Staff Profile1

The Dean, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, MUHAS. Dr. Rose Mpembeni is a Lecturer specializing in Medical Statistics working with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.Her main areas of research include Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Family Planning. She has also done extensive work on maternal referrals and referral compliance. She has worked as a consultant with a large number of agencies including FCI, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, GTZ and ECSA-HC. (Tel. +255 784 394636.Email: rmpembeni@muhas.ac.tz or rcmpembeni@yahoo.com).

Prof. Urassa is a Public Health Physician and an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health. Prior to this position he was an Associate Dean in the same School and also the acting Head, Department of Community Health. Currently, he is also the Deputy Chancellor-PFA. Prof. Urassa has served as PI and Co-Investigator in several research and Evaluation projects including UNICEF- Violence against Children in Tanzania, MUHAS- John Hopkins – M&E for Maternal health Program in Morogoro as well as a Consultancy services for UNFPA, GIZ, MOHSW,etc. He has authored and Co-authored several research publications in peer reviewed journals in PubMed and other local journals. His experience includes teaching, Quality improvement, Non-communicable diseases, quality aspect of maternal & newborn child health, program planning, monitoring and evaluation as well as management, leadership and governance.

Prof. Leshabari is an Associate Professor in Health Psychology and has been in the university since 1978.  He served as Director of the then Institute of Public health for six years and the Dean of the School of Public Health and Social Sciences for three years.  Before becoming Director of the Institute of Public Health, Prof. Leshabari was the Head of the Department for six years.  He has also held various leadership positions in Tanzania and East Africa including the President of the East African Public Health Association and the Chairman of the Public Health Association of Tanzania.  He is the current Chairman of the Board of the Regional Center for Quality of Health Care in Eastern Africa. Prof. Leshabari has been involved in various research activities and published widely.  His key areas of research interest include adolescent sexuality, HIV and key populations, motivation and health human resources and psychosocial factors associated with health and illness. (Email: mleshabari@muhas.ac.tz or mleshabari@gmail.com).

Prof. A.D.Kiwara has more than twenty years research in Primary Health Care, Social Protection, Health Systems (financing, reform), Employment (child labour, women employment), HIV/AIDS, Needs Assessment, Structural Adjustment Programs and  Globalisation. He has consulted for the World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, KFW, DANIDA, SIDA, UNDP and many other organizations. His work has been published in international and peer review journals. He has co-authored  one book entitled: Economic Adjustment Policies and Health Care in Tanzania, and written a chapter in two books entitled: Health Insurance for the Informal Sector, in the United Republic of Tanzania and Health Care Services in Mwalimu’s Legacy in Tanzania. His main areas of interest include: Health care financing focusing on prepayment, health insurance schemes performances, HIV/AIDS in marginalised communities, Environment, Development policies and health, human resources for health and the epidemiological transition.

Prof.Japhet Killewo, a Professor in Epidemiology, is the most senior academic member of staff in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has participated in the design and implementation of different health and epidemiological interventions; the most famous one being the 20-year age Kagera AIDS Research Project from 1987. He headed the Reproductive Health Programme of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) from 1999 to 2003. He is currently the PI to the Morogoro Evaluation Project since 2011. He has published more than 70 papers in different peer-reviewed journals and mademore than 30oral or poster presentations in international as well as local conferences. He has also contributed to, edited and published a variety of books. Professor Killewo’s academic interests include environmental sanitation, poverty and health, reproductive health, communicable disease control, epidemiological study designs, and monitoring and evaluation of public health programs. Professor Killewo has held different administrative and managerial posts in the department and this University over the years. He is an active member of the Tanzania Public Health Association (TPHA) and honorary member of the Japan anti-Tuberculosis Association (Email: jkillewo@yahoo.co.uk)

 Prof. Charles Kihamia is a Professor of Parasitology and Medical Entomology in the Department of Parasitology/Medical Entomology. Professor Kihamia has published extensively in different peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and has contributed to several books on the management and effects of treatment for various parasites. He has a great reputation for promoting understandings on the control of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths especially among school-age children. Professor Kihamia has held different administrative and managerial posts in the Department of Parasitology/Medical Entomology and in the University as a whole. Among Professor Kihamia’s current research activities include Malaria Management at Primary Health Care and Operational Research on the Control of Schistosomiasis and Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) through the School Health Programme in Tanzania. (Email: ckihamia@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr Mamuya is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Dealing with Public Health, Environmental Health, Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Disaster management and leadership in disaster resilience. He is a Principal Investigator of the Norhed/Norad project  Titled “Reduction of Burden of Injuries and disease and occupational exposure through capacity  building in Low income countries” in collaboration with University of Bergen and University of Addis Ababa. His competences also include being a technical person in Environmental health with activities in water supply and sanitation assignments, waste water treatments and household water treatments options and environmental health impact assessments. His expertise in Occupational hygiene captured in identification and characterizing of different hazards exposures, measuring health effects of exposure, industrial hygiene, and risk assessments. He designed and conducted epidemiological study on nutritional status of underfive children, Diarrhea diseases, respiratory health and injuries and accidents. He also conducted rapid need assessment of elderly refugee in Ngara camps (Lumasi, Lukole and Benako camps). He is a researcher and supervisor in Millennium Promise project on Respiratory health and dust in Southern African region funded by Michigan University, US. Has published 20 scientific articles in international peer review journals.Email:smamuya@muhas.ac.tz, mamuyasimon2@gmail.com

Dr. Kessy is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Community Health. She initially worked with the Muhimbili Medical Centre as a Medical Officer. She has provided several consultancy services to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, UNFPA, AMREF and Family Care International in several baseline assessment and programme evaluations. She has authored and co-authored various publications in peer reviewed journals, presented papers in different conferences and produced a number of consultancy reports. Dr. Kessy’s main research interests are in the areas of HIV/AIDS and other STI/STDs, adolescent reproductive health, maternal and child health, human nutrition, and other general public health issues. (Email: akessy@muh.ac.tasz; atengia@gmail.com).

Dr.Deodatus Kakoko is a Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at the Behavioral Sciences Department. Dr. Kakoko has a Diploma in Education from Korogwe Teachers’ college as well as a Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts in Applied Social Psychology (MA ASP) of the University of Dar es Salaam. He was awarded Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) of the University of Bergen, Norway. Some of his areas of teaching and research are health promotion and education, behavioral aspects of health service utilization, gender, sexuality and reproductive health. He has 20 Peer Reviewed Publications in areas of HIV/AIDS, maternal and neonatal health, malaria as well as one book chapter. Together with other responsibilities, Dr. Kakoko was appointed the Dean of Students for the 2011 -2014 triennium.

 Dr. Kwesigabo is an Epidemiologist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr Kwesigabo served as Head of Department Epidemiology and Biostatistics and later as Dean, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, currently he is the Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development-MUHAS. He has devoted much of his research activities to HIV and AIDS related issues, however more recently Dr. Kwesigabo has also been involved in gender matters, specifically, women’s health and violence against children, and issues of human resources health, disease surveillance, monitoring and evaluation and maternal and child health. Dr. Kwesigabo is a member of the Tanzania Public Health Association (TPHA), (Email: gkwesigabo@muhas.ac.tz, gkwesigabo@yahoo.com)

Dr.Tumaini Nyamhanga has been with the department for the past twelve years. His research focus has been on the social context of health and health care. Specifically his areas of interest include: Gender & HIV/AIDS; Gender & Reproductive Health; Gender & Men’s Health; and   Globalization & Health, in which he has over ten years of research experience. His  PhD work is on “The influence of Gender on Access and Adherence to Antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania”.

Dr. Kazaura is a Biostatistician in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has been involved in several research activities, particularly in maternal and child health. His current research activities include ARV adherence measurement tools, estimating the economic costs of injuries due to interpersonal and self-directed violence, strengthening health systems to increase utilization of Safe Motherhood and obstetric fistula services in East Africa, and human trafficking in Tanzania. Dr. Kazaura’s main research interests are in data analysis by modelling and the analysis of vital events. He coordinates the Master of Public Health Programme and teaches biostatistics and basic demography to both undergraduates and postgraduates. (Email: mrkazaura@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr. Mmbaga is currently a Senior lecturer in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Director of Planning at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). Epidemiologic methods, Biostatistics, health system Research and Global Health are his main teaching areas. Dr Mmbaga has served as the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator in numerous research projects focusing on communicable, non-communicable diseases and health system strengthening. With regards to Infectious disease, his work has focused on the population dynamics of Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV. Currently, he is working toward building health-personnel capacity on global health issues through the conduct of an International Global health course at MUHAS. As the Director of Planning, Dr. Mmbaga is overseeing the planning process at the University including the development of the University short-term and long-term Strategic plans and evaluation of the implementation of such a plans. His main research interests continue to be in the area of Communicable and Non-Communicable Disease and health system strengthening. (Email: ejohn@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr Tarimo is a Senior Lecturer and the current head of the Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology. Dr Tarimo has several publications in peer reviwew journals, local and International conferences. Much of his research interests are on malaria control in children and pregnant women focusing on interventions to improve diagnosis, clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance of new anti-malarial drugs, as well as interventions that reduce malaria transmission. He also has interests in the interaction of malaria with other infectious diseases such as HIV and AIDS.  He is a consultant to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on malaria treatment policy. (Email: dtarimo@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr. Leyna Mbaga is a Lecturer in Epidemiology. Her main teaching areas include nutritional epidemiology, research methods and community nutrition. Her main research interests include dietary data assessment methods, food insecurity, micronutrient deficiencies, and nutrition and HIV. (Email:gleyna@muhas.ac.tz)

 Dr.Gasto Frumence has been with the department of development Studies for the past eleven years. He is currently the coordinator for the MA Health Policy and Management programme and a member of editorial board of Tanzania Journal of Development Studies. He has a wide experience in teaching and research in Management and Leadership in Health, Social Capital and HIV/AIDS and Health, Health Systems, Governance in health, Decentralisation of Health Services, Community participation Planning, Public Private partnership in Health, Health sector and Local government reforms and Gender based violence. His work has been published in local and international peer review journals.

Dr. Kishinhi is a lecturer at the school of Public Health and Social Sciences Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. He attended his Postdoctoral Research at the Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology-Meharry Medical College, where he was responsible for investigating the role of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) in BreastProgression by validating the AhR as a new predictive clinical marker and aunique target for designing novel selective inhibitors for therapeutic intervention of metastatic breast cancer. He is author/co-author of 3 peer-reviewed articles; and is a member of Society of Toxicological Sciences, Society of animal Science and Production. His research interests include finding sources of water contamination in water bodies, investing environmental factor that can result to different cancers (Email: skishinhi@muhas.ac.tz or kishinhi@gmail.com).

Dr. Semali was initially a Research Fellow in the Institute of Traditional Medicine, under this University, until 1992 when he joined the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has so far done extensive work in health systems research and health sector reforms, economic impact of morbidity and mortality on health, the burden of HIV/AIDS, nutrition dynamics among children and adults and several other public health related agendas. Dr. Semali also conducts lectures in Epidemiology for both undergraduate and postgraduate students as a Senior Lecturer. (Email: isemali@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr.Billy E. Ngasala: MD (UDSM), PhD (Kalorinska –Sweden)Dr. Billy Ngasala is currently a Lecturer and Head of Department, Parasitology &Medical Entomology, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, MUHAS. His  research focuses on  the design, implementation and analysis of Clinical Trials, validation of diagnostic tests, aetiology of fevers in malaria endemic areas and assessing impacts of interventions to control tropical diseases.He has extensive community based research experience in clinical and community intervention studies, accrued over 10 years  research experience with Community based Reproductive Health Project in Mwanza (NIMR) and Improving Malaria Case Management (MUHAS-KI Malaria project).He is currently involved in studies on efficacy, effectiveness and molecular markers associated with artemether-lumefantrine tolerance/resistance in Tanzania, assessing the impact of Mass Drug Administration and other intervention measures on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). He has published papers and research reports on impact of delivery kits on the health outcomes to the newborn and mothers, clinical trials of antimalarial drugs and interventions to improve diagnosis of malaria, evaluation of Tanzania Vector Control Scale up project in Tanzania.He is/ has supervised postgraduate students (Msc and PhD) working on various aspects Malaria and other public health issues. (Email: bngasala70@yahoo.co.uk)

 Ms. Sakwari. She is a lecturer in the department of Occupational and Environmental health, school of Public and Social Sciences at MUHAS.

Pursue her PhD on occupational medicine at the University of Bergen. Ms Sakwari is a qualified Environmental Health Officer and has previously worked with MEDA as Tanga Regional Manager in the fight against malaria. She has worked with the Dar es Salaam City Council as public education and sensitization personnel under Waste Management Department. She also worked as a Health officer at the University of Dar es salaam. Ms Sakwari is currently involved in research on respiratory health of workers exposed to dust and endotoxin. She is competent in performing workplace inspection and risk assessment, work exposure (biological, physical and chemical) assessment, designing and conducting epidemiological studies in the field of occupational and environmental medicine.

Mr. Kaijage,He is an Environmental and Public Health Scientist currently working as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. He has achieved to accomplish varieties of advanced professional courses like Global Climate and Environmental Change, BasicOccupational Health Services, Health of Displaced Population, Global Health and Data Management.  His teaching, research and consultancy experience are wide and multidisciplinary in nature mostly focusing on climate change and adaptation; environmental sanitation, waste management; occupational hygiene; environmental risk assessment; environmental impact assessment; environmental monitoring; disaster management, risk reduction and sustainable development. Kaijage is currently working on PhD programme aiming at assessing the implication of global environmental risk factors like climate change and variability to the occurrence and distribution of diarrheal diseases in Tanzania. Email hkaijage@muhas.ac.tz, h_kaijage@yahoo.com

Ms.Jane Silvester Mlimbila is an Assistant lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. In 2002 she joined Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. As a recipient of Nuffic scholarship award, she became an expert in food safety specialising in predictive food microbiology, food microbiological risk assessments and food security.Her main research interests focus on bioactive natural products and their safety, natural baby foods safety, food safety risk assessments, young women, maternal and children nutrition, food security and promotion of consumption of natural and safe foods.  Ms. Mlimbila has presented several papers of her work on genetic and metabolic studies of yeasts associated with fermented milk in international scientific conferences.She is a member of national food safety committee, and has participated in the initial and on-going preparations of the national food safety policy. She is a member of female academics teaching environmental health in Africa. She is in the advanced stage of her PhD programme.

Mr. Hussein Mohamed is currently Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Before this post, Mr. Mohamed worked as Environmental Health Officer with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (2005-2006). Since he joined this University, he has facilitated development of several Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s documents especially Strategic Plans and Guidelines related to his field. His main research interests are Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Mr. Mohamed is currently working on his PhD on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) as one of the methods to control diarrheal diseases especially in rural areas.

E mail: hmohamed@muhas.ac.tz (Email: hmohamed@muhas.ac.tz)

Dr. Mrema is a Lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, MUHAS. He has worked as a Biology teacher at various Secondary Schools between 1997 and 1998, and in 2001, Mr. Mrema was a local contact person and collaborator of the research project “Pale Climate Evidence from Freshwater Wetlands in the Eastern Rift Valley”. He has also worked under different projects including being a Research Scientist at the Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre between 2002 and 2007. He has attended several short courses and participated in workshops and conferences both locally and internationally. His main research interests include environmental chemistry, risk and exposure assessment of chemicals and their associated health effects, environmental impact assessment and environmental monitoring. (Email: emrema@muhas.ac.tz)

Mr. Rweyemanmu is an Assistant Lecturer and currently pursuing PhD studies at Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology. Specialization: Environmental Science and Engineering Research interests: Ground and Surface Water Quality Testing, Treatment and Modeling, Air quality monitoring and management, Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Environmental Planning and Impact Assessment, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Leadership, Waste Management and Contaminated Sites Remediation Technologies, Water and Sanitation Governance  (Email: drweyemamu@muhas.ac.tz)

Prof. Mnyika is an Associate Professor and one of the longest serving members in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research interests include adolescents’ reproductive health, tropical diseases, health systems research, and HIV and AIDS. Currently, he is a principal investigator of the NUFU-funded collaborative research project entitled “A Comprehensive School- and health system-based approach to adolescent health promotion in South Africa and Tanzania”.He has published several articles and chapters in different books and he has presented papers in scientific conferences. Dr Mnyika is the founder and current Editor-in-Chief of the East African Journal of Public Health. (Email: kmnyika@muhas.ac.tz).

Mr. Yahya Mwenjuma Kishashu is an occupational health specialist specializing in ergonomics, occupational health, and industrial health/occupational hygiene, and a faculty in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. He has over 15 years of experience in the practice of occupational health and safety in various work settings such as manufacturing industry, mining industry, construction industry, agricultural industry, and service industry. His research interests are in the areas of: prevention and control of work-related injury and disease, road traffic safety, health and safety of disadvantaged workers, ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders, and household air pollution. Mr. Kishashu is finalizing his PhD in Occupational Health at The University of Michigan, USA, focusing his dissertation in the “use of data linkage in estimating severe traumatic work-related injuries in Tanzania”.

(E-mail: ykishashu@muhas.ac.tz, kishashu@umich.edu, kishashu@yahoo.co.uk)

Prof. Simba is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health. Prof. Simba has worked as a Consultant to Government (e.g. MOHSW) and international organizations (e.g. AXIOS Foundation and GIZ). His research network include Karolinska Institutet and Gothenberg University (Sweden); HEARD and University of Western Cape (South Africa) and Univeristy of Great Lakes (Kenya). He has a number of publications in local and international peer reviewed journals. His main interests in health systems are health system management, health management information system and monitoring and evaluation of health interventions.

Prof. Mujinja is an Associate Professor in Health Economics and Public Health in the Department of Behavioral Sciences. He is a member of several professional associations including Economic Association of Tanzania, Tanzania Public Health Association, International Health Economics Association (IHEA) and the African Health Economics Association (AFHEA). His areas of interest are in Strategic Health Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Health financing (the design and evaluation of financing mechanisms, user fees, Health Insurance); Social and Economic Impact and Mitigation Analysis; Costing of health interventions; Socio-economic impacts of diseases (malaria, HIV and AUDS); Health Systems Management; Leadership and Financial Management and Entrepreneurship; the Design and Analysis of stated preference valuation methods; Strategic Program Planning; National Health Accounts; Budget and expenditure Tracking and Analysis; Environmental health effects valuation; Pharmaceutical (Drugs) Economics; Quality Assurance and Improvement; and Health Systems Research methodology. Budget Tracking and Analysis; Pharmaceutical (Drugs) Economics; Quality Assurance and Improvement; and Health Systems Research methodology. (Email: pmujinja@muhas.ac.tz).

Dr. Moshiro is a lecturer in Biostatistics and Head of department. Her main areas of research interest include HIV/AIDS/TBand non-communicable diseases. She is also interested in longitudinal data analysis. She is currently involved in the MUHAS HIV vaccine trial. She teaches Biostatistics to both undergraduates and postgraduates (Email: cmoshiro@muhas.ac.tz).

Dr.Nathanael Shauri Sirili MD (MUHAS), MSc (MUHAS) has recently joined the department and has experience in Health systems and systems research. Specially; Human Resource for health, task shifting and service delivery. He has good knowledge in; curative medicine, evaluation of public health interventions, economic evaluation of healthcare programmes, health systems: Organization and financing. He is currently finalizing his MSc Health Systems by research with focus on Human Resource for Health and development in Tanzania.

Mr. Francis Holds B.A. Sociology (Health and Population Studies) & Philosophy, M.A. Demography (Reproductive Health), University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Francis  joined the department of Development studies since 2013.Prior to that,  he had been working as a teaching Assistant in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (Formerly Philosophy Unit) of the University of Dar es Salaam from 2010-2013.He participated in the formulation of the new programme of Philosophy and Religious Studies which eventually led to the birth of the full fledged department of Philosophy at UDSM. He was commissioned by UNESCO-Tanzania country office to conduct a Research entitled ‘’Situation Analysis on the Status of Teacher Training in Sexuality Education/Life Skills/HIV/AIDS Education/Life Skills for East and Southern Africa (ESA)’’ in 2013, His main areas of research interest and teaching include Reproductive Health, Theories of Development, Rural Development (Rural Co-operation), Medical Sociology, Policy Analysis, Environmental Health, Ethics and Population Studies.

Dr. Renatha Joseph MD, MMED (Paed), MBE, Lecturer and the head of the Bioethics and Health professionalism department. She is Pediatrician and she has master in Bioethics from University of Pennsylvania and among the five MBE fellows in MUHAS who received Bioethics training to build MUHAS capacity in Bioethics teaching. She teaches Bioethics, Professionalism and Paediatrics and child health to both undergraduates and post graduate students at MUHAS. She is teaching and mentoring MBE students in clinical bioethics, research ethics and framing bioethics as well as supervising students in the attachment module, proposal development, data collection and thesis report writing. Her research interest is informed consent in paediatrics care especially adolescents with chronic diseases. Contacts: email, renatha1972@yahoo.com , Phone number +255 784 875 641.

Mr. Baraka Morris is a registered Nurse and a Bioethicist. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in 2009 and a Master of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) in 2012. He teaches Bioethics, Midwifery and Nursing Leadership and Management. His research interest is on bioethics and maternal and child health. In Bioethics I have involved i significantly in research ethics, clinical ethics, and philosophy of bioethics. Furthermore, I have attended several workshops on the Institutional Board Reviews (IRBs) and Research Ethics Committees (RECs). Professional Memberships and Activities: Tanzania Nurses and Midwives Council (TNMC) and Tanzania Midwives Association (TAMA). Research Interests: Overview – The area of research interest are: Bioethics (specifically on Research Ethics, Clinical Ethics and Philosophy), Maternal health (specifically on Adolescent Sexuality and Family Planning) and Main Research Projects – the Dartmouth/MUHAS Research Ethics Training and Program Development for Tanzania (DMRET).