Dr. Evelyn Gitau combines a record of medical research with a commitment to cultivating a new generation of researchers throughout Africa committed to solving health challenges.
She is the Director of Research Capacity Strengthening at the African Population and Health Research Center. Under her direction, the division continues to grow its signature fellowship program, the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Training in Africa (CARTA) and expand opportunities across the continent for African scholars to become research leaders.
Dr. Gitau’s most recent role was as a program manager at the African Academy of Sciences, where she stewarded Grand Challenges Africa at the Academy under the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) program. Prior to that, she was part of the team at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Program in Kilifi, Kenya, conducting research on developing biomarkers of disease among seriously ill children.
Dr. Gitau’s vast networks have brought her positions on numerous advisory boards for organizations advancing the agenda of research and evidence generation in Africa. These include the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB), the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi; University of Oxford (MSc International Health and Tropical Medicine); and the Investment Committee Grand Challenges Canada. She remains a member of the Steering Committee for Grand Challenges Africa.
Among her awards and accomplishments include a 2015 appointment as a fellow of the Next Einstein Forum, where she is the ambassador for the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Africa.
Dr. Gitau earned her PhD in Life Sciences from the Open University/Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK, investigating neurological infections in children living in malaria-endemic areas, and has more than 18 years of experience in medical research.
