Jesse Gitaka

Biography

Dr Jesse Gitaka MD, MTM, PhD; is a Kenyan physician scientist with extensive experience spanning clinical practice and trials, molecular biology and epidemiology of infectious diseases and implementation science. Additionally, he is a senior lecturer at Mount Kenya University, Kenya where  he is the founding director for the Centre for Malaria Elimination and team leader at Gitakalab (https://gitakalab.com/). He is a visiting associate Professor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan, an affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences, a Future Leaders-African Independent Researchers (FLAIR) fellow and a Next Einstein Fellow.

Jesse’s work is mainly focused on infectious diseases and maternal health; developing highly reliable diagnostic assays, molecular epidemiology and host pathogen interactions. He develops isothermal nucleic acid analysis techniques for diagnosis of CuSTIs (curable sexually transmitted infections) and malaria in pregnancy using lob-on-a-chip devices, fibre mats and smartphone readouts to enable on-site pathogen analysis in resource-limited settings for prompt treatment alleviating prematurity, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Additionally, he works on surveillance for bacterial and malaria drug resistance and virulence genes, employing a network of health facilities across Kenya and the region. Lastly, he studies innovative strategies to alleviate poor maternal and newborn outcomes.

Awards