Ruth Nduati, MBChB, MMed, MPH

Professor of Paediatrics, University of Nairobi

Dr. Ruth Nduati, MBChB, MMED, MPH, was the lead Kenyan Co-Investigator of the "Breastfeeding and Transmission of HIV Study," after she completed her master's degree program at the University of Washington in October 1994.  She entered the MPH program in the Department of Epidemiology in September 1991, and after graduating was appointed as an Advanced In-Country Scholar.  Dr. Nduati has become a recognized international authority on the perinatal transmission of HIV and has emerged as a leader in her field in Africa. While maintaining her teaching post as a professor at the University of Nairobi and continuing her clinical and research work, Dr. Nduati is also serving as Secretary of the Network of AIDS Researchers in Eastern and Southern Africa (NARESA) and was a member of the Scientific Secretariat of the Ghent Working Group on Mother to Child Transmission of HIV-1.  She was the coordinator of a Perinatal HIV-1 Interventions Workshop at the 1997 AIDS in Africa conference. She is co-author of a book, "Communicating with Adolescents on HIV/AIDS in East and Southern Africa", co-author of several UNICEF manuals, and published the results of her breastfeeding study in the JAMA in 2000.  In 2001, Dr. Nduati was also the first author on an article published in the Lancet, "Impact of Breastfeeding on Mortality of HIV-1 Infected Women: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial."  In September 2002 she was awarded a CDC/WHO study that looks at the effect of HAART on breastmilk HIV transmission.  This study has completed enrollment and follow-up, and data analysis is underway.  In 2004, Dr. Nduati was awarded a PEPFAR grant to provide prevention of mother-to-child transmission interventions in rural Kenya.  In 2006, she was a plenary speaker at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, where she spoke about pediatric HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, Dr. Nduati is Chair of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Nairobi and is working on the Medical Education Partnership Initiative.

1. Osoro, E, Awuor, AO, Inwani, I, Mugo, C, Hunsperger, E, Verani, JR et al.. Association between low maternal serum aflatoxin B1 exposure and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Mombasa, Kenya, 2017-2019: A nested matched case-control study. Matern Child Nutr. 2024; :e13688. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13688. PubMed PMID:38886171 .
2. Abu-Rish Blakeney, E, Chepchirchir, A, Kithuci, RK, Nduati, R, Wamalwa, D, Farquhar, C et al.. Developing a global partnership to adapt and deliver interprofessional education faculty training in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic: reporting on an innovative collaboration. J Interprof Care. 2024; :1-5. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2024.2343829. PubMed PMID:38717763 .
3. Mulinge, MM, Abisi, HK, Kabahweza, HM, Okutoyi, L, Wamalwa, DC, Nduati, RW et al.. The Role of Maternal Secretor Status and Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Early Childhood Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Breastfeed Med. 2024;19 (6):409-424. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2023.0274. PubMed PMID:38577928 .
4. Mirieri, H, Nduati, R, Dawa, J, Okutoyi, L, Osoro, E, Mugo, C et al.. Risk factors of adverse birth outcomes among a cohort of pregnant women in Coastal Kenya, 2017-2019. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024;24 (1):127. doi: 10.1186/s12884-024-06320-6. PubMed PMID:38347445 PubMed Central PMC10860222.
5. Mulinge, MM, Kibui, NK, Kimani, H, Wainaina, J, Bwana, P, Omondi, M et al.. Factors associated with viral load non-suppression among treatment-experienced pre-teenage children living with HIV in Kenya: a nationwide population-based cohort study, 2015-2021. EClinicalMedicine. 2024;68 :102454. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102454. PubMed PMID:38333535 PubMed Central PMC10850406.