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Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya
Prof. Sam Kariuki obtained his PhD in Tropical Medicine from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a Chief Research Officer at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and served in this position until April, 2018. Prof Sam Kariuki is currently the Director, Research and Development at KEMRI. He is Fellow, African Academy of Sciences and a Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute International Fellow. He is a visiting Professor of Tropical Microbiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK and a member of the American Society for Microbiology.
His research interests are in epidemiology and genomics of enteric bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, including invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis (NTS) and typhoid fever, Shigella spp, Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli. In order to develop novel treatment methods for enteric infections, Sam Kariuki’s team also uses genomics for understanding the microbiome in health and disease. He serves as World Health Organization consultant in areas of food safety, antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease surveillance for the region, and a member of the Advisory Group for Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (AGISAR). He has authored/co-authored over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 3 text books on Antimicrobial Resistance and Food Safety. He led the initiative to develop the National Action Plan for reduction and control of Antimicrobial Resistance (Published in January 2011 and updated in May, 2017) and is a member of the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee (NASIC) overseeing the implementaion of the AMR National Action Plan.