Dr. Mary Mayige
Chairperson
Dr. Mary Mayige is a distinguished medical professional and researcher with a strong commitment to tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes. She has served as a member of the National Non-Communicable Diseases Steering Committee and currently coordinates the National Survey for Non-Communicable Diseases. Her role in drafting the National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases in Tanzania reflects her dedication to advancing public health in the country.
As Principal Research Scientist and Director of Research Information and Regulatory Affairs at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania, Dr. Mayige plays a pivotal role in strengthening medical research nationwide. She is also the founder and Director of the St. Laurent Diabetes Centre, a leading institution providing comprehensive diabetes care and preventive services in Tanzania.
In addition to her professional and clinical contributions, Dr. Mayige serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO). Through this role, she has been instrumental in shaping the growth of human genetics research in Tanzania and promoting its integration into healthcare delivery and policy development.
Dr. Maryam Noorani
General Secretary
She is a Paediatrician and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with a Master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Edinburgh. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and is currently a research fellow with the Aga Khan University Institute of Global Health and Development (IGHD) Women in Science Program.
Her career with the Aga Khan Institutions spans more than 10 years, beginning as a paediatrician and advancing to Head of Department. Under her leadership, the Department of Paediatrics has grown into a comprehensive unit that delivers high-quality care for children, including a well-established neonatal unit for sick and premature newborns. She also pioneered the establishment of a Master’s program in Paediatrics at the Aga Khan University, which has now enrolled its third cohort of trainees, ensuring the training of future paediatricians in Tanzania.
Her passion lies in promoting breastfeeding as the optimal nutrition for all babies. As a lactation consultant, she has spearheaded the establishment of breastfeeding clinics and was recently awarded a grant from the American Academy of Paediatrics to develop community-level breastfeeding support groups in collaboration with local governments. She advocates for the rights of working mothers to continue exclusive breastfeeding upon returning to work and has led initiatives to train nurses as breastfeeding specialists—efforts that have significantly improved exclusive breastfeeding rates at the Aga Khan Hospital.
Beyond clinical care, she has forged partnerships with schools and communities to advance child health and nutrition and engages with adolescents to encourage healthy behaviours and lifestyles. She is also a strong advocate for children with rare diseases in Tanzania, serving as a board member of the Ali Kimara Rare Disease Foundation (AKRDF) and the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO). In addition, she leads a first aid program dedicated to training parents, teachers, and caregivers in emergency response skills that can save children’s lives.
Dr. Siana Nkya
Member
Dr. Siana Nkya is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), with more than 15 years of research experience in molecular biology and human genetics. Her work focuses on applying genomics to disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring outcomes, with a strong emphasis on malaria and sickle cell disease (SCD).
She has led groundbreaking research in SCD genomics, including the establishment of one of Africa’s first large-scale genetic databases of over 1,700 SCD patients. This work has significantly advanced understanding of disease mechanisms, pharmacogenomics, and genetic variants in African populations. Dr. Nkya’s collaborations span leading international institutions such as King’s College London, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the University of Northumbria. She was also part of the pioneering team that launched Tanzania’s newborn screening program for SCD.
Her contributions to science have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Fogarty Global Health Fellowship (2016), the NIH Emerging Global Leader Award (K43, 2019–2024), the ASH Global Research Award (2018), the Novartis Global Health Investigator Award (2022–2024), and the OWSD Early Career Women Scientist Award, which supports her collaboration with the University of Oxford on novel DNA diagnostic technologies.
Beyond her academic and research achievements, Dr. Nkya co-founded the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO) in 2017 and serves as its first President. She also leads major research initiatives, including serving as Principal Investigator of the Tanzania Sickle Cell Program and as Co-Principal Investigator and Research Technical Lead of the SickleInAfrica Clinical Coordinating Centre, which coordinates SCD research across seven African countries.
Prof. Raphael Sangeda
Member
Raphael Zozimus Sangeda is a professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, School of Pharmacy, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), in Tanzania. His main roles are teaching, research and consultancy. Areas of interest include bioinformatics, data management and big data analytics, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship and infectious disease epidemiology especially HIV drug resistance.
Dr. Kilaza Samson
Member
Dr. Kilaza is a postdoctoral fellow in bioinformatics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, specializing in human-associated microbiomes. He holds a PhD in Health and Medical Biosciences from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (Arusha, Tanzania), an MSc in Quality and Analytical Laboratories from the University of Algarve (Portugal) and the University of Cádiz (Spain), and a BSc in Food Science and Technology from Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania).
He currently serves as a government employee, Lecturer, and Head of the Department of Science and Laboratory Technology at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology. In addition, he is a co-founder and Vice President of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO), a professional body dedicated to advancing human genetics for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of genetic-related diseases in Tanzania.
Dr. Kilaza’s research passion lies in harnessing microbiome approaches for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. His work aims to strengthen biomedical research and healthcare applications, contributing to improved health outcomes in Tanzania and beyond.
Dr. Daima Bukini
Member
Dr. Daima Bukini is a Fogarty African Bioethics Post-Doctoral Fellow from Tanzania whose research focuses on the ethics of sickle cell disease (SCD) care in Africa. She holds a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Dar es Salaam (2004), a Master’s degree in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania (2013), and a Master’s in Public Health from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) (2014). She earned her PhD in 2022 from MUHAS, where she investigated the Ethical, Legal, and Sociocultural Issues (ELSI) surrounding newborn screening for SCD in Tanzania.
Dr. Bukini currently serves as a Senior Researcher within the Sickle Cell Program at MUHAS. In 2018/2019, she was awarded the Commonwealth PhD Split-Site Scholarship at the University of Oxford’s Ethox Centre of Bioethics, further strengthening her expertise in global health ethics.
She is an active member of the ELSI Working Group for SickleInAfrica and serves on the H3Africa Data and Biospecimen Access Committee, contributing to ethical oversight and governance in genomic and biomedical research in Africa.
Dr. Vincent Rwehumbiza
Member
Dr. Vincent Rwehumbiza is the co-founder and CEO of Yebi Health, a startup dedicated to leveraging technology to optimize supply chains in Tanzania and beyond. A biochemical engineer by training, he works at the intersection of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing and supply chain innovation.
He earned his B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and went on to complete an M.Sc. in Protein Engineering and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering at Jacobs University, Germany.
With more than a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Rwehumbiza has held key roles at Novartis Sandoz in Germany, Poland, and the United States. His career has spanned quality assurance, manufacturing, and portfolio and supply chain management, where he has made significant contributions to global pharmaceutical operations.
Beyond his corporate and entrepreneurial work, he serves as a Board Member of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO), demonstrating his commitment to advancing genetic research and healthcare in Tanzania.
Dr. Mohamed Zahir
Member
Dr. Mohamed Zahir Alimohamed is a Molecular Geneticist, Genetic Counsellor, and Biomedical Scientist with extensive expertise in human genetics and genomics. He holds a BSc in Biotechnology from Manipal University (India), an MSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Groningen (Netherlands), and a PhD in Medical Genetics from the University Medical Centre Groningen, where his research focused on next-generation sequencing for the diagnosis of genetic diseases. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in Genetic Counselling, making him one of the first trained practitioners in Tanzania.
Dr. Alimohamed completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). He currently serves as a Lecturer and Biomedical Scientist at MUHAS and as a Research Scientist in the Tanzania Sickle Cell Program. His research interests span gene therapy, cardiogenetics, pharmacogenomics, neurogenetics, oncogenetics, antimicrobial resistance, and the surveillance of rare genetic disorders in Tanzania.
He is a co-founder of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO), where he serves as General Secretary, and actively contributes to genetics teaching, student supervision, and capacity building. Dr. Alimohamed collaborates widely with national and international institutions and holds leadership roles in several genetics organizations. He is also an eLife Community Ambassador and health columnist. Most recently, he was appointed Co-Chair of the African Society of Human Genetics – Young Investigators and Co-Lead of the GGMC Workforce and Training Core Committee.
Dr. Aneth David
Member
Dr. Aneth David is a Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Dar es Salaam. She holds a PhD in Biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden. Her research and professional interests focus on biotechnology, policy research and advice, and science communication.
As a co-founder and Executive Committee Member of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO), Dr. David leads advocacy and outreach efforts to integrate genetics into national health priorities. She has played a key role in raising awareness of rare diseases and in fostering partnerships among human genetics stakeholders in Tanzania and across Africa.
Her advocacy further extends to science communication, where she actively supports early-career researchers by building capacity in open science, preprints, and public engagement. She also contributes to regional and international initiatives that enhance the visibility of African science and promote inclusive research practices.
Dr. David’s work reflects her deep commitment to bridging science, policy, and society, with the goal of ensuring that advances in human genetics lead to improved health outcomes for communities in Tanzania and beyond.
Ms. Grantina Modern
Member
Ms. Grantina is an early-career researcher in biomedical sciences with growing experience in research, teaching, and management. She holds an MSc in Life Sciences with a specialization in Health and Biomedical Sciences, building on her strong background in biology. She currently serves as an Assistant Lecturer at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO).
Her research interests span genomics, microbiome, bioinformatics, and epidemiological studies, with a particular focus on child health. She is currently pursuing her PhD, leading a project titled “Determination of enteric bacteriome profile as a possible biomarker for growth in children below two years of age in the Iringa region of Tanzania.” Her previous work explored environmental enteric dysfunction in healthy and stunted children and examined the correlates of stunting.
Beyond research, Ms. Grantina is passionate about public health, advocacy, and career guidance, and is committed to advancing knowledge and inspiring the next generation of scientists in Tanzania.
Dr. Sixbert Mkumbuye
Member
Sixbert is a Research Scientist and Senior Laboratory Scientist with more than ten years of experience in clinical, diagnostic, and epidemiological research. His work spans antimicrobial resistance, malaria, and arboviral studies, with extensive expertise in molecular biology and immunology. In addition to his research, he serves as a senior mentor, guiding and supervising students in their scientific projects and academic writing.
He has contributed to multiple collaborative studies with leading institutions, including Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre/Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCMC/KCRI), the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), and CMP-Copenhagen University, Denmark.
Dr. Aneth David
Member
Dr. Aneth David is a Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Dar es Salaam. She holds a PhD in Biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden. Her research and professional interests focus on biotechnology, policy research and advice, and science communication.
As a co-founder and Executive Committee Member of the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization (THGO), Dr. David leads advocacy and outreach efforts to integrate genetics into national health priorities. She has played a key role in raising awareness of rare diseases and in fostering partnerships among human genetics stakeholders in Tanzania and across Africa.
Her advocacy further extends to science communication, where she actively supports early-career researchers by building capacity in open science, preprints, and public engagement. She also contributes to regional and international initiatives that enhance the visibility of African science and promote inclusive research practices.
Dr. David’s work reflects her deep commitment to bridging science, policy, and society, with the goal of ensuring that advances in human genetics lead to improved health outcomes for communities in Tanzania and beyond.