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.

1. Obare, LM, Temu, TM, Ding, T, Mtui, J, Kityo, C, Nazzinda, R et al.. Associations Between B-Cell Subsets and Subclinical Coronary Artery Disease in Ugandans With and Without HIV. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2026;13 (3):ofag107. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofag107. PubMed PMID:41859698 PubMed Central PMC12996881.
2. Cobeña-Reyes, J, Wanjalla, CN, Feria, MG, Simmons, J, Temu, T, Nochowicz, C et al.. Characterization of Distinct Monocyte Subtypes and Immune Features Associated with HIV, Tuberculosis, and Coronary Artery Disease in a Ugandan Cohort Using Mass Cytometry. Pathog Immun. 2026;11 (1):14-38. doi: 10.20411/pai.v11i1.945. PubMed PMID:41640845 PubMed Central PMC12867109.
3. Mugambi, C, Mbogo, L, Sinkele, W, Gitau, E, Temu, T, Farquhar, C et al.. HIV risk and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Nairobi: a cross-sectional study. BMC Infect Dis. 2026;26 (1):269. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-12490-1. PubMed PMID:41492124 PubMed Central PMC12874915.
4. Cobeña-Reyes, J, Wanjalla, CN, Feria, MG, Simmons, J, Temu, T, Nochowicz, C et al.. Characterization of Distinct Monocyte Subtypes and Immune Features Associated with HIV, Tuberculosis, and Coronary Artery Disease in a Ugandan Cohort Using Mass Cytometry. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.25.672210. PubMed PMID:40909531 PubMed Central PMC12407895.
5. 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. J Immunol. 2025;214 (3):516-531. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkae054. PubMed PMID:40073149 PubMed Central PMC11952877.