Page 15 - Science in Africa

Professor André Kengne

rofessor André Pascal Kengne
is a scientist and medical doctor
with a speciality in internal
medicine.
He received his basic and
Pspecialist training from the
School of Medicine of Yaounde 1 University in
Cameroon.
He then completed a PhD in Medicine with
a major concentration on cardiovascular
epidemiology and prevention from the School
of Medicine at the George Institute for Global
Health at the University of Sydney in
Australia in 2009.
He joined the South African Medical
Research Council (SAMRC) in 2011 as the first
director of its collaborative research
programme on cardiovascular and metabolic
diseases, and was promoted in 2013 to lead the
newly established and consolidated research
unit on noncommunicable diseases of the
organisation.
He holds conjoint appointments as
professor at the department of medicine of
the University of Cape Town, and
extraordinary professor at the department of
global health of the Stellenbosch University,
South Africa.
He is a senior fellow of the George Institute
for Global Health (Australia), and the Julius
Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care
(the Netherlands).
His areas of research include chronic
diseases epidemiology and prevention in TACKLING
developing countries, and decision-making in
diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
He has been involved in major research
projects in these areas in Africa and around CHRONIC DISEASES
the world, including the ADVANCE study, the
Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaborations, and
the Pan-European EPIC-INTERACT cohort
study. colleagues on noncommunicable disease across conferences as speaker, invited speaker, session
He is the developer of the ADVANCE risk universities in Africa, Europe and Australasia. chair or organising committee member.
model to estimate cardiovascular disease risk He is author or co-author of more than 300 He regularly reviews papers and grant
in people with diabetes, and a pioneer of task- peer-reviewed articles, many book chapters proposals for several international journals
shifting as an approach to improve access to and monographs on chronic diseases in Africa and funding agencies, and is board member of
prevention and control of noncommunicable and beyond, that have received over 12 000 several journals, and associate editor for four
disease in a resource-constrained setting. citations. journals, including the leading International
He has lectured and mentored junior He has participated at numerous Journal of Epidemiology.

Doctor Joseph Olwendo

To infinity and beyond for space enthusiast

Doctor Joseph Olwendo received his BSc and sector. He also works on ionospheric under Sandro M Radicella.
MSc in Theoretical Physics in 2005 and 2008 model validation and navigation During his PhD research
respectively from the University of Nairobi. applications and, since 2015, has between 2010 and 2013, he spent
He got his PhD in Space Physics under the been visiting the International a number of months as a
supervision of Paul Baki from Pwani Centre for Theoretical Physics visiting scientist and worked
University in Kenya in 2014. (ICTP) on a short-term basis in with scientists from the SA
His research interest has been on equatorial the capacity as junior associate National Space Agency.
ionospheric dynamics and ionospheric plasma scientist. He has since had a close
density irregularities using Global Navigation At ICTP he works with the working relationship with the
Satellite System signals over the east African NeQuick 2 model research group agency’s scientists.
SCIENCE IN AFRICA 15