Dr Sam Kariuki Appointed Sanger International Fellow

Dr Sam Kariuki, of the KEMRI Centre for Microbiology Research and a senior member of the KEMRI Wellcome programme, has been appointed the Sanger International Fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.  A career microbiologist, Dr Kariuki is the Chief Research Officer, and Director of the KEMRI Centre for Microbiology Research in Nairobi as well as the coordinator of the the Medical Microbiology MSc/PhD course at the KEMRI graduate school.

As the Sanger International Fellow, Dr Kariuki will act as the liaison person in pathogen biology for the African region, a position that will allow him an excellent opportunity to access the sequencing and bioinformatics resources at the Sanger Institute. 

“I will be in the forefront of ensuring that we have greater access to sequencing facilities and that pathogens of major public health importance in the region are analyzed and data used to advance our understanding  of the epidemiology and genetic basis of infection/drug resistance ” Dr Kariuki explained.

Dr Kariuki will also be involved as a faculty member at the Sanger Institute where he will be teaching in the advanced courses, jointly supervising PhD Students, and participating in seminars and workshops organized by the Sanger Institute.

“I am particularly enthusiastic about having our students on technical attachment at the Pathogen Biology Unit (for bioinformatics and molecular biology short-term training), as well as Sanger staff/postdocs coming over for a stint in the tropics where they may get involved in field activities and lab projects” Dr Kariuki said.

The five year fellowship comes at a time at a time when the KEMRI Wellcome  Trust Research programme is expanding its interest and capacity in genomic science and when  there have been international calls  to increase the engagement of  African research scientists in genetics and genomics research.   According to Dr Kariuki, genomics research can help scientists answer many questions around host-pathogen interactions as well as mine genomic data with an end goal of advancing novel tools for treatment, prevention and control of infection.

Dr Kariuki graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Nairobi and holds an MSc in Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Nairobi, and a PhD (Tropical Medicine) from the University of Liverpool. Dr Kariuki is also an honorary lecturer at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Liverpool, and an Associate Scientist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.