KEMRI And JOOTRH Host Inaugural Workshop on Advanced Pathology

The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), in partnership with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) hosted the inaugural Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Trainer of Trainers (ToT) Workshop on Advanced Pathology, marking a significant milestone in the study’s efforts to strengthen disease surveillance and diagnostics.

Held over five days at JOOTRH in Kisumu County, the workshop convened pathologists and laboratory specialists in histopathology from CHAMPS network countries. Its primary objective was to strengthen local site capacity in advanced diagnostic pathology an essential step toward ensuring timely and accurate disease identification, which is critical for saving lives.

The CHAMPS Kenya programme is based at KEMRI’s Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR) in Kisumu County.

While officially opening the workshop, Deputy Director at CGHR, Dr. Erick Muok, noted that, “investing in local laboratory capacity is the cornerstone of resilient health systems. By equipping our scientists with advanced pathology tools and techniques, we empower them to rapidly detect threats and guide lifesaving interventions right at the source.”

A central feature of the training is the adoption of immunohistochemistry (IHC) procedures for infectious disease diagnostics. IHC uses antigen–antibody reactions to detect specific pathogens and tissue biomarkers directly within patient samples, allowing for precise localization of microbial agents and host responses. Participants received hands-on training skills that are important in transforming standard histology labs into advanced diagnostic hubs. Further, the participants reviewed the role of advanced pathology in the context of the CHAMPS MITS workflow. By generating accurate cause of death data, CHAMPS aims to reduce under five mortality through targeted public health actions.

“By integrating IHC into our routine workflows, we can pinpoint the causes of infection with unmatched specificity,” added CHAMPS Kenya CO-PI, Dr. Hellen Mutai, “This workshop empowers local scientists to harness cutting edge techniques and, in turn, generate the high quality data needed to guide lifesaving interventions.”

Beyond technical training, the initiative is seen as a critical step toward establishing Centres for Pathology Excellence (CPE) under the CHAMPS program, a global effort to reduce under-five mortality through accurate cause-of death determination. In addition, the workshop certified a core group of expert trainers, who will play a leading role in expanding skills and knowledge to other professionals involved in MITS related processes.

This inaugural training also reinforces KEMRI’s broader mandate of building scientific and technical capacity for health research and service delivery in Kenya and beyond. By enabling African countries to take ownership of data generation and analysis, CHAMPS and its partners are laying the foundation for more effective, locally driven health interventions.

The training was facilitated by Consultant Pathologist CHAMPS, Roosecelis Martines and CHAMPS Network Pathologist, Orah Nnamdi. Also in attendance was Site Director, CHAMPS Kenya, Dr. Victor Akelo.