Weltel Team Members:
Dr. Richard Lester, MD, FRCPC (Kenya, Canada)
Principal Investigator and Project Manager
Dr. Lester initiated Weltel and is the primary investigator on the clinical trials evaluating the SMS protocol in subjects taking HAART. He is an infectious diseases physician from Canada who joined Dr. Frank Plummer’s group at the University of Manitoba in 2004 in their quest for an HIV vaccine. He has been living with his family in Kenya since 2005. Initially as an AMMI/CIHR/Bristol-Meyers-Squibb research fellow he focused on innate immune susceptibility and resistance to HIV infection; work that is ongoing. However, shortly after arrival in Kenya he, like most visitors, picked up on the extensive use of mobile phones in the region. Along with his Kenyan colleagues, they came up with a plan to integrate the regional telecommunications technology boom into the care of patients with HIV. He is currently taking a new position at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) in Vancouver but will continue to lead and support this project in Kenya as a global health initiative.
Sarah Karanja, BA (Kenya)
Study Coordinator
Sarah joined Weltel in May 2007. She is currently pursuing an MA in Medical Sociology at University ofNairobi and holds a BA in Sociology from the same university. Prior to joining Weltel, Sarah worked with KEMRI as a Site Coordinator in the HIV incidence study in Nandi and the Efficacy of Iron Fortified flour trial in Malindi.
Jesse Coleman, MSc (Canada, Kenya)
Assistant Project Manager
Jesse became part of Weltel in late 2009 after graduating from the University of Amsterdam's Research Master's of Social Science programme. At the University of Amsterdam Jesse conducted research for his thesis in Sub-Saharan Africa where he met with 19 different mHealth projects from Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa.
Bonface Njeresa Beti, BA (Kenya)
Health Communication, Advocacy and Policy Advisor
Bonface joined the Weltel team in June 2009 He holds a BA in Communication from Daystar University.Prior to this, Bonface worked with the World Social Forum Secretariat as a Media Coordinator and UNICEF Kenya as an Assistant Communication Officer in Health Projects.
Ricky Kitsao, (Kenya)
I.T. Consultant
Ricky has worked in the I.T. field for close to 10 years and has wide-ranging experience in system development, database design and programming. He is currently working to develop sms-based solutions for various projects that Weltel is undertaking. He holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi.
Edward Mills, PhD, MSc, MSt (Canada)
Ed is the Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Associate Professor of Health Sciences at University of Ottawa. He has been working with colleagues in Uganda since 2006 on the development of an observational cohort of HIV/AIDS patients at The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), nationwide. He is a clinical epidemiologist and is also trained in international law. He has published extensively on methodology of randomized trials and is also the editor of the journal Conflict and Health.
Judith Law, MA (Canada)
Judith Law joined Weltel in October 2009 as a business strategist. Judith is based in Canada and liaises with the Nairobi team on strategic partnerships and business development. Prior to working with the Weltel team, Judith spent seven years leading a multi-million dollar STI-HIV/AIDS Clinics Network project in Southern Vietnam for the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. In 2009, she was awarded three certficates of Merit from the Government of Vietnam for outstanding contribution to development in three Provinces. Judith’s academic background includes a Masters in Distributed Learning, Graduate Certificate in Business Management, and Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies.
David Mark, BA (Kenya)
David has designed and implemented several mobile phone and SMS products for use in Africa and Asia. At Weltel he focuses on the reliability, and scalability of Weltel's system from IT and cost efficiency perspectives. David holds a B.A. in Science, Technology and Society from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and comes to Weltel having worked for various firms including Netscape Communications, and his own consulting business. David is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).