The Kenya Association of Clinical Pathologists and the Institut Mereiux is proud to announce the first laureate of the joint KACP-IM Young Investigator’s Award, Dr. Edwin Walong.
The award was announced by DR. Kiplangat Sigei, the BioMerieux Medical Affairs Manager for Anglophone Africa during the APECSA Virtual Congress, 2020 on 15th October 2020. Dr. Walong is a pathologist and lecturer in the department of Human Pathology at the University of Nairobi.
He is passionate about translating knowledge acquired from research in the autopsy suite to guide clinical management of patients. His body of research is wide ranging, from respiratory illnesses in infants and children to sepsis in maternal mortality. It is his work on the later that makes him the first recipient of this prestigious award. Post-partum hemorrhage is implicated in more than half of maternal deaths in Kenya. A significant proportion have sepsis as a major contributing factor. With antimicrobial resistant organisms responsible for nearly 40% of infectious disease deaths, the role of antimicrobial stewardship in pregnancy and at delivery cannot be understated. This research grant award is worth € 10,000 and will enable Dr. Walong and colleagues to advance their research, promote antimicrobial stewardship and fight antimicrobial resistance for better maternal outcomes. We congratulate Dr. Walong and wish him the very best for the future. We also thank Dr. Sigei and the IM team for their support of research, researchers and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.