Jakaya Kikwete served as the President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 2005-2015. Before becoming President, he served in a variety of roles in the Tanzanian government, including as Minister of Finance, Minister for Water, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He also played pivotal roles in regional cooperation, including as Chair of the African Union and Chair of the Southern African Development Community Troika on Peace, Defence and Security.

Prof. Marcel Tanner is Director Emeritus of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), which he directed from 1997 to 2015, and Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and Medical Parasitology at the University of Basel. In the early 1980s he headed the Swiss Tropical Institute’s field laboratory in Ifakara, which grew into the Ifakara Health Institute. He co-led the first African malaria vaccine trial in 1992, has published over 700 papers, and has served as President of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. He holds a PhD from Basel and an MPH from London.

Prof. Fredros Okumu is Professor of Vector Biology at the University of Glasgow and a scientist at Ifakara Health Institute, where he was Director of Science from 2016 to 2023. A mosquito biologist trained in public health (Moi University), parasitology (Nairobi) and geo-information science (Lund), he holds a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an MBA from the University of Basel. He serves on the WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Group and the Gates Foundation Malaria Strategic Advisory Panel, and was named a Foreign Policy Global Thinker in 2016.

Dr. Alex Ntale Gasasira is the World Health Organization Representative to Tanzania, appointed in October 2025. A public health physician with over 20 years’ experience in epidemic response, health systems strengthening and public health leadership, he previously served as WHO Representative to Liberia (2015–2018) and Zimbabwe (2018–2022), acting Representative in Nigeria, and Director of the Office of the WHO Regional Director for Africa (2023–2025). He has co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and received awards for contributions to health equity, emergency response and immunization leadership.

Dr. Said Abdallah Jongo is a consultant physician and senior clinical research scientist at Ifakara Health Institute in Bagamoyo, and a former Head of the Bagamoyo Clinical Trials Unit. He holds a medical degree from the University of Dar es Salaam and a master’s in internal medicine from Tongji University, Shanghai, and has pursued doctoral studies at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel. He led the first safety trial of the P27A malaria vaccine candidate in Africa and PfSPZ vaccine studies in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, including the country’s first controlled human malaria infection.

Dr. Zacharia (Zac) Mtema is a Senior Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute, working at the interface of computer science and epidemiology. His work on mobile phone-based surveillance for infectious disease elimination in Africa won a 2016 Guardian University Award. He delivers the Masterclass Lecture on AI across Africa’s disease burden and the Memorial Lecture in memory of the late Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku.

Prof. Christian Lengeler is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Basel and leads the Malaria Interventions Group at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). For more than 30 years his research has focused on the epidemiology and control of tropical diseases, especially malaria. He helped develop insecticide-treated nets as a malaria control tool and pioneered large-scale vector control in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 1999 he has supported the national malaria control programmes of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Helen Jamet is Deputy Director for Malaria at the Gates Foundation, where she has led its vector control work. A medical entomologist with more than 20 years’ experience in malaria prevention, research and vector control product development, she holds a BSc from the University of Leeds and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She field-tested mosquito traps in Tanzania as a consultant to the American Biophysics Corporation and, at Vestergaard Frandsen, helped develop next-generation long-lasting insecticidal nets. She is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.

Prof. Abdisalan Noor is an epidemiologist and Executive Director of Applied Health Analytics for Delivery and Innovation (AHADI), an Africa-focused organisation launched in 2025 to help countries become self-reliant in using data and analytics to identify and deliver on their health priorities. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He was previously Head of Strategic Information for Response at the WHO Global Malaria Programme, where he led the development of global normative guidance, efforts to strengthen the use of subnational data for malaria priority setting.

Dr. Joseph Komwihangiro is a medical doctor with more than 15 years’ experience leading donor-funded health programmes in Tanzania. He is Senior Country Director of Pathfinder International in Tanzania, which he joined in 2017, and its Regional Portfolio Director for East and Southern Africa. He previously directed health services at Marie Stopes International in Tanzania and has held senior management roles in several international NGOs, running programmes in HIV and AIDS, malaria, family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition and sanitation. He holds an MD from Pécs Medical School, Hungary, and an MPH from University College London.

Prof. Don de Savigny is an epidemiologist and health systems specialist, Emeritus Professor at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and the University of Basel. In the 1980s he headed the Swiss Tropical Institute Field Laboratory in Tanzania, now Ifakara Health Institute. He later served as Principal Health Specialist at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (1988–1996) and led the Tanzania Essential Health Interventions Programme (1996–2003). He holds a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has chaired several WHO advisory groups. His current research focuses on civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa.

Prof. Andrew Kitua is an epidemiologist and the first Tanzanian director of the Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre. Trained in medicine at the Università Statale di Milano, he holds an MSc in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in clinical epidemiology from the University of Basel. He was Director General of Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research (1997–2009) and lead malaria researcher at WHO/TDR in Geneva (2009–2011). His expertise spans disease control, One Health, epidemic preparedness and institutional capacity building for health research.

Dr. Hassan Mshinda is an epidemiologist who directed the Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre for more than ten years and later served as Director General of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). He holds an MSc in Applied Parasitology and Medical Technology from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Basel. He has led research projects funded by the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Canada’s IDRC, and sits on the boards of several research and academic institutions.

Dr. Kafuruki Shubis heads the Training Department at Ifakara Health Institute and coordinates the Master of Science in Public Health Research, run jointly with the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology. A practising clinician with a Master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Dundee, he joined the Institute in 2007. He established the quality assurance system at the Bagamoyo clinical trial site and community advisory boards at the Bagamoyo, Ifakara and Kigoma branches, and was study site coordinator for the phase III malaria vaccine trial.

Prof. Salim Abdulla is a clinical epidemiologist, Principal Scientist and former Chief Executive Director of Ifakara Health Institute. He joined the Institute in 1996, founded and led its Bagamoyo Research and Training Centre, and has led evaluations of malaria vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and insecticide-treated nets. Trained as a medical doctor, he holds an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Basel. He has co-chaired the WHO Vector Control Advisory Group and received the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene centenary medal.

Dr. Honorati Masanja led Ifakara Health Institute as Chief Executive Director from 2016 until handing over in September 2026. A statistician and epidemiologist, he joined the Institute in 1992 and holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel. He has extensive experience in data management, clinical trial design and the evaluation of large maternal and child health programmes. His decade of leadership is credited with strengthening the Institute’s scientific excellence, expanding its research portfolio and partnerships, and reinforcing its standing among Africa’s leading health research institutions.

Prof. Sarah Moore is a medical entomologist who leads the Vector Control Product Testing Unit at Ifakara Health Institute and is a group leader in the Vector Biology Unit at Swiss TPH. Promoted to Adjunct Professor at the University of Basel in 2024, she holds a PhD in Medical Entomology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her work develops efficient ways to evaluate new vector control tools, including nets, indoor spraying and spatial repellents. She leads Good Laboratory Practice accreditation of the insecticide testing facility, supervises PhD candidates, and has advised WHO on vector control evaluation.

Dr. Maja Weisser is an infectious diseases physician and Clinical Research Coordinator of the Chronic Diseases Clinic of Ifakara, a joint project of Ifakara Health Institute, St. Francis Referral Hospital, University Hospital Basel and Swiss TPH. A graduate of the University of Basel and former Head Physician of its infectious diseases consultation service, she joined Swiss TPH and Ifakara in 2015 and headed the clinic from 2016 to 2018. She holds an associate professorship at the University of Basel, and her research covers tuberculosis in people with HIV, hypertension treatment strategies, adolescent HIV care and neonatal sepsis.

Prof. Heather Ferguson is an infectious disease ecologist at the University of Glasgow who specialises in the ecology, transmission and control of mosquito-borne diseases. She holds a BSc from Toronto, an MSc from British Columbia and a PhD from Edinburgh, and did postdoctoral research at Ifakara Health Institute. She became Professor in 2017, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021, and co-chaired the WHO Vector Control Advisory Group (2018–2022). She has a long-standing research and training partnership with Ifakara, where she is a Visiting Scientist.

Dr. Samson Kiware is a data scientist and mathematical modeller who leads the Advanced Statistics and Mathematical Modelling Unit at Ifakara Health Institute. He holds a PhD in Computational Sciences and an MSc in Computer Science from Marquette University, and courtesy appointments at Marquette and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology. He developed MosquitoDB and the Vector Control Optimization Model, supports national malaria programmes with data management and analysis, and leads a Gates Foundation-funded programme building modelling capacity in Tanzania. He is a member of Tanzania’s Vector Control Technical Working Group.

Prof. Gerry F. Killeen holds the AXA Research Chair in Applied Pathogen Ecology at University College Cork, Ireland. He spent almost 17 years at Ifakara Health Institute, where he established what is now its Environmental Health and Ecological Sciences Department. A PhD graduate of University College Galway, he works on malaria transmission and vector control, with a strong emphasis on quantitative ecology and mathematical modelling, and has supported national malaria control programmes in Tanzania. His work on insecticidal nets has helped shape global policy on universal coverage, and he has applied vector control approaches to Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

Dr. Grace Mhalu is a Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute, where she works on interventions for infectious diseases. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, and a Master of Public Health from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. Her recent work evaluates the pathways and costs of care for people with tuberculosis and presumptive tuberculosis in Tanzania.

Dr. Grace Mwangoka is the current Head of Biomedical Research and Clinical Trials at Ifakara Health Institute, where she has served as a Senior Research Scientist since 2015. She previously led the Biomedical Thematic Group (2014–2016), headed the Institute’s laboratories (2013–2014), and served as Scientific Advisor at the Bagamoyo Branch (2012–2014). She holds a PhD in International Health from Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, and a Master’s in Molecular Epidemiology from Sokoine University of Agriculture. An Adjunct Professor at NM-AIST since 2019, she has over a decade of experience in malaria clinical trials, particularly malaria in pregnancy and children.

Dr. Sally Mtenga is a senior social scientist trained in community development, medical sociology (MA) and epidemiology (PhD), she studies how social norms, gender, masculinity and health systems shape risk behaviours in HIV, reproductive health and malaria. She led the social and communication component of a malaria vaccine trial in Bagamoyo and teaches Master’s students at the Institute’s Bagamoyo training unit.

Prisca Kweyamba is a PhD candidate in the Vector Biology Unit at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, affiliated with Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. She has also been a visiting PhD student at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Her work contributes to understanding mosquito resistance mechanisms and advancing more effective malaria control strategies.

Lilian Moshi is affiliated with Ifakara Health Institute in Ifakara and is a member of the Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort (KIULARCO) study group, which follows people receiving HIV care in rural southern Tanzania.

Dr. Omar Hassan works on clinical trials at Ifakara Health Institute’s Bagamoyo Clinical Trial Unit. He is project leader and coordinator of the rabies vaccine regimen development project (RAB003), a collaboration between Ifakara and the University of Oxford that tests single-visit rabies vaccine regimens in adults and children. He is also a named member of the Bagamoyo team that delivered the early-phase RH5.1/Matrix-M malaria vaccine trial in healthy adults and children.

Jacqueline Minja is a Research Scientist specialising in statistics in the Health Systems, Impact Evaluation and Policy Department at Ifakara Health Institute. She is skilled in data management and analysis using SPSS, STATA and Excel, with a driving interest in maternal and newborn health. She is one of ten recipients of the 2024 Countdown to 2030 fellowship and lead author of a study on pregnancy and childbirth published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Christina Myalla is a Research Data Scientist at the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) East Africa Node, based at Ifakara Health Institute, with a joint affiliation to The Kids Research Institute Australia. She leads the node’s Data Engineering Team and coordinates MAP’s Geospatial Modelling training programme. Her work builds reproducible pipelines that harmonise health facility data across sub-Saharan Africa, models travel time to care and flood disruption of access, and delivers decision tools for National Malaria Control Programmes. She holds an MSc in Health Informatics (University of Dar es Salaam) and a BSc in Information Systems (University of Dodoma).

Dr. Deus Ishengoma is a Principal Research Scientist and Head of the Genomics Laboratory at Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). He holds a PhD from the University of Copenhagen, joined NIMR in 2003 and established its molecular biology laboratory in Tanga. His research focuses on genomic surveillance of malaria parasites, antimalarial drug resistance and drug efficacy. He co-founded the Plasmodium Diversity Network Africa and the African Society of Antimicrobial Resistance, has published over 70 papers, and received the ASTMH Allan J. Magill Fellowship in 2019.

Dr. Mwifadhi Mrisho is an epidemiologist and Principal Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute, which he joined in 2001. He has pioneered research on newborn and infant mortality in Tanzania and works within the Institute’s maternal and newborn health research portfolio. He holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Basel, serves as an Assistant Lecturer at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, and is Head of Department and Secretary of the Institute’s Institutional Review Board.

Dr. Anitha Philbert is a Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Mkwawa University College of Education, a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam. She holds a PhD in Applied Zoology with a focus on vector biology, teaches zoology to undergraduates and supervises postgraduate students. Her research interests are vector-borne diseases, including the vectors of malaria, dengue, Rift Valley fever and yellow fever.

Victoria Githu is a Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute specialising in mathematical modelling and data science for infectious diseases. She holds a BS in Actuarial Science and an MS in Mathematical Modelling from the University of Dar es Salaam, and is pursuing a PhD at the University of Glasgow on improving the design of vector control trials. She was named runner-up in the Women in Vector Control early-career recognition of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association in 2023 and has received travel awards to major scientific meetings.

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Dr. Issa Mshani is a computational medical biologist and Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute, with doctoral training at the University of Glasgow. He joined Ifakara in 2019 and uses infrared spectroscopy and machine learning to detect malaria parasites and study mosquito age structure, applying artificial intelligence to public health. He won the 2023 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Young Investigator Award, one of only 18 given worldwide, and mentors young scientists in data science and artificial intelligence.