Tecla Temu MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Global Health, University of Washington

Dr. Tecla Temu, MD, PhD, is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Global Health. Her interests and expertise fall under the broad umbrella of global cardiovascular disease (CVD) and include investigating the pathogenesis of CVD in HIV and CVD screening and treatment interventions. Dr. Temu is a translational science CVD researcher with a background in pathobiology, immunology, and epidemiology. She is passionate about CVD and her primary research goals are directed towards understanding the epidemiology of CVD and interactions with infectious disease in sub-Saharan Africa. As a postdoctoral research fellow in UW, she has been involved in multiple projects to identify genetic and behavioral determinants of CVD among adults living with and without HIV in Kenya. Recently, she transitioned her research focus to investigate the pathogenesis of CVD in people living with HIV (PLWH), a pressing problem that has received limited attention, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Dr. Temu is dedicated to continuing research on the pathogenesis of CVD to identify novel markers and to develop risk scoring systems that are contextually relevant to African populations so that those at higher risk can be identified, screened, and treated.

To date, Dr. Temu has been a Principal Investigator (PI) of 10 studies including an R21, two NIH diversity supplement grants, and two international career development awards from The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership program (EDCTP) and the GlaxoSmithKline NCD open lab Africa program to conduct cardiovascular research in Kenya. She was recently awarded a 5-year NIH K01 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and a Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) supplement to assess for the role of gut microbiota and metabolomes in contributing to CVD risk among PLWH. In addition, she was awarded a CFAR New Investigator Award (NIA) to investigate the immunopathogenesis of hypertension in Kenya.

 

 

Publications

  1. Obare, LM, Temu, T, Mallal, SA, Wanjalla, CN. Inflammation in HIV and Its Impact on Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. Circ Res. 2024;134 (11):1515-1545. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.323891. PubMed PMID:38781301 PubMed Central PMC11122788.
  2. Obare, LM, Priest, S, Ismael, A, Mashayekhi, M, Zhang, X, Stolze, LK et al.. Cytokine and Chemokine Receptor Profiles in Adipose Tissue Vasculature Unravel Endothelial Cell Responses in HIV. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2024.03.10.584280. PubMed PMID:38559150 PubMed Central PMC10979923.
  3. Shakil, SS, Temu, TM, Kityo, C, MMed, GEM, Bittencourt, MS, Longenecker, CT et al.. Circulating plasma NT-proBNP predicts subclinical coronary atherosclerosis on CT angiography among older adults in Uganda. BMC Res Notes. 2023;16 (1):107. doi: 10.1186/s13104-023-06385-0. PubMed PMID:37337285 PubMed Central PMC10280820.
  4. Obare, LM, Simmons, J, Oakes, J, Zhang, X, Nochowicz, C, Priest, S et al.. CD3+ T-cell: CD14+monocyte complexes are dynamic and increased with HIV and glucose intolerance. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2023.04.24.538020. PubMed PMID:37162990 PubMed Central PMC10168203.
  5. Temu, TM, Polyak, SJ, Wanjalla, CN, Mandela, NA, Dabee, S, Mogaka, JN et al.. Latent tuberculosis is associated with heightened levels of pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines among Kenyan men and women living with HIV on long-term antiretroviral therapy. AIDS. 2023;37 (7):1065-1075. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003523. PubMed PMID:36928263 PubMed Central PMC10155699.
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