Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi is the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center based in Nairobi, Kenya. She previously served as the Center’s Director of Research and Head of the research Unit on Health and Systems for Health. Catherine has a medical background and is a trained epidemiologist with research interests in the interface between Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Systems Strengthening. She has led research projects on the epidemiology of NCD risk factors in Kenya, and designed and tested service delivery models for resource-constrained settings such as slum settings. She has also conducted research on the policy context for NCD prevention in several African countries. Catherine is a strong advocate for the societal benefit of research beyond traditional research outputs. At APHRC, she has strengthened the Center’s approaches to policy engagement and advocacy and supported the development of policy and advocacy models to ensure timely and effective uptake of evidence in decision making. She has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers, sits on multiple national and global expert advisory panels.
Catherine is also the co-Director of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) – Phd and Post-doctoral fellowship Program to strengthen the capacity of eight public Universities in Africa to produce the next generation of African research leaders.
Catherine is a Joep Lange Chair at the University of Amsterdam and is working on Chronic Disease Management as an entry point to make healthcare systems more responsive to NCDs in Africa. She is also a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.