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Who We Are

Launched in 2018, YES Zambia is an initiative of two young African Scientists and describes itself as "a platform that brings together leading thinkers in science, policy, industry and civil society in Zambia and Africa to leverage science to solve global challenges".

'YES Zambia' is not just another conversation about science; it's a solution- and result-driven platform with concrete and tangible objectives. Our priorities areas in fostering an environment for scientists to thrive and make Africa and Zambia, in particular, a global hub of science and technology are

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Innovation

Producing a generation of motivated African scientists that will challenge the world's best scientists and innovators.

Passion

Promoting the love for science, to build Zambia's science, technology, engineering and mathematics agenda.

Collaboration

Creating a global network for cooperation between African scientists and the rest of the world.

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Dr. Ketty Mwansa Lubeya

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Mwansa oversees all YES operations. She is an Obstetrics & Gynaecology specialist, a lecturer at the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine, with ten years of post-qualification experience. She holds a BSc (HB), MBChB and Master of Medicine-OBGYN from UNZA.

She is an accomplished leader, a Mandela Washington fellow- which is a flagship programme for outstanding Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and was based at Georgia State University. This was in recognition of her community work in cervical cancer prevention. She has been named as one of the inaugural Obama foundation Leaders-Africa, 2018 cohort.

She strongly believes in research as a solution to our current and future challenges.

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Dr. Jane Chanda Kabwe

Co-founder and Executive Director – Administration

Jane leads the development and implementation of YES programs. She obtained her MBChB from the University of Zambia over a decade ago. She is a specialised physician anaesthesiologist having graduated from the first cohort of the MMed Anaesthesia program headed by Professor John Kinnear through a joint collaboration between the United Kingdom and Zambia.

She was the Primary Anaesthesia outstanding academic performance award recipient resulting in an observorship at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. She was awarded a PhD scholarship in anaesthesiology and critical care to pursue her dream of becoming a Clinician-Scientist in Japan. She has been involved in various researches and her current theme focuses on the role of Crispr/Cas9-induced truncating BMPR2 mutation on pulmonary arterial hypertension.

She is keen about addressing the challenges faced in research from the grassroots and has over 8 years’ experience in medical education.

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Dr. Chileshe Mabula Bwalya

Director – Programmes

Chileshe is the liaison who coordinates all the activities of the YES mentees. She is a medical doctor and early-career clinical investigator based in Lusaka. She undertook medical internship training in Chipata, an experience that stimulated her desire to address health challenges at population level, particularly through the generation of locally-relevant scientific evidence.

In 2017, Chileshe was selected to participate in the competitive Health Corps Fellowship, hosted by the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). At CIDRZ, she worked as a Clinical Research Fellow in the Enteric Disease and Vaccines Research Unit, investigating paediatric and adult diarrheal diseases of public health interest. She is currently undertaking a second research training fellowship with the UNC-UNZA-Wits Partnership for HIV and Women’s Health Research (UUW), focusing on the understanding and prevention of preterm birth.

Her primary area of interest is maternal and neonatal health, with a focus on exploring the immunological basis of obstetric syndromes, using placentally-derived biomarkers to predict diseases of pregnancy, and inform the development of therapeutic interventions. She is dedicated to and excited about increasing research interest, capacity and output in Zambian clinics.

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Dr. Kona Astridah Yihemba Maseka

Director – Media & Publicity

Astridah manages all YES media activities and publications. She is Obstetrics and Gynaecology registrar at the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine, based at Women and Newborn Hospital, University Teaching Hospital and is the present country representative for World Association Trainee in Obstetrics and Gynaecology).

She is research oriented and currently participating in an international randomized clinical trial to prevent post-partum hemorrhage in patients with moderate or severe anaemia, the WOMAN 2 TRIAL. She has recently embarked on establishing a registry for sickle cell disease patients attending antenatal care and delivery at the Women and Newborn Hospital, as operational research to study their pregnancy outcome; this is envisaged to bring about evidence based medicine locally.

She is also a national trainer of trainers in multidisciplinary management of sexual gender based violence and is also pursuing an MPH with the University of South Wales.

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Dr. Naeem Dalal

Director - Mentorship Programme

Naeem manages YES e-learning portal and online mentorship. He is a qualified medical doctor currently pursuing a Masters of Medicine Degree in Psychiatry.

He enjoys exploring issues beyond the boundaries of conventional health care and focuses on preventive health. He uses journalism and community outreach to teach the art of not needing medicine. Naeem couples his passion and skills to mentor, deliver leadership talks and promote psychological resilience among youth in Zambia. He often features on national TV and media programs to advocate and empower individuals to solve their own challenges rather than waiting for solutions.

Driven by his passion for neuroscience and research, he is a fellow of the International Brain Research Organization and he aspires to promote through Young Emerging Scientists to learn, explore, communicate, share, and above all to promote research.

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Ms. Mable Ndambo

Administrative Assistant

Mable provides YES administrative support. She is a psychosocial counselor in both adult and child health where she has experience in handling: HIV/AIDS, rape and defilement cases extensively.

She worked as a cervical cancer peer educator under the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) for 2 years and later on as a community tracking officer at UTH for 3 years. Furthermore, she has worked as a receptionist at Mulenga Mundashi Kasonde Legal Practitioners and MTN call center agent both of which were cardinal in shaping her interpersonal and analytical skills.

She is currently working as a research assistant with the University of North Carolina based at the University Teaching Hospital were they are looking at which of the three methods: cryotherapy, thermocoagulation and LEEP of treating precancerous cervical lesions is better, cheaper and effective under the auspices of Professor Grosbeck Parham.