KWTRP KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) is a leading East African health research partnership between the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Wellcome, and the University of Oxford. Since its founding in 1989, KWTRP has evolved into a world-class programme with multidisciplinary research spanning molecular biology to health systems and policy. It is headquartered in Kilifi, Kenya, with additional hubs in Nairobi and Mbale, Uganda, and collaborations worldwide.

The programme’s mission is to conduct high-quality, purposeful, and relevant research in human health, while building sustainable research capacity and leadership in Africa. Its research draws on extensive infrastructure, including state-of-the-art laboratories, the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS), a clinical trials facility, and the Clinical Information Network (CIN), a 25-hospital surveillance network across Kenya.

Research at KWTRP covers five thematic areas:

• Pathogen biology, which seeks to understand host–pathogen interactions and disease transmission mechanisms. This theme utilises unique resources such as a controlled human infection model platform, long-term cohort studies, and a unique biobank of over one million samples.
• Vaccines, aiming to accelerate the development and uptake of effective vaccines by combining clinical trials, molecular biology, immunology, and health economics, while leveraging long-standing community engagement.
• Clinical research, which focuses on improving paediatric and neonatal care for conditions such as malaria, pneumonia, and sickle cell disease, also tackling global challenges such as malnutrition and antimicrobial resistance. This work is supported by integrated surveillance and the CIN, providing comprehensive hospital data for research and policy.
• Population health, which addresses both infectious and non-communicable diseases, using tools such as genetic, epidemiology, and modelling to assess intervention effectiveness and the impacts of climate change.
• Health systems and research ethics, which generates evidence to improve healthcare delivery and policy. This includes health economics, implementation research, and empirical ethics, with a strong focus on equity and resilience in low-resource settings.

Capacity development is central to KWTRP’s strategy. Through school leaver and graduate attachment schemes, postgraduate diplomas, and PhD and postdoctoral training—often in collaboration with Pwani University and other institutions—the programme attracts, trains, and retains talented African researchers. Emphasis is placed on mentorship, experiential learning, and inclusivity.

KWTRP also invests in robust engagement strategies to build trust and relevance. Its community engagement fosters mutual understanding between researchers and participants. Public engagement includes school outreach to promote science among young learners, while policy engagement ensures that evidence generated by the programme informs decision-making at local, national and regional levels.

With over 800 staff, around 250 peer-reviewed publications annually, and approximately 50 studentships and 20 PhD graduations each year, KWTRP continues to contribute significantly to health research, capacity building and evidence-informed policy in Africa and beyond.