PAMVERC Staff based in Moshi: Professor Franklin Mosha, Jovin Kitau, Matt Kirby and Janneke Snetselaar
Moshi Trial Site Facilities
Molecular Laboratory specializing in PCR and ELISA techniques to identify malaria parasites in blood and in mosquito samples, mosquito species identification and insecticide resistance markers.
Insecticide Testing Facility (ITF) with conveyor mounted disk-sprayer and potter tower, plus dedicated climate-controlled rooms for bioassays of insecticides used on long-lasting nets or for indoor residual spraying.
Insectary with pyrethroid-resistant and susceptible strains of Anopheles gambiae, An. arabiensis and Culex quinquefasciatus
These services received GLP accreditation by SANAS in 2017, the first site in Africa to receive this accreditation.
27 experimental huts at 3 field stations 20k from KCMUCo, in a rice irrigation area where An. arabiensis is abundant
Human resource capacity
The Moshi site has significant experience in WHO phase I laboratory studies, phase II experiement hut testing of ITN/LLIN and IRS, and of running phase III community trials. KCMUCo -and LSHTM-employed scientific staff on site include medical entomologists (7), laboratory scientists and technicians (12), laboratory and field assistants (15) and field workers.
PAMVERC supports postgraduate training by providing dissertation research facilities and supervision. To date, 17 MSc and 9 PhD (registered at either KCMUCo or LSHTM) students have been directly supported. In addition PAMVERC is currently mentoring MD students as part of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative.
Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre
KCMC was established in 1997 as one of the six constituent colleges of Tumaini University, by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT). The College is affiliated with the Teaching KCMC hospital which serves as a Government referral hospital for Northern Tanzania, serving a population of more than 12 million people. The Hospital has 450 beds with a staff population of 1150 including 72 medical doctors working in different disciplines. The KCM College draws its mandate from the Charter granted on in the Universities Act 2005. The day-to-day running of the College is vested in the Provost who is the Chief Executive Officer of the College. The College has an annual intake of 260 undergraduate students in the fields of medicine, rehabilitation medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, prosthetics and orthotics and health laboratory sciences. Postgraduate programs which have an annual intake of about 130 includes Masters in parasitology & entomology, epidemiology and statistics, molecular biology & immunology, clinical Research, urology and public health. Also, Master in Medicine in various disciplines and PhD research activities
Research Coordination.
There are currently 72 ongoing projects in Malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB, Non communicable diseases, Reproductive health, Dermatology and disabilities. Average annual publications number is over 35. Some of our research findings have been utilized by the Ministry of Health for policy formulation aimed at improvement of heath care delivery and vector control strategies. All research activities at the College are coordinated by the Directorate of Research through the College Research and Ethics Review Committee (CRERC). The Committee has well established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and also serves as an agency of the National Ethics Committee. The College also has well documented Research Policy and Guidelines for conducting research.
Malaria Research Program
Malaria Research activities at KCMC were intensified from 2001 after the establishment of JMP. Initial KCMC, NIMR, LSHTM research activities supported mainly by British Medical Research Council, Gates Malaria Partnership and ENRECA included:
Malaria transmission intensity in North Eastern Tanzania ranging from Kilimanjaro Mountain to the Tanga coastline Intermittent Preventive Treatment for malaria in infants (IPTI) Evaluation of treated nets and other materials as well as IRS against malaria vectors
KCMC main collaborators include the Joint Malaria Control (JMP) whose partners are NIMR, LSHTM and CMP. In terms of capacity building, our long term collaboration with Duke University of Medicine has recently led in wining a large grant under Medical Education Partnership Initiative(MEPI) for improvement of medical education. Other malaria vector research collaborators include BMGF, USAID, WHO-WHOPES, UNEP, DANIDA and pesticide industries.