Fellows

Kawela Mumba

SANTHE Masters Fellow


Rwanda Zambia Health Research Group (RZHRG) Ndola, Zambia

Project

Assessment of COVID-19 among participants in an ongoing phase 1 HIV vaccine trial (HIV CORE 006) in Eastern and Southern Africa

Collaboration Interests
  • Adolescents and children
  • Disease prevention and control including HIV, COVID and TB vaccine research
  • Gender equity, diversity and inclusivity in science/research
  • Infectious diseases control in low to medium income countries

Kawela Mumba-Mwangelwa is a Study Physician on the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) 705 Phase 2b HIV vaccine efficacy trial, and the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) 5001 observational study, at the Center for Family Health Research in Zambia (CFHRZ), formerly known as the Zambia-Emory HIV Research Project (ZEHRP). She graduated from the University of Algiers School of Medicine in Algeria in 2014. She is currently involved in various studies which include: identifying acute HIV infections in a high-risk women’s cohort; understanding the contribution of other genital disorder to risk of HIV infection; determining markers of disease progression in recent HIV seroconverters from cohort studies; and comparing the natural history of SARS-CoV-2 to the influenza A virus.


Mumba-Mwangelwa is a gender equity activist and coordinator (under the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)) for women/girls in Science/STEM and is working towards mentoring upcoming researchers. Furthermore, she is part of the Communication Working Group under IAVI which aims at improving communication within and outside the Clinical Research Centers (CRCs). Currently part of the ADVANCE Leadership Development Programme’s first cohort, she strives to become one of the promising leaders that the programme hopes to develop within the ADVANCE network, uniquely equipped to advance the field for a next generation AIDS vaccine via Africa and India. She is also a Master’s candidate in Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

SANTHE is an Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) flagship programme funded by the Science for Africa Foundation through the DELTAS Africa programme; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Gilead Sciences Inc.; and the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.