Research/Areas of Interest:
My past and present research interests are aligned with One Health, gender and emerging pandemics threats. In the past, through my PhD and immediately after, I worked to develop low-cost non-invasive models for immunization(oral and sublingual). On engagement with the USAID/EPT project, most of my interests are in supporting countries to build capacity to be able to prevent, detect and respond to emerging pandemics. These are accomplished through working with faculty, students and in-service personnel in Africa to offer short courses on outbreak investigation and response, develop continuous professional development courses for in service personnel as well as train students to be field ready. My current research interests are aligned with the Emerging Pandemics Threat program and include finding best methods to integrate One Health into community-based project, developing integrated surveillance programs for Infectious diseases of zoonotic origin, and analyzing social, cultural and gender-related issues as they apply to global health and infectious diseases management.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Tufts-Cummings School of VM, USA, 2011
- Master of Arts, Clark University, USA, 1999
- Doctor of Vet Medicine, Univ Of Nairobi, KEN, 1988
Biography
Dr. Hellen Amuguni is a veterinarian with doctoral training in Infectious Diseases. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at the Cummings School of Veterinary medicine, Tufts University. Her doctoral dissertation was conducted under the supervision of Professor Saul Tzipori, a renowned scientist in the field of infectious diseases and vaccine research where she investigated sublingual immunization as an alternative delivery route for vaccines. The project, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges for Global Health initiative, developed an effective heat stable non-injectable tetanus vaccine that does not require a cold chain and can be used in developing countries.
She has many years of experience working as a Veterinarian and Gender specialist among pastoralist communities in the horn of Africa, developing gender programs, conducting gender assessment studies among livestock projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan and Somalia. She also facilitates in the International Veterinary Medicine forums and Problem Based Learning courses and is the Co-Director of the Human Dimensions of Conservation Medicine course for graduate students in the masters in Conservation Medicine program.
Dr. Amuguni is the technical advisor for the USAID RESPOND project Africa. She coordinates projects across six African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo working with 14 institutions of public health and veterinary medicine to build the capacity of partner African countries using a One Health approach to investigate, respond to, and counter existing and future emerging infectious disease outbreaks.
She has many years of experience working as a Veterinarian and Gender specialist among pastoralist communities in the horn of Africa, developing gender programs, conducting gender assessment studies among livestock projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan and Somalia. She also facilitates in the International Veterinary Medicine forums and Problem Based Learning courses and is the Co-Director of the Human Dimensions of Conservation Medicine course for graduate students in the masters in Conservation Medicine program.
Dr. Amuguni is the technical advisor for the USAID RESPOND project Africa. She coordinates projects across six African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo working with 14 institutions of public health and veterinary medicine to build the capacity of partner African countries using a One Health approach to investigate, respond to, and counter existing and future emerging infectious disease outbreaks.