Dr. Robai Gakunga studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Nairobi. She holds an MBA (Strategic Management) from the United States International University-Africa, is an alumna of the International Prevention Research Institute and is currently studying Population Health Science at the University of Glasgow.

She is an independent research scientist, based in Nairobi and has worked for over 12 years as a consultant and in collaboration with leading research organizations—national, regional and international.

Some studies she has worked on include;

  1. Evaluation of surveillance systems; with U.S. CDC to estimate costs of cancer registration in low- and middle-income countries; with Africa Cancer Registry Network to establish a baseline on regional cancer registry operations; with Vital Strategies to cost cancer registration in Tanzania; with KEMRI as a co-investigator on the cancer registry program.
  2. Evaluation of costs of Non-Communicable Diseases control in Kenya with RTI International
  3. Assessment of the quality of life of terminally ill cancer patients with Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association
  4. Establishing a baseline for breast cancer control studies and feasibility of breast cancer cohort studies in Kenya with RTI International
  5. Understanding implementation and scale-up of cervical cancer prevention strategies in Kenya with RTI International

 

Dr. Robai’s strategic direction is systems thinking in population health research.