Profile

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Dorcas Kamuya

Candidate CV questions (extra)

  • Education:

    Open University (Uk) – 2009-2012 (PhD); London School of Hygiene and tropical Medicine (MPH) 2006-2008; Bsc. Agricultural Economics (Egerton University)

  • Qualifications:

    PhD, MPH, B.Sc.

  • Work History:

    Oxford University and KEMRI-Wellcome trust (currently); previoulsy worked with GTZ (German technical cooperation); and at one time, I worked with the Ministry of Agriculture

  • Current Job:

    Post-doctoral researcher in research ethics

  • Employer:

    Oxford University and KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Kilifi.

  • Favourite thing to do in my job: Discovering new things, observing how things are in real life and trying to make sense of it.

  • My work

    I like to seek different views about what the right thing to do is (i.e ethics of conducting research)

  • Read more

    My work is really fun and cool, I like engaging in conversations with different people. Many times, I like to seek opinions about issues that can sometimes seem controversial, or where we are not sure what the right thing to do is.  For example, I might want to find out whether youth of 14 – 17 years should make decisions for themselves on whether or not to enroll in research. This can seem contrary to the  current law which states that parents/guardians should make those decisions; and that the youth can be consulted.  So then, I can decided to talk to different sorts of people, including youth, parents/guardians, health managers, researchers and others, compare their views and make some recommendations.

    The other cool job I assist in is explaining research to community members and lay people. This is really interesting because I get to hear from different researchers all kinds of work they do, then try to figure out how to explain their research – which sometimes uses difficult terms and is not easy to understand –  to people who may not know it. The fun bit is that we get to use different materials to explain research  such as videos, leaflets, posters;I just love the creativity involved in this process.

     

  • My Typical Day

    Helping researchers think what the right thing to do is under different circumstances

  • Read more

    I usually wake up between 6.30-7am,  take  light breakfast (often tea and mahamri) and then get to office before 8am. Sometimes I get to office earlier if I have several meetings scheduled for the day.  I spend about 15-30 minutes responding to emails, then attend  a number of departmental and work-related meetings; take a break by around 11am – chat with friends, check up social medial, then resume work until 1pm when I break for lunch. Sometimes I work throughout lunch, especially if am out in the field.I work throughout afternoon; go for a walk or swim by 6pm, get home by 7pm,  prepare and have dinner. Sometimes I get back to work, or can chill with some cool music, catch up with news in TV,  read a book or watch a dvd. By 11pm, am knackered and ready for bed; other times, I can work until late – if there are deadlines to meet. Some days are busy, others are light. At the end of the day, it does not matter how many hours I put in, because I enjoy my work.

  • What I'd do with the money

    Donate it to the School Engagement Project (SEP), a research project that is engaging schools in Kilifi about science and health research

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      Outgoing, fun, observant

      What was your favourite subject at school?

      Mathematics, loved playing around with numbers.

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      Medicine, but I couldn’t stand the sight of blood and patients suffering

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Once, all for a good course though (or so I thought at the time)

      If you weren't a scientist, what would you be?

      An artist, hopefully producing masterpieces – (otherwise, how else will I pay the bills?)

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      changes all the time, currently enjoying music by Diamond; Trey Songz, and Christine Shusho

      What's your favourite food?

      Biryani ya kuku – If only I was good at making it!

      What is the most fun thing you've done?

      Tubing along river Mekong – I sat on presured tyre tube (similar to a floater) and rode the river current downstream. My behind was raw by the end of the tube ride

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      Make ground-breaking research, get rich in the process and be a good influence to others

      Tell us a joke.

      After an end-of-term exam, the chemistry teacher asked John, “were the questions difficult?”. John answered, “the questions were not difficult at all, it’s the answers that gave me all the trouble”

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