Executive Management Committee

Dr. Brenda Okech

Director, UVRI-CRP Initiative

Dr. Brenda Okech provides strategic leadership to UVRI-CRP Initiative and its work in health research, community engagement, capacity building, and advocacy.

As Director of UVRI-CRP Initiative, Dr. Brenda Okech leads the organisation’s commitment to research that contributes to better public health outcomes in Uganda and beyond.

Her leadership supports collaborative research in HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and other related diseases, while strengthening partnerships with communities, research institutions, government, and other stakeholders.

She continues to champion prevention-focused research, meaningful community participation, research capacity, and the translation of scientific findings into solutions that improve health and wellbeing.

Dr. Juliet Mpendo, MBChB, MPH

Medical Director | Clinical Researcher | Principal Investigator

Dr Juliet Mpendo is a Ugandan medical doctor, clinical researcher, and clinical trialist with over 25 years of experience in medical and clinical research and extensive expertise in HIV prevention, HIV vaccine research, population epidemiology, and Phase I–III clinical trials.

She is the Medical Director of the UVRI Clinical Research Program Initiative (UVRI CRP) in Entebbe, Uganda, where she provides clinical and strategic leadership for the implementation of clinical research programmes. Over the course of her career, Dr Mpendo has worked closely with international sponsors, research organisations, regulators, and local communities to establish and deliver high-quality clinical trials at UVRI CRP, Entebbe, Uganda.

Dr Mpendo has served as a Principal Investigator and senior investigator on several HIV vaccine and HIV prevention studies, including HIV vaccine trials, simulated vaccine efficacy studies, the HPTN 084 Phase III trial of long-acting injectable cabotegravir for HIV prevention in women and the ongoing EXPrESSIVE 10 that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the monthly PrEP pill. Her experience spans protocol implementation, regulatory and ethical oversight, participant safety, clinical management, quality assurance, staff capacity building, monitoring, audits, and sponsor engagement.

A significant part of her research career has focused on fishing communities around Lake Victoria, where she contributed to epidemiological and cohort studies examining HIV risk, transmission, prevention, and readiness for future HIV vaccine efficacy trials. She played a key role in establishing community research hubs that combined research activities with basic healthcare services and strengthened the capacity of underserved communities to participate in clinical research.

Dr Mpendo has contributed to peer-reviewed scientific literature and international scientific conferences, with research covering HIV vaccine safety and immunogenicity, HIV epidemiology and transmission, participant recruitment and retention, community engagement, and HIV prevention. Her work has contributed to the evidence base supporting HIV prevention strategies and the development and evaluation of novel HIV vaccines and prevention technologies.

Dr. Annet Nanvubya

Clinical Trials Manager

Dr. Annet Nanvubya is a Medical Doctor, clinical researcher, and clinical trials specialist with 24 years of experience in clinical and epidemiological research, including extensive experience in infectious diseases, vaccines, HIV prevention, and sexual and reproductive health research.

She holds a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and currently serves as a WHO/TDR Clinical Research Leadership Fellow at the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) in Heidelberg, Germany.

Dr. Nanvubya also serves as the Clinical Trials Manager at the UVRI Clinical Research Program Initiative (formerly UVRI-IAVI HIV Vaccine Program), where she provides strategic and operational oversight for the conduct of clinical trials. Over the course of her career, she has participated in epidemiological studies in high-risk fishing communities and Phase I–III clinical trials evaluating the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of vaccines, drugs, and other biomedical interventions. She has served as a Principal Investigator for two Phase I/II HIV vaccine trials and for a Phase III COVID-19 vaccine trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Moderna vaccine in Africa. She has also been part of clinical research teams conducting HIV prevention trials, including Phase III trials evaluating long-acting PrEP drugs for HIV prevention among women in fishing communities.

Dr. Nanvubya has a strong interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights, with particular passion for generating and translating evidence that improves access to effective HIV prevention, family planning, and other sexual and reproductive health interventions for underserved and vulnerable populations. Her work is driven by a commitment to strengthening health research systems and ensuring that research findings contribute to meaningful improvements in health outcomes, particularly in African settings.

She has also contributed to research quality management and capacity strengthening initiatives in Africa, including coordination of an EDCTP-funded Reciprocal Monitoring Scheme established through the East African Consortium for Clinical Research.

Through her current WHO/TDR Clinical Research Leadership Fellowship, Dr. Nanvubya is further developing her leadership and technical expertise in clinical research, with a focus on strengthening research capacity, advancing high-quality clinical trials, and contributing to the development and evaluation of vaccines and other health interventions that address priority health needs in Africa.