Isaac Ngere

Physician-epidemiologist with over 15 years of experience in infectious disease research, public health programme management, and health systems strengthening across Kenya and the East, Central, and Southern Africa (ECSA) region. Holds dual appointments with the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health at Washington State University (WSU) and its East Africa Global Health Programme; additionally serves as Honorary Assistant Principal Research Scientist (non-tenure track) at the Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Nairobi.
Research expertise spans surveillance and response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases at the human–animal–environment interface, with a growing focus on digital surveillance and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for public health decision-making. Has led large-scale field and hospital-based cohort studies, worked extensively with marginalized and pastoralist populations, and authored over 65 peer-reviewed publications.
Current principal and co-investigator roles include:
▪ Principal Investigator – Wellcome Trust Climate Impacts Award ($3.8M, 2026–2029): Examining causal health impacts of climate change among vulnerable populations in Kenya.
▪ Co-Investigator/Co-Lead – Two CDC-funded programmes (~$65M combined) strengthening disease surveillance and outbreak response systems in Kenya.
▪ Technical Lead (WSU) – KEMRI–CDC Population-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance (PBIDS) platform, covering over 500,000 individuals since 2006.
▪ Lead Investigator – MERS-CoV surveillance programme (since 2018), supported by CDC, NIH, DTRA, WHO, and the University of Hong Kong, focused on zoonotic transmission dynamics in the Horn of Africa.
Research on MERS-CoV transmission has generated critical insights into viral evolution and interspecies transmission, leading to membership in the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) and the WHO/FAO/WOAH/UNEP Quadripartite Technical Forums on MERS-CoV. Actively mentors PhD fellows and trainees in Kenya and the United States, including within the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (FELTP), and serves on ethics review boards and editorial panels for leading scientific journals.