H3Africa Spotlights

David is the present Study Coordinator of Sickle Cell Disease Genomics Network of Africa (SickleGenAfrica). The project aims at studying genetics of cytoprotective proteins that neutralize hemolysis DAMP molecules and acute organ damage, genome-wide determinants of malaria complications and echo-cardiovascular dysfunction in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) patients. The study has six (6) sites namely, Accra, Abuja, Lagos, Kumasi, Kano and Dar Es Salaam with Accra being the coordinating site.
David is a T. H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University trained Statistical Geneticist under the quantitative core group mentored by Peter Kraft.

He holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Amsterdam, an MPhil in Health Informatics (Cum Laude) from the University of Ghana, and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He has several training experiences. Specifically, an advanced certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences, Erasmus Medical Centre, Erasmus University.
David is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana. He is an active member of H3Africa Kidney Research Network and Research on Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) projects. David’s research areas are modelling of chronic kidney disease in low resource environments and among migrants with keen interest in the link between other chronic diseases (sickle cell disease, diabetes, hypertension ) and chronic kidney disease. David serves on several committees at the College, School and departmental levels. David has over 40 peer reviewed publications to his credit and reviews of several journals (PlosOne, BMC Public Health, International Health, Renal Failure etc).

David is a PhD (Human Genetics) student at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB), Wits University, Johannesburg. He is part of the Wits-H3A/GSK ADME team – studying variation in the ADME genes in African populations.

Before joining Wits, David completed his BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Makerere University in 2017 and thereafter joined the Core laboratories at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) for a three-month internship in Bioinformatics supervised by Dr. Jonathan Kayondo. David then continued his development at UVRI by doing a one-year strategic internship in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology under the Makerere University/UVRI Center for Excellence in Infection and Immunity (MUII-Plus) Research and Training programme. This unique opportunity enabled him to receive focused hands-on training in Unix, Python and R programming, NGS data analysis, Metagenomics, and pipeline development among other skills. Most importantly, the strategic internship offered David an opportunity to receive mentorship from leading Bioinformatics scientists in Uganda and H3ABioNet at large.

David is excited about the opportunity to contribute to pharmacogenomics research in Africa and precision medicine in general, starting with the fascinating work under the Wits-H3A/GSK ADME project. He is also very passionate about mentoring fellow young scientists that are considering career choices in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Fiona is currently the Study Coordinator for Deciphering Developmental Disorders in Africa (DDD-Africa) – Evaluating Clinical Exome Sequencing in an African Setting. She holds a PhD in Human Genetics and is a Medical Scientist registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. The DDD-Africa project is based in Johannesburg, South Africa with a secondary recruitment site in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fiona is originally from Uganda and has lived and worked in South Africa for over 10 years. Her PhD research at the University of Cape Town and the University of British Columbia focused on Huntington disease in an African population. She joined the Division of Human Genetics at Wits University as a postdoctoral fellow in 2015 to further her research interests in Huntington disease and its phenocopies. Subsequently, she worked on the genetics of breast cancer in African women and then joined the DDD-Africa team in 2018. As study coordinator, she took on a management role and helped to establish many project processes over a two-year period. She has overseen everything project-related, from clinical enrolment of patients and families to finances.

In 2020, Fiona will focus on her position as Medical Scientist at the Division of Human Genetics, University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service. Her duties as Study Coordinator have officially been handed over in this month of September and it is with gratitude to the H3A Consortium and the Study Coordinators’ working group in particular, that she wishes you all the very best.

Isabella Rockson has worked in the area of health systems and reproductive health for over 15 years specializing in program development, administration, Management, monitoring and evaluation,
Isabella is the Study Coordinator/Grants Administrator for the H3Africa Kidney Disease Research Network made up of investigators based at 13 institutions in five African countries (Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa) with supportive partnership and complimentary expertise from seven institutions in the USA and Canada. The H3Africa Kidney Disease Research Network has recruited over 8,000 subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and controls into its research studies. Currently, the team is working on a renewal study to advance the understanding of the causes of CKD in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, children with nephrotic syndrome and patients with sickle cell disease. These research findings it is believed will also lay the foundation upon which to develop new treatments and strategies to prevent CKD.
On these studies, I am primarily responsible for coordinating award management activities including communicating with funders, setting up agreements, ensuring IRBs and MTA’s are processed and renewed annually, ensuring reports are submitted timely and reporting back to partners and funders on a timely basis.
Isabella holds a Master of Science degree in Project Management from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and has a Diploma in Journalism.
She is currently a Research Development Officer with the Pre and Post Award Services team of the University of Ghana at the Korle Bu satellite Office where she provides research support services to Faculty for both internally and externally funded grants.
Before joining the University, Isabella worked on a number of donor funded projects in different project management capacities where she was involved in the planning, designing, implementation, directing and monitoring of project related activities.

Study Coordinator Working Group Co-Chairperson: Keofentse Mathuba is a Nurse/Midwife working with Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence as study coordinator for the CAFGEN study. After working for 20 years in several departments in Government sector, she was assigned to join Prof. Gabriel Anabwani as Research Coordinator in 2000 and it formed the basis for her experience and the initial learning experience in coordinating a trial. Currently, she is coordinating the Collaborative African Genomic Network (CAfGEN) study since its inception in 2014, which its aim is look at the host genetic factors that influence the progression of HIV and TB in children.
Her duties as a study coordinator is multi-tasking and includes; maintaining the Study Master Files, assist in the monitoring and auditing of the study, processing and facilitates IRB approvals, coordinating participant recruitment process in the clinic, translating consent and assent forms, training other study staff members about the protocol and procedures, preparing and submitting study progress reports, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.
She has benefited a lot on job training and acquired more knowledge and skills by coordinating several studies, reading research related materials, online training and attending most of the H3Africa consortium meetings. These meetings were/are beneficial because they formed a platform for formal training, guidance, interaction and collaboration with study experts.