The Sustainable Development for HIV Health (SD4H) Fellowship is a career development fellowship sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center (FIC) and co-funded by National Institutes of Mental Health. The Fellowship provides aspiring researchers at Maseno University in Western Kenya with outstanding education, mentorship, and training in research at the intersection between sustainable development and health by faculty from Maseno University, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and UCGHI. The Fellowship includes four doctoral, four master’s, and one post-doctoral SD4H Fellows.
In November 2022, SD4H hosted a five-day Scientific Writing Workshop in Mbita, Kisumu for SD4H Fellows, 29 other graduate students, and faculty from Maseno University and KEMRI to present findings and included a capacity-building component focused on manuscript and abstract writing.
Two new fellows, Dan Omollo and Erick Ndenga, are in their first year of studies at Maseno and began the Advanced Training in Clinical Research certificate program at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in July 2023. Welcome Dan and Erick!
Dan Omollo is a second year PhD candidate registered at Maseno University. He holds a BSc in Biomedical Science & Technology from Egerton University and MPH in Epidemiology from Maseno University.
He worked as a Research Coordinator for KEMRI-IPM (2010/11), OHR (2011/17) and Impact Research and Development organization (2017/23) on various research studies in the field of HIV. He also served as a lecturer (part-time) at Maseno University and Great Lakes University of Kisumu between 2020 and 2023.
Erick Ndenga is pursuing a doctoral degree from Maseno University. He holds a Master's in Public Health (Management of Health Systems and Services), a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (Medical Biotechnology). He is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Project Management (PMP) and Program (PgMP) professional.
He has over a decade experience in research administration, health, and development programming. He enjoys designing, developing, managing and evaluating projects and grants, implementing community development projects, and capacity building for partner organizations and local communities. Erick has worked on partnerships with Emory University, National Institute for Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, KEMRI, Government of Kenya, Center for Diseases Control, Government of Tanzania, USAID, BftW, DFID, Christian Aid, Oxfam Novib, Global fund, World Bank among others.
Erick is a Health System strengthening and policy uptake enthusiast and is taking a stab at the implementation nexus of translating evidence to action on health systems and policies to improve outcomes of people living with HIV and general community development.