On November 20, 2014, Dr. Alex Ezeh officially announced the appointment of Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi as the Director of Research at the Center. In an email that was circulated to all staff members and APHRC’s partners, Dr. Ezeh stated that he was delighted that the Center had “found a leader who is passionate about Africa’s place in the discourses that affect its development, and who is deeply committed to the Center’s mission, values and ideals.” Dr. Kyobutungi will take up this position effective December 1, 2014.
Dr. Kyobutungi is an MD with a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She joined APHRC over eight years ago as a post-doctoral research fellow, and was until recently the Director of Policy Engagement and Communications as well as the Program Leader for the Center’s Health Challenges and Systems Research Program.
She is an accomplished researcher and leader who has presided over the growth of the Health Challenges and Systems Research Program into one that is setting the agenda on contemporary health issues affecting Africa. During her short appointment as the Director of Policy Engagement and Communications, she transformed the Center’s approach to policy engagement towards a more strategic and issue-based process.
According to Dr. Ezeh, “her passion in seeing research evidence play greater role in decision making in Africa and her commitment to developing younger researchers makes her the ideal candidate to lead the Center’s Research Division.”
She currently serves on a number of boards, panels and expert groups including the INDEPTH Network Board of Directors, the Advisory Council of the Carnegie African Diaspora Program at the Institute of International Education, among others. She is the inaugural Chairperson of the Kenya Epidemiological Association.
Dr. Kyobutungi will provide leadership to the Center’s Research Division and guidance to the thematic research programs in health, education, population and reproductive health, urbanization and aging. Her deep understanding of the Center’s diverse research areas and the synergies needed to bridge the evidence–action gap will ultimately help to deliver APHRC’s quest for the evidence-informed change the region desperately needs.
“Catherine’s inclusive approach to management and her dynamic leadership style will undoubtedly enrich the Center’s extensive research networks and partnerships, bringing essential growth to the Center’s reach and influence across Africa and beyond. We are absolutely fortunate to have Catherine take on this role, and I am thrilled to welcome her to the Directorate of Research and wish her every success in her new role at APHRC” said Dr. Ezeh.