Benson Singa MPH, MBChB

Affiliate Assistant Professor, Global Health

Benson Singa, MBChB, MPH, is a Clinical Research Scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Clinical Research. He is a co-Investigator on a number of projects with the University of Washington/KEMRI collaboration. He has been a close collaborator on several studies with the University of Washington, including being a co-Principal Investigator of large multi-country multi-center trials. Previously he collaborated with the University of Washington on studies of HIV and co-infections, helminths, malaria, STIs and STDs, and maternal health. He has served as a PI, a co-Investigator, and a medical coordinator on these studies. His research interests are in tropical medicine and especially immune modulation and interaction between tropical diseases and HIV and malnutrition, and he has been involved in extensive studies on emerging issues and progress in this field. Preventing mortality and hospital re-admission among hospitalized children is an important aspect of the reduction of child mortality in LMICs. Child mortality rates are still high especially in the LMIC regions where malaria, HIV, and malnutrition are high and children remain very vulnerable to other infections post-discharge with increased morbidity and mortality. There are limited measures currently available to attenuate risks associated with acquiring other infections post-discharge and continued protection from diagnosed conditions. Dr. Singa is especially interested in childhood acute illness and nutrition with special emphasis on the post-discharge period which is of great significance to public health.

Publications

  1. Shao, Y, Wang, S, Gichuki, BM, Stares, MD, Rozday, TJ, Kumar, N et al.. Genomic atlas of Bifidobacterium infantis and B. longum informs infant probiotic design. Cell. 2026; :. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.01.007. PubMed PMID:41713418 .
  2. Libby, TE, Karani, A, Tickell, KD, Akech, D, Singa, B, Rwigi, D et al.. The effect of a 5-day course of azithromycin on Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage and antimicrobial resistance among Kenyan children discharged from hospital. J Infect Dis. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiag028. PubMed PMID:41542944 PubMed Central PMC12927617.
  3. Njunge, JM, Mudibo, EO, Bogaert, J, Orindi, B, Sande, CJ, Bourdon, C et al.. Inflammation impairs post-hospital discharge growth among children hospitalised with acute illness in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Nat Commun. 2025;16 (1):10788. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-66245-2. PubMed PMID:41315420 PubMed Central PMC12663110.
  4. Allen, CAD, Ghate, A, Njunge, JM, Gartner, L, Diallo, AH, Lancioni, C et al.. Plasma lipopolysaccharide levels predict mortality in acutely ill children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Nat Commun. 2025;16 (1):10787. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65429-0. PubMed PMID:41315218 PubMed Central PMC12663156.
  5. Atlas, HE, Mogeni, P, Shawon, RA, Tickell, KD, Bunyige, L, Monchari, I et al.. Effect of azithromycin on post-discharge growth in Kenyan children. BMJ Glob Health. 2025;10 (11):. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2025-020294. PubMed PMID:41285436 PubMed Central PMC12645614.
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