Prof. Samuel Kariuki

Prof. Samuel Kariuki joined DNDi in 2023 as the Eastern Africa Director. He is supervising and leading DNDi’s activities in the region. He is the former Acting Director General at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), which is one of DNDi’s founding partners. He joined DNDi’s Executive Team in January 2025 as Continental Lead for Africa.

Prof. Kariuki holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Nairobi, a Master of Science in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the same university, and a PhD in Tropical Medicine from the University of Liverpool, UK.  In 2022, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine awarded him an Honorary Doctorate degree in recognition of his contribution to research in tropical medicine, especially infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. 

He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Faculty Member of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a visiting Professor of Tropical Microbiology at Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK, and a member of the American Society for Microbiology. Prof. Kariuki also serves as a member of the World Health Organisation Strategic Advisory Group (STAG) on AMR. Over the last 20 years, he has researched and published on AMR and the epidemiology and genomics of key foodborne enteric pathogens endemic in Kenya and the region. He has published over 180 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 4 chapters in textbooks of Microbiology, majoring in infectious diseases and AMR.  

During his career, Prof. Kariuki has conducted numerous research projects including epidemiological, social, laboratory, and clinical research. His leadership positions at KEMRI have included serving as the Director of the Centre for Microbiology Research and leading KEMRI’s Directorate of Research and Development.