OUR FELLOWS
Post Doc Fellows
Dr Adam Silumbwe is a Public Health researcher dedicated to bridging the gap between public health policy and real-world implementation. With a PhD in Public Health and an MPH in Health Policy and Management, his work focuses on identifying and overcoming local health system bottlenecks to ensure that life-saving interventions actually reach the people they are intended to serve.
Currently, he serves as a Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Zambia, where he coordinates postgraduate training in health systems and implementation research. His
expertise lies in applying qualitative research methodologies to understand complex policy
processes and intervention development.
He is particularly passionate about capacity building, currently serving as a Co-Investigator
on NIH-funded D43 grants and EU-funded projects (IS4NCD) aimed at strengthening NCD,
trauma, and injury research across the region. His goal is to empower the next generation of
health leaders with the tools to navigate and optimize health delivery systems.
Dr Given Moonga is a Research Fellow at the Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Munich and Clinical Epidemiology Lecturer at the University of Zambia. With a PhD in Medical Research - International Health from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich.
His work is focused on advancing education and policy initiatives related to planetary health, while also conducting epidemiological research that addresses pressing global health challenges.
His academic and research interests include Infectious diseases, Cancer Epidemiology, planetary health, One Health, eHealth, with a focus on health systems and policy development
Dr. Nyasha Dzavakwa is a postdoctoral fellow with the Southern Africa Research Capacity Network (SOFAR), based at the Health Research Unit Zimbabwe (THRU ZIM). She completed her PhD with no corrections, with research focused on treatment adherence among adolescents living with HIV in Harare, Zimbabwe.
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During her SOFAR fellowship, Dr. Dzavakwa will consolidate her PhD outputs and develop a pilot study to support a future early-career award. She will complete analyses of her digital adherence intervention trial — the VITALITY Trial — and investigate adherence patterns using machine learning approaches. A key focus of her fellowship is launching a pilot neuroimaging study to explore brain features associated with cognitive impairment in young people with perinatally acquired HIV.
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Her work sits at the intersection of adolescent health, digital health innovation, and neuroscience.
Phd Fellows
Fiona Gambanga is a global public health researcher and professional with over 9 years experience in public health intervention design and implementation, stakeholder engagement, program monitoring and evaluation, project management,operations and implementation research.
She recently supported Rwanda's Health Sector in Digital Health and Climate and Health priorities. She has previous work experience in pediatric health workforce planning (HRH) in Zambia and Malawi and diagnostics operations research experience in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda and Rwanda and other Africa
countries. Her published work is in disease areas including HIV (prevention, treatment, and testing access) COVID-19 (community-based testing and treatment) ,and AMR in health facilities.
She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Bryn Mawr College (cum Laude) and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health focusing on Epidemiology and Public Health Research Methods (Advanced certificate).
Emilia Juceline Eugénio de Carvalho Fumane is a medical doctor with a degree from the Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM) and a Master’s in Public Health from the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM). Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to scientific research and public
health promotion, contributing significantly to the health sector's development in Mozambique.
Currently, she serves as the Head of the Department of Research, Training, and
Health Surveys at the INS Delegation in Maputo City and is a researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), where she conducts studies focused on health system improvements and the impact of public policies on population well-being. She is also a member of the National Health Bioethics Committee (CNBS), where she
contributes to the formulation and implementation of ethical guidelines for biomedical research in the country.
Sombo Fwoloshi is an Infectious Diseases consultant based at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka Zambia. In her new role of lecturer at – University of Zambia, School of Medicine, she coordinates postgraduate training in internal medicine and infectious diseases.
Previously she held roles of Chief clinical mentor/ECHO technical lead and subsequently Chief Surveillance officer under the Ministry of Health under the CDC Cooperative agreement. Her areas of research include bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance. She was PI on the Zambia Antibiotic Resistance Interdisciplinary (ZARIA) Study that culminated in the development of evidence-based antibiotic guidelines for 2 hospitals in Zambia (ZARIA). She was the Zambia clinical lead on the 8-country prospective cohort study of mortality from bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics (MBIRA) study.
She is a member of the Antimicrobial Resistance Coordinating Committee (AMRCC) and various (Research& innovation, antimicrobial use antimicrobial stewardship) technical working groups.
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JayJay John Karumazondo is a qualitative researcher and academic with a strong
background in research coordination, qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and policy engagement.
As a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in the Department of Demography Settlement and Development, he taught undergraduate courses on maternal and child health, male reproductive health, global population policies, and demographic techniques.
His research expertise spans diverse thematic areas, including adolescent wellbeing, sexual and reproductive health, community development, and health policy. He has led and contributed to multiple research projects with institutions such as OPHID, ECOZI, UNFPA, and World Vision. In these roles, he has been instrumental in study design, data collection, stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and report writing.
Through his involvement with EMPOWA-Zim programme and other initiatives, he has worked closely with policymakers and organizations to bridge the gap between research, policy, and Practice.
Denise Milice holds a degree in General Medicine and a Master's in Public Health. Her professional activities focus on health research and scientific communication. Currently, she leads the Department of Health Communication and Scientific Events at the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), where she is responsible for content development, management, and dissemination of scientific materials, organizing events, and providing editorial assistance to
RMCS.
Her research experience includes clinical trials in HIV vaccine and antibody studies, as well as new diagnostics for pediatric TB. Currently, she is investigating access to and quality of TB services, particularly for individuals with TB and type 2 diabetes (T2D). She is also a member of the technical group at the Ministry of Health (MISAU) responsible for implementing a pilot project integrating TB-T2D care in primary
healthcare.
Richard Mwape is a SOFAR PhD fellow in Infectious and Tropical Disease Research, focusing on validating the role of respiratory mucosal biomarkers as a diagnostic tool for respiratory tract infections in children. He obtained his medical degree from Copperbelt University in 2020 and worked as a junior doctor at Nchanga North General Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this time, Richard developed an interest in infectious diseases and was awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to study Infectious Diseases and One Health at three European universities: University of Tours (France), Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), and Hannover Medical School (Germany). In 2023, he completed his master’s thesis in the field of infectious disease diagnostics at the Biomerieux-Lyon South University Hospital joint research unit, under the EU-funded DIAMONDS project (Diagnosis and Management of Febrile Illness using RNA Personalised Molecular Signature Diagnosis).
Following this, Richard joined Zambart as a study manager for the TB REACH project in Ndola, where he focused on evaluating novel TB infection diagnostics and integrating active TB case finding alongside multi-disease screening. He is particularly interested in paediatric infectious diseases, immunology, and host-pathogen interactions, and aims to leverage this knowledge to develop novel diagnostics and therapeutics that improve patient care.
Msc Fellows
I’m a biologist at the National Institute of Health in Mozambique, with four years of experience in quality management systems for clinical procedures, biomedical research, and genetic studies. My work has been instrumental in supporting the implementation of genomic surveillance in Mozambique, contributing to advancements in public health and disease monitoring. ​Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health, I aim to deepen my understanding of public health strategies and interventions.
I am a statistician with a degree from Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Maputo, Mozambique and over six years of experience in data analysis and management within the public health sector. Currently, I serve as the Coordinator of the Data Analysis Sector at the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), where I have been working on projects focused on infectious diseases, child health, and vaccination. Additionally, I have advanced complementary training in Biostatistics from the University of Minho, Lisboa Portugal.
I am a quantitative researcher and data scientist passionate about using data to improve newborn health outcomes in low-resource settings.
​As part of the NeoTree Project at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI), I work with neonatal data from hospitals in Zimbabwe and Malawi to support digital health innovation, data quality improvement, and analytics. My work focuses on developing automated dashboards, data pipelines, and risk prediction models to identify high-risk newborns early and strengthen data-driven decision-making.​
I aim to integrate data science, epidemiology, and implementation research to reduce neonatal mortality and improve health systems across sub-Saharan Africa.
I am pursuing an MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
I am excited to join Zambart as a new Master of Science SOFAR fellow, where I will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
My focus will be on advancing research and evidence generation in neuro-infectious diseases, health systems, and diagnostic pathways, with a strong emphasis on improving outcomes for underserved populations in Zambia and beyond. Through this program, I aim to develop advanced skills in research design, data analysis, and implementation science to inform policy and clinical and public health practice. Being selected as a SOFAR Fellow is both an honor and an opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research while connecting with a network of passionate African scientists.
This fellowship represents a key step in my journey to strengthen health systems and drive impactful, evidence-based interventions across the continent