Scientific Operations Manager
Dr. Effie Chipeta
Effie Chipeta is the Scientific Operations Manager for the Centre for Reproductive Health. Effie is a graduate Health Sociologist and professional Nurse/Midwife, and holds a Ph.D. from The University of Malawi in sociology. Her doctoral research focused on the use of modern contraceptive methods in rural Malawi. Effie has worked in the health sector since for over 34 years, and has vast experience working in the area of maternal health, sexual and reproductive health. She is a seasoned researcher and has worked in various research projects since 1997. Her area of research expertise is qualitative research and is also a trainer in use of qualitative software, Nvivo. Effie has good experience in providing research leadership and has primarily coordinated operational research projects and worked closely with key SRHR stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health-Reproductive Health Directorate, donor and development partners, local government assemblies and project beneficiaries at the community level.
Effie also participates in teaching Reproductive Health Modules at postgraduate level, functions as an academic supervisor for student research projects in Reproductive Health and is a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals. She is also a member of the Safe Motherhood technical working group in the Ministry of Health and has previously participated in the development of a sexual and reproductive health and Rights Training Manuals, national SRHR and HIV/AIDS Integration strategy and national SRHR advocacy strategy.
Senior Lecturer
Professor William Stones
Professor William Stones holds a joint appointment in the Department of Public Health and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Malawi College of Medicine. He trained in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in the UK and undertook clinical practice and reproductive health research via the University of Southampton. He was at the University of St Andrews, UK from 2013 to 2016. Before this he chaired the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, where he established a new MMed programme for specialist training as well as undertaking research in maternal health. He has lived and worked for more than 12 years in Sub Saharan Africa, including Kenya and Malawi.
William Stones has served as a member and chair of the Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health Committee of FIGO, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. He leads a multidisciplinary group focusing on implementation research in low-income countries, and has supervised 6 PhD students to completion. William Stones been involved in adolescent, reproductive and maternal health research for over 20 years, and has extensive knowledge of research and implementation issues.
Project Coordinator
Wanangwa Chimwaza Manda
Wanangwa Manda is a Research Scientist with vast experience in the area Sexual and Reproductive Health. Wanangwa holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. Wanangwa is currently a PhD student registered at the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Public Health. She works as Research Coordinator at the Centre for Reproductive Health of University of Malawi, College of Medicine. Wanangwa has vast experience in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health and has worked at Centre for Reproductive Health in various research studies for close to 12 years. She has research experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Wanangwa’s research interests are in Adolescent Health especially in programs that target very young adolescents.
Research Associate (Grants and Research)
Monica Patricia Malata
Monica Patricia Malata is the research associate at CRH. Monica holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from the University of Malawi, where she majored in Economics. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in Economics Degree at the University of Malawi, under the Collaborative Master of Arts Program with the African Economics Research Consortium (AERC).
She takes the lead in development of proposals for research grants and consultancies and in submission to potential donors. In addition, she also plays a part in development and submission of protocols to Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). She is also responsible for liaising with different stakeholders, writing reports and managing quantitative data. She is trained and experienced in using STATA and Atlas.Ti, and developing data entry tools using SPSS. She has years of experience collecting qualitative and quantitative data.
Furthermore, Monica has represented CRH at regional workshops such as the Analytical Workshop on the Countdown to 2030 for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Programme Manager
Patani Mhango
Patani Mhango is a Programme Manager for CRH. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Technical Education) and Bachelor of Arts (Human Resource Management). He takes a lead in the management of all research projects under CRH. He is responsible for the development and management of budgets, proposal writing, supervising the collection and transcription of qualitative data, qualitative data analysis using Atlas.ti and Nvivo. He prepares and manages contracts and Technical Service Agreements for staff engaged by CRH, organises and oversees fieldwork logistics and supports the development of Standard Operating Procedures for various projects and ensures they are in line with the approved protocol.
He has experience in providing research leadership and has primarily coordinated and managed operational research projects funded by institutions such as The Population Council, Project Concern International, USAID, UNFPA and World Health Organisation. Patani takes a leading role in the development and review of curricula for CRH. He coordinated and took part in the development of the Master of Science in Reproductive Health Research, which is currently under review and has developed and reviewed curricula for various short courses that are provided by the Centre for Reproductive Health.
Project Coordinator
Razak Mussa
Razak Mussa is a project coordinator at the Centre for Reproductive Health. Razak holds a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of Malawi. He is an experienced qualitative and quantitative researcher in social-economic surveys. He possesses comprehensive knowledge in data analysis using NVivo, Atlas.ti and R. His principal areas of interest include; poverty and livelihoods analysis, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, gender analysis and social protection and safety nets.
As a project coordinator, he is responsible for handling administrative tasks of projects. Currently, he’s coordinating the UNICEF funded Gender Equality and Reproductive Health Initiative (GERHI) project. Recently, the scope of work of the project has expanded to include an intervention component under the Global Early Adolescent Study, a 15 country collaboration exploring gender and social relations in adolescents, which Razak is also coordinating.
Razak has played a leading role is several publications such as the “Achinyamata Otsogola Manual”, a curriculum which intends to promote gender equality and sexual reproductive health in young adolescents.
Graduate Research Assistant
Princess Tawachi Kaira
Princess Tawachi Kaira, is a graduate research assistant at CRH. Princess holds a BA (Public Administration), and has supported projects undertaken at CRH such as the Gender Equality for Reproductive Health Improvement (GERHI). Princess plays an integral role during such project; conducting field interviews, managing field logistics, ensuring data protection and liaising with key stakeholders such as schools and participants. In addition, within the GERHI project, Princess conducted group work with young adolescents as part of the design and testing of an intervention manual.
Furthermore, Princess supports the CRH with qualitative data analysis using Nvivo and Atlas.