Wen Kilama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wen L. Kilama | |
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AMANET Managing Trustee
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| Born | 22 May 1940 Kagera, Tanzania |
| Nationality | Tanzania |
Wenceslaus (Wen) Leonard Kilama (Born 22 May 1940) is a retired malaria researcher and Professor of Parasitology. He is the founder and first Managing Trustee of the African Malaria Network Trust (AMANET). Professor Kilama has steered AMANET since its founding as Africa Malaria Vaccine Testing Network (AMVTN) in 1995 to an organization that is leading Africa in researching, developing and eventual deployment of affordable malaria intervention tools. Being Member of both AMANET and the [Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM)] Boards, and the AMANET Scientific Coordinating Committee, he provides visionary and strategic guidance as far as the AMANET (and MIM) mission and priorities are concerned.
Professor Kilama earned his doctorate in biology from the University of Notre Dame in 1970, and is a Chartered Member of the Alumni Academic Hall of Fame of St. Michael's College, Vermont, USA. He then returned to Tanzania and founded and headed the Department of Parasitology and Medical entomology, University of Dar es Salaam in 1970. Dubbed as the ["Grand Old Man of African Malaria Research"], Prof Kilama has to his credit over one hundred scholarly papers. Before founding AMANET, Prof Kilama founded and became first Director-General of the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania, a position he held for seventeen years.
As AMANET Managing Trustee, he represents the institution in the European Malaria Vaccine Initiative Board. He is a Past Chairman of the Malaria Foundation International, Past President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, and member of the WHO global Advisory Panel on Health. Professor Kilama is Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
He has served in various capacities on other numerous committees and task forces for US agencies, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the European Commission among others. He is an exceptional advisor for malaria research and control programs throughout Africa, as well as an expert source of knowledge and advice on issues pertaining to both health research ethics and sustainable development in malaria research.
