Kennedy Kipkoech is helping shape the future of infectious disease research through his work as a mathematical modeller and statistician at the University of Bristol. Alongside his research, Kennedy is an active member of INHSU’s Early and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Special Interest Group, serving on its executive committee and contributing to conference planning, webinars, mentoring opportunities, and initiatives that strengthen engagement across the global harm reduction community.
In this interview, Kennedy speaks with University of Bristol researcher and fellow EMCR Special Interest Group member Josh Dawe. Together, they discuss Kennedy’s work, his experiences supporting and growing the INHSU EMCR network, and the importance of creating inclusive opportunities for researchers from low- and middle-income countries.
Kennedy Kipkoech
Joshua Dawe
Joshua Dawe:
Tell us about your role, what it is you do, and how you’re involved with INHSU.
Kennedy Kipkoech:
Great. Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure to be interviewed by you and Matt. I’m an infectious disease mathematical modeller and statistician working at the University of Bristol with the Global Epidemiology and Modelling Group led by Professor Peter Vickerman. As a statistician and mathematical modeller, my work is mainly on modelling dynamic transmission models, mostly for HIV and viral hepatitis C, in order to inform public health policy and funding mechanisms, and to inform elimination strategies for HIV and hepatitis C. So that’s, in a nutshell, what I do at the University of Bristol.
In terms of what I do with INHSU, I am a member of the early-and-mid career researchers (EMCR) Special Interest Group. And not only a member, but I also serve in the executive committee of the EMCR special interest group. Within the EMCR special interest group, as a member of the executive committee, my roles have been mainly planning and organising EMCR activities around the conferences. We support conference planning, and that entails reviewing of abstracts and scholarship applications, as well as chairing sessions, which I’ve done in the past. And it’s been amazing and engaging.
The other role that I do with the special interest group are running webinars, which is something we started about three years ago. We’ve had previous webinars that I’ve been able to chair. One was with you, Josh! It was on how UNAIDS use both data and modelling outputs as well to inform policy and decision making. So that’s an area that I’ve been working on.
I’ve really been working on supporting the EMCR special interest group to growing the network and particularly using other opportunities like social media to be able to get as much as possible information out there, particularly for people in low- and middle-income countries.
Joshua Dawe:
What is your favourite thing about INHSU?
Kennedy Kipkoech:
One great thing that I like about INHSU is the deliberate move to meaningfully engage the EMCRs, which I’m not sure it’s something that’s common in other organisations. I joined about four or five years ago when the EMCR group was starting, and seen how we’ve been able to grow, particularly with the support of the INHSU Board. They’ve tried to give us EMCRs an opportunity and platform to be able to grow amongst ourselves. It also provides a platform for knowledge exchange, which is great. Last year the EMCR special interest group provided opportunities in conferences for early-career researchers to network with senior academics during a pre-conference workshop, and that was great. They come, we engage, which is not normally something that you’ll see often, and people can build collaborations and ask questions. That’s one key thing that I think INSU has done great.
The other great thing INHSU has done as a deliberate move is to be as inclusive as possible. I remember in 2020, there was an African-centred conference that was in Cape Town focused on amplifying the harm reduction work that’s being done in Africa. There was a focus on human rights, and on the rollout of emerging interventions, which are not as widespread as what we have in high-income settings. And at last years conference in Cape Town, there was the same focus again. And that to me, I mean this because I come from Africa, has been a deliberate move to ensure that the African setting is really put into the perspective when it comes to INHSU.
I’ve also had opportunities through INHSU to be able to be part of planning of the conference when it was held in Cape Town in 2025. And that to me is an opportunity that won’t come easily with other organisations, and something that I’ll credit INHSU for.
Joshua Dawe:
If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Kennedy Kipkoech:
Oh yeah, that’s a tricky question! I would say Mbuzi Choma. And Mbuzi Choma is a Swahili word that really translates to roast goat or barbecued goat. It’s a staple meal mostly in Kenya and Tanzania, and it’s normally served with something called kachumbari, which is salad comprising of diced tomato, onion, chilli. What I like about Mbuzi Choma, for that matter, is that it’s made in a way that it balances between the ingredients that you marinate it with and the juice and the texture that comes from the goat itself and mostly it’s free-range goats in Kenya. That’s something that I’d love to always have.