Research Associate Professor, Global Health

Prof. Nelly R. Mugo is an associate research professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington, a senior principal clinical research scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and a reproductive health specialist with three decades of work experience. Her research focus has been on the prevention of HIV and cervical cancer among other reproductive health research work. She has been an investigator on two landmark clinical trials, the Partners PrEP study that contributed evidence to inform the change of indication for use of Truvada as HIV prevention pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and a protocol lead for the ongoing ‘Kenya Single-dose HPV Vaccine-Efficacy (KEN SHE) Study –’ that has provided evidence on the efficacy of single-dose HPV vaccination. She is a member of the International Papillomavirus Society education committee, and the Kenya Obstetrics and Genecology society and has contributed to several World Health Organization and Kenya ministry of health working group scientific committees. She is widely published in peer review journals.
Publications
- Andrews, LIB, Halloran, ME, Neuzil, KM, van der Laan, L, Huang, Y, Andriesen, J et al.. Evaluating the Test-Negative Design for COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Using Randomized Trial Data: A Secondary Cross-Protocol Analysis of 5 Randomized Clinical Trials. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8 (5):e2512763. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.12763. PubMed PMID:40434773 PubMed Central PMC12120655.
- Wairimu, N, Ngure, K, Ogello, V, Owidi, E, Mwangi, P, Etyang, L et al.. Low HIV-risk aligned discontinuation among HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis users within public HIV clinics in Kenya: A mixed method study. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025;5 (4):e0004493. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004493. PubMed PMID:40294082 PubMed Central PMC12036852.
- Lambisia, AW, Mwita Morobe, J, Moraa, E, Mwarumba, S, K N Korir, F, Seif Athman, R et al.. Identification of coxsackievirus A24 variant during an acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis outbreak in coastal Kenya, 2024. Wellcome Open Res. 2025;10 :28. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.23522.2. PubMed PMID:40225905 PubMed Central PMC11992516.
- Tadese, BK, You, X, Ndao, T, Tota, JE, Chen, YT, Chowdhary, A et al.. The Burden of HPV Infections and HPV-Related Diseases Among People With HIV: A Systematic Literature Review. J Med Virol. 2025;97 (4):e70274. doi: 10.1002/jmv.70274. PubMed PMID:40172095 PubMed Central PMC11963496.
- Kiptinness, C, Mugo, N, Mugwanya, KK, Ngure, K, Mwangi, P, Githuku Dip, DM et al.. THE EFFECT OF PARTNER DELIVERY OF HIV SELF-TEST KITS ON HIV TESTING AND LINKAGE TO CARE IN PUBLIC CLINICS IN KENYA. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2025; :. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003662. PubMed PMID:40135969 .