems Management from Kenya Methodist University, Kenya.

Dr Eunice is also a Trainer of Trainers (ToT) in Leadership Management and Governance in Health, and a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K). Dr Eunice has skills and competencies in training and undertaking research in Health Systems Strengthening (HSS), specifically in the areas of Health Care Financing, Health Products and Technologies, Managing Health Workforce, Quality Health Services delivery, Stewardship, and Health Information Management.

Prior to joining the Department of Population Health, Dr Eunice was a lecturer, mentor and researcher at Kenya Methodist University, Department of Health Systems Management in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

With more than seven years of experience, Dr Eunice’s work on health and health systems research is focused on informing strategies for achieving Universal Health Coverage. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals.

Publications

Dr Rosebella Iseme-Ondiek (Clinical Epidemiologist)

Dr Rosebella Iseme-Ondiek is a Clinical Epidemiologist at the Department of Population Health, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa, where she teaches research and epidemiological methods as well as provides methodological support to research projects conducted by faculty and students. 

She has more than 10 years experience in health-related research primarily focussing on non-communicable diseases. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science as well as a Master of Public Health and a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and Community Medicine, from University of Newcastle, Australia.

Rosebella's current research activities lay in the area of the gut microbiota-immune system crosstalk in health and disease, and in particular finding ways to modulate this relationship to promote health and disease management in chronic ailments. She is also involved as co-investigator in studies focused on delineating and intervening upon sexual and reproductive health behaviors amongst various Kenyan populations.

She has extensive experience undertaking population based longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials as well as analysing large longitudinal data sets. Her competency also encompasses management of research projects throughout their life cycle from proposal development, implementation, close out, as well as manuscript preparation and publication. She also provides scholarly review of manuscripts for publication for various journals. 

Publications

1. Iseme, R. A., McEvoy, M., Kelly, B., Agnew, L., Walker, F. R., Boyle, M., & Attia, J. (2018). A cross sectional study of the association between autoantibodies and qualitative ultrasound index of bone in an elderly sample without clinical autoimmune disease. Journal of Immunology Research. Volume 2018, Article ID 9407971, 19 pages.
   

2. Iseme, R.A., McEvoy, M., Kelly, B., Agnew, L., Attia, J., Walker, F.R., Oldmeadow, C., Handley, T. (2017). A Role for Autoantibodies in Atherogenesis. Cardiovascular Research. 113(10):1102-1112. Editor's Choice.

3. Iseme, R.A., McEvoy, M., Kelly, B., Agnew, L., Attia, J., Walker, F.R. (2014). Autoantibodies and, Depression, Evidence for a Causal Link? Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 40:62-79. ​
   

Dr Roselyter Riang'a-Obiria, (PhD, MPhil, BA - Social Scientist)

Assistant Professor​

Dr Roselyter is a Social Scientist at the Department of Population Health, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. She holds a PhD in Trans-disciplinary Global Health from Vrije Universteit (VU University) Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, Master’s Degree in Sociology and Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Studies.

Dr Roselyter provides faculty consultative support and training in Qualitative Research methodology, and community engagement best practices in research and innovations. She is interested in understanding human behaviour and how this relates to their adoption of innovations and to translate this understanding into informed guidance on developing contextualized policies and innovations that improve the social and health well-being of people in low-and-middle-income countries. 

Dr Roselyter has over 10 years of teaching experience at the university level. Prior to joining Aga Khan University, Roselyter was a lecturer of Sociology and Community Development at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya, where she mentored and supervised postgraduate and undergraduate students’ research projects. She was also involved in university research projects and held various university administrative appointments. In addition, Dr. Roselyter has worked as an adjunct lecturer for various institutions, and worked in the banking sector retail section, lately as a Customer Care Manager.

Dr Roselyter provides scholarly reviews of manuscripts for publication in various journals, and has conducted a number of qualitative and mixed methods scientific studies and authored a number of publications in highly referenced journals. Her research and publications revolve around maternal nutrition and health interventions, food and nutrition security, gerontology and sustainable development. Her current research activities are in the thematic areas of ageing and health, cervical cancer, and food & nutrition security.

Publications​

1. Riang’a RM, Nangulu AK, Broerse JEW. Implementation fidelity of nutritional counselling, iron and folic acid supplementation guidelines and associated challenges in rural Uasin Gishu County Kenya. BMC Nutr. 2020;6: 1–27. doi:10.1186/s40795-020-00403-1

2. Riang’a RM, Broerse J, Nangulu AK. Food beliefs and practices among the Kalenjin pregnant women in rural Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2017;13: 29. doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0157-8

3. Riang’a RM, Nangulu AK, Broerse JEW. “I should have started earlier, but I was not feeling ill!” Perceptions of Kalenjin women on antenatal care and its implications on initial access and differentials in patterns of antenatal care utilization in rural Uasin Gishu County Kenya. Moyer CA, editor. PLoS One. 2018;13: e0202895. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0202895

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Dr James Orwa Kenyatta, (Biostatistics and Data Science)

Assistant Professor

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Dr James Orwa is a public health researcher and educator with over 15 years of experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Statistics from Maseno University, an MSc in Biostatistics from Hasselt University, and a PhD in Health Sciences from Ghent University. In addition, he is a data science fellow from University of Michigan under the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) program.

Dr Orwa has served as the lead statistician for various household surveys on maternal, newborn, and child health across Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Pakistan, and Mozambique. He has also been involved in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in East Africa at the same capacity. Additionally, he contributed as a chapter analyst for the Injection Safety section of the 2012 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey.

Currently, Dr Orwa teaches biostatistics, machine learning, data science, and research methods. His research interests focus on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, as well as TB and HIV. He is also passionate about leveraging data science and machine learning techniques in public health research.​

With a strong background in data analysis, Dr Orwa is an experienced tutor in advanced data analysis, where he mentors students and professionals in mastering analytical tools for impactful research.

Publications​

1. Wanyonyi S, Orwa J, Ozelle H, Martinez J, Atsali E, Vinayak S, Temmerman M, Figueras F: Routine third trimester ultrasound for the detection of small for gestational age in low-risk pregnancies (ROTTUS) study: a randomized controlled trial. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology 2021.

2. Orwa J, Gatimu SM, Mantel M, Luchters S, Mugerwa MA, Brownie S, et al. Birth preparedness and complication readiness among women of reproductive age in Kenya and Tanzania: a community-based cross-sectional survey. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2020;20(1):636.

3. Orwa J, Mantel M, Mugerwa M, Brownie S, Pallangyo ES, Mwasha L, et al. Maternal healthcare services use in Mwanza Region, Tanzania: a cross-sectional baseline survey. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2019;19(1):474.

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Dr Jackim Nyamari, (PhD, MPhil, BSc. Environmental Health​)

Assistant Professor

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Dr Jackim Nyamari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health at Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Health (Kenyatta University - Kenya), a Master of Philosophy in Environmental Health (Moi University - Kenya), and a Bachelor of Environmental Health Science (Solusi University - Zimbabwe). Before joining the Department of Population Health, Dr Nyamari was a lecturer, researcher, and post-graduate studies coordinator at Kenyatta University's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Health Sciences. 

With over 15 years of teaching experience at the tertiary level, Dr Nyamari has been involved in various research projects and has provided consultancy services to governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations. 

Dr Nyamari provides faculty and student support in training and research on Environmental and Population Health issues. His research interests include Climatic Change and Health, Occupational Health and Safety, Injury Prevention, and Air, Water & Food Quality and Safety. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Publications​

1. Omondi, G. Z. O., Nyamari, J., & Mugo, J. (2023). Mercury Levels in Groundwater near Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mines in Migori County, Kenya. East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources, 6(1), 421-431. 

2. Violet Maritim, Anthony Wanyoro, John Maingi, Jackim Nyamari & Murima Ng'ang' (2023).  Impact of community strategy package on uptake of reproductive tract infections health services among young street females in the municipality of Eldoret, Kenya. Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Medicine Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2023, Pages 60-64​.
   

3. Cynthia Vugudza Magero, Jackim Nyamari & Redempta Mutisya (2023). Visual Comfort and Discomfort in Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya. East African Journal of Health and Science, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2023.