OUR TEAM
Dr. Wamai is from Nyeri County, Kenya, but now splits his time between his research in Kenya and his teaching at Northeastern University. He has 20 years of research experience in global health. Since 2011, he has spearheaded VL efforts in East Pokot. He has participated in numerous policy, strategic and technical meetings with MOH, WHO and the key VL partners in Kenya and discussed the VL work in various national, regional and global forums and with scientists in the field from diagnostics and drug discovery and development. He has led the establishment of the TERMES Center in Chemolingot with a goal to develop a center for excellence in VL in the region.
Dr. Richard Wamai, PhD
Team Lead
Dr. Wang’ombe is a professor of economics at the UON-SPH where he has worked since 1984. He was Chairman of the SPH from 1995 to 2001 and has served on national and international initiatives and bodies. He is a member of the MOH NTD Working Group and has provided leadership in proposal development to fundraise for project activities. He provides leadership in all aspects of project implementation and is a central figure in national policy. Professor Wang’ombe has worked on research projects in Kenya spanning HIV/AIDS, health systems, non-communicable diseases and NTDs for more than 10 years.
Dr. Joseph Wang'ombe, PhD
Project Director
Mr. Atuko served as the first Baringo County Executive Commissioner for Health (CEC) during the project's founding. Currently, he is Director of Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and a public health consultant with United Nations and WHO. He has been a leader in the MENTOR Initiative, the Kenya Red Cross, and Aga Khan Foundation. During his term as the Baringo CEC, Atuko expanded health access and advocated for support of VL activities. He organized County level meetings between many stakeholders. He has provided technical advice and supervision during the construction and renovation of the VL ward and laboratory at Chemolingot Hospital and the establishment of the TERMES Center.
Moses Atuko, MPH
Technical Advisor
Ms. Nyakundi has managed the NEU-UON VL project since its founding in 2011. She has coordinated and managed all projects led by Professors Wamai and Wang’ombe in Kenya since 2010. Her basic training as a social worker with an advanced degree in public health has the trans-disciplinary advantage of applying public health tools and skills to social issues. She has supervised implementation of all project activities and is the liaison for project partners at country, county and sub-county levels. She is a member of the National Leishmaniasis Technical Working Group. She has been instrumental in designing VL posters and fliers for use by CHVs to conduct health education in the community, which was adapted by the MOH to mark the 2014 World Health Day.
Hellen Nyakundi, MPH
Project Manager
Mr. Kitondo has been with the NEU-UON Collaboration in the Baringo/East Pokot VL project for four years supporting field activities, following up with health facilities and project personnel in the field on supplies, needs and status on the ground as well as data collection and reporting through DHIS2. He has been trained by the WHO in DHIS2 management. He has extensive field experience and engagement in all parts of the VL Baringo zones and is well-known by all health facilities and CHVs. He will continue to play these vital roles, support the project data systems and assist the Project team in all other areas.
Mwatela Kitondo, BSc
Data Manager
Mr. Plilan is the MOH district community health strategy focal person for East Pokot. He is head organizer for the Kaperur Community Based Organization (CBO). For the past 10 years, the CBO has worked in East Pokot and responded to the lack of water and sanitation, weak education systems, gender decimation and retrogressive cultural practices. Due to limited opportunity for education (especially for girls), the CBO has advocated for enrollment of girls in schools and elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM). Through the CBO, Elijah provides critical field-related logistical support including recruitment and mobilization of CHVs to support the integrated mobile screenings, active case finding and patients follow-ups.
Elijah Plilan
Social and Community Organizer
Ms. Orriols studied Behavioral Neuroscience and History at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where she met Dr. Wamai. Adrienne has been a part of the ACCIH team since 2017, conducting research with the team throughout her undergraduate career and after. Alongside fellow student Grace Grifferty, Adrienne was able to travel to Baringo County in Kenya and work directly with the ACCIH team in educating and treating patients of East Pokot. Since then, she has taken part in preparing and sharing collected data on behalf of the ACCIH at numerous conferences.
Adrienne Orriols
Research Associate
Mr. Shirley is a medical student at Harvard Medical School, where he serves as the HMS representative to the Harvard Graduate Council and as a leader in several student organizations. During his undergrad at Northeastern University, he studied access to surgical care and capacity in Baringo County, Kenya. He has built and managed websites for two student organizations in which he served as a leader, including NUGHI, a global health group that organizes an annual conference for students and leaders, builds relationships, and creates opportunities. Hugh is passionate about a career focused on serving and uplifting people living in underserved communities around the world.
Hugh Shirley
Research Associate
Sarah Weihl is a 5th year student at Northeastern studying Human Services, Global Health, and International Affairs. Sarah began working with Dr. Wamai as a teaching assistant in Fall 2020 and joined his research project in Spring 2021. Sarah is currently working in Kenya for 5 months to complete her final co-op at the TERMES Center in Baringo and get firsthand experience with the research project and hospital. Alongside her coworker Catherine, Sarah is leading independent research studies on VL, Snakebite, and health systems in East Pokot.
Sarah Weihl
Research Associate
Catherine Wenger is in her 5th year at Northeastern, studying International Affairs, Global Health, and Biology. She previously completed co-ops at Mass General Brigham IRB and the Fishell Lab at Harvard Medical School and has joined the ACCIH team at the TERMES Center in Kenya for her final co-op. There she is supporting Chemolingot hospital, field research activities, and the Visceral Leishmaniasis, Trachoma, and Snakebite programs. She and her co-worker, Sarah, are leading independent research studies on VL, Snakebite, and health systems in East Pokot.
Catherine Wenger
Research Associate
Katherine O'Brien is a 4th year student at Northeastern University, studying health sciences with minors in global health and environmental and sustainability sciences. She has been working with Dr. Wamai since July 2021, and had contributed to various research projects since then. She completed her first co-op at the Boston based non-profit Resilient Sisterhood Project, and completed her second co-op at the TERMES Center in Spring 2023. She completed an independent research project on environmental risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis, in addition to supporting ACCIH activities in the community.
Katherine O'Brien
Research Associate
Grace Kennedy is a 2nd year Honors Health Science student at Northeastern University with minors in Global Health and International Affairs. She got involved with ACCIH in May 2022 when she traveled to Kenya with Dr. Richard Wamai on the Northeastern Dialogue study abroad program. Grace then returned to Kenya in January 2023 to assist with operations at ACCIH and conduct research on Visceral Leishmaniasis treatment effectiveness at Chemolingot Sub-County Hospital. After graduation, Grace hopes to pursue a Master's of Public Health and a career in the Global Health field.
Grace Kennedy
Research Associate
Shreyas is a senior at Northeastern University studying Health Science with minors in Environmental Studies and Global Health. Shreyas first got involved with ACCIH after his trip to Kenya while on a Dialogue led by Prof. Wamai, and returned the following year to complete a self-proposed and led research study on layperson emergency medical response in Tiaty, Baringo, Kenya. After graduating from Northeastern in December, 2023, Shreyas plans on working in health policy in Boston and will continue his research at ACCIH.
Shreyas Mosurkal
Research Associate
Alex Chang is a fourth-year undergraduate studying biology & political science with a minor in photojournalism at Northeastern University. Researching with the Israeli emergency medical services (EMS), he was exposed to how health technology could bridge gaps in emergency medicine, especially in low resource medical environments and areas of conflict. Working with NYU Langone Health’s Emergency Department, his perspective broadened as he investigated how the voices of those in palliative care could be empowered through telemedicine. Combining his background in medical technology with his clinical EMS experiences, Alex’s research into refrigerated backpacks works alongside the Center’s Boda Boda team to augment temperature-dependent medical transport viability for vaccine outreach campaigns and NTD lab samples.
Alex Chang
Research Associate
Saraïna Ulysse is a 3rd year Public Health student at Northeastern University with minors in International Affairs and Global Health. She got involved with ACCIH in May 2023 when she travelled to Kenya with Dr. Richard Wamai as part of the Northeastern Dialogue of Civilization study abroad program. Saraïna returned to Kenya in January 2024 to conduct research on the efficacy of community health education on Visceral Leishmaniasis and to assist with operations at ACCIH. After graduation, Saraïna hopes to pursue a Master's in Public Health and a career in global health research and health policy.
Saraïna Ulysse
Research Associate
Leah Oruko is a third-year undergraduate at Northeastern University, majoring in Health Sciences on the pre-medical track and pursuing a minor in Global Health. She successfully completed her first co-op at Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary as a medical assistant. Following this experience, Leah reached out to Professor Wamai expressing her interest in conducting research in Kenya for her second co-op. Motivated by her visit to Kenya, during which she engaged with family members and discussed a school's lunch programs, Leah was eager to delve into research on access barriers. In January 2024, she commenced her research initiative in Kenya, focusing on the impediments to accessing health services in Baringo County, in collaboration with ACCIH. Leah aspires to pursue a career as an otolaryngologist physician/surgeon and aims to contribute as a global health professional in her future endeavors.
Leah Oruko
Research Associate
Abigail Williams is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Anthropology. Her first introduction to public health work was at Fenway Health: AIDS Action as a community health worker, alongside Access: Drug User Health Program. After connecting with Dr. Wamai in 2023, she has been involved in multiple scoping reviews for the center, as well as organizing an annual symposium for the New England Neglected Tropical Diseases Consortium held in Boston, Ma. She instituted a study on the effects of culture on the communities approach to maternal and household health on women during her stay in Baringo.
Abigail Williams
Research Associate
Abigail Binkley is a student at Northeastern University, studying Biology with a minor in Global Health. She has been involved with ACCIH and Dr. Wamai's work since the fall of 2022, when she took his Introduction to Global Health class, and she has contributed to different ongoing research projects under him since, primarily involving visceral leishmaniasis. Abigail, with strong interests in infectious diseases and women's health, took these passions to the field in Kenya from July to December 2024 to embark on her first co-op at the TERMES Center. There, she completed an independent research project focused on the trends and risk factors associated with VL among women of reproductive age, on a sociocultural and biological level, as well as working in the Chemolingot sub-county hospital and helping with outreach activities. Abigail intends to go to medical school following graduation from Northeastern University to further her zeal and contributions to female health.
Abigail Binkley
Research Associate
Isabel Roman is a senior at Northeastern University studying Health Science. After taking Dr. Wamai's introduction to global health class in fall 2023, Isabel became interested in working with ACCIH to expand her global health experience. She traveled to Baringo county in the summer of 2024 to conduct a self proposed research study on the relationship between nutritional status and visceral leishmaniasis at Chemolingot sub-county hospital.
Isabel Roman
Research Associate
Fahdi Alew is a junior at Northeastern University currently studying Biology with a minor in Global Health. After taking Dr. Wamai's Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases and Health Disparities in the African Diaspora course, Fahdi was amazed with the work he was doing in Kenya with Neglected Tropical Diseases. Having family from Kenya and also having strong interests in Global Health and Infectious Diseases due to his ambition to go to medical school, Fahdi took the opportunity to start a research project at the TERMES Center and the Chemolingot Sub-County Hospital in January 2025, involving how different diseases and conditions(comorbities) such as HIV, malaria, and malnutrition interact with visceral leishmaniasis in patients, and how that effects their health and hospital outcomes.
Fahdi Alew
Research Associate