John Kimotho

John Kimotho is a Kenyan born and raised biomedical research scientist, who holds a Master’s degree in Immunology from Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya, which was funded by the Initiative to Develop African Research Leaders (IDeAL) based at the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP). He has an undergraduate background in Medical Laboratory Science and Technology from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to his PhD award, Kimotho was working as an Assistant Research Officer at KWTRP, where he strived to understand the immune responses among Kenyan COVID-19 patients presenting with different disease phenotypes. His PhD work seeks to understand the impact of life-long cumulative infectious exposures, in shaping the naïve B cells repertoire in African populations. This work will inform predictive factors which could contribute to differences in immune responses to pathogens and vaccines and hence the considerations that should be made during vaccine design.