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Africa Research Excellence Fund
Strengthening health research capacity in Africa
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  1. Who we are
  2. Meet the team

Meet the team

The Africa Research Excellence Fund operates from Africa and the UK.

We have a small and dedicated team, who are determined to make a difference:

Professor Tumani Corrah

KBE, MD, PhD, FRCP, PWACP, FAAS, MRG Emeritus Director

Professor Corrah, who is Gambian, has over thirty years of progressively senior-level research and leadership experience, ten years of which were as the Unit Director of the Medical Research Council’s Unit, The Gambia.

He is medically qualified and has retained active research interests in tropical and infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, HIV and malaria.

Professor Corrah is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is a member of over twenty scientific board and committee groups worldwide.

He is the Emeritus Director of the MRC Unit in The Gambia.


Maria Bellocci
Head of Business Development and Resources

Maria joined AREF in June 2018 as the Head of Business Development and Resources.

Maria’s focus is operational efficiency and improvements and ensuring statutory compliance and effective budget management.

Prior to joining AREF, Maria worked for charity Whizz-Kidz. During her 11 years there she was responsible for customer services, procurement, budgets and NHS contracts.


Irene Coker
Training Events Manager

As AREF’s Training & Events Manager, Irene has a crucial role in delivering AREF’s workshops and development programmes. Irene previously worked at QCell Ltd, a provider of telecommunication services in The Gambia.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lamin Sanneh
Academy Training Events Officer

Lamin’s key role as AREF’s Academy Training Events Officer is to help manage and administer the AREF Research Development Fellowships and other Awards.He is a Gambian and has significant experience in HR and Project Management.

 

 

 


Dr Dawn Duke
Head of Programmes 

Dawn joined AREF in January 2021 as Head of Programmes to oversee our professional development programmes for postdoctoral researchers in Africa.

Dawn has twelve years’ experience in researcher development, most recently as the Head of Researcher Development and Engagement at the University of Surrey. She has a PhD in Neuroscience from Imperial College London and is passionate about the difference research and researchers make to our world.


Dr Jill Kent 
Research Manager

Jill Kent joined AREF in February 2021 as Research Manager, to manage and deliver AREF Fellowship competitions.

Jill has a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from Cranfield University. She has research and science funding experience from the UK and Australia. 

For the past 12 years she has lived in Zambia and Tanzania, most recently working as a grants and programme management adviser to the Sickle Cell Programme at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.


Denise Ganley - Senior Finance Manager

 


Emily Rudolph - Grants Officer


Emily Marshall - Communications Officer


Published: 30th July, 2020

Updated: 16th April, 2021

Author: Maria Bellocci

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The Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) is a charity registered in England and Wales (Reg. Charity No. 1319209) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (Company No. 1193865) whose registered office is at 49-51 East Road, London N1 6AH.