Featured Global Health Stories
January 4, 2011
MSc-GH Graduate Follows in Mom’s Footsteps to Improve Health
A Kenyan native and one of the first to complete the Master of Science in Global Health (MSc-GH), Jackie Ndirangu honors her mother’s legacy as she carves out her own path in global health. Ndirangu’s first memory of being involved in health care was at the age of 10 when she went to work with her mother, Maria Njeri Matubia, who led a women’s clinic in one of Nairobi’s poorest slums.
A proponent of female empowerment, Matubia led seminars on reproductive health. She challenged the women she served to breast feed and to use contraceptives. A nurse and midwife, Matubia also took on the role of helping women work their way out of economic hardship. She wanted them to control their lives whenever possible. Sadly, Ndirangu’s mother died when she was 13 years old.
Ndirangu came to the US in 2000, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Maryland. Back then, her dream was to get a master’s degree and do research. Ndirangu first worked as a microbiologist at Digene, now the Qiagen Bioscience Corporation, in Maryland.
During the summer of 2007, she went to Haiti with her new employer, Family Health Ministries (FHM) of Durham, to run a clinical trial for Qiagen. While there, she helped test a new assay for the human papillomavirus (HPV) that could be fast, low-cost and accessible to women in low-resource countries.
Since that first trip, Ndirangu has spent many months in Haiti, overseeing FHM’s team of Haitian doctors and nurses in a cervical cancer prevention program. The small group of six to eight health care providers has screened over 8,000 women for HPV at two locations. About 19% of the women are HPV positive; many already have cervical cancer. Education about the testing process has been an important part of Ndirangu’s work. Follow-up with the HPV-positive women is another critical component of the program.
“Since working for FHM in Haiti,” said Ndirangu, “I’ve realized that what I really enjoy is spending time out in the field, working with the women. I want to be the person who provides these women with the education they need. I see them make good use of what I teach them.” Ndirangu believes the personal connection is important to her research, and she finds it gratifying to spend time with patients.
The launch of DGHI’s MSc-GH in 2009 was the perfect complement to Ndirangu’s existing work in Haiti since the program’s focus is on developing research skills in global health. “My study at Duke has helped my critical thinking, allowing me to improve projects I was already working on,” said Ndirangu. “And, I’ve been able to channel new and invaluable skills from the program directly into my job at FHM.”
Ndirangu’s master’s thesis was a direct outcome of her work in Haiti, a study of high-risk HPV genotypes. She expects her work will influence future vaccine development, and hopes to continue working in disease education and prevention.
Ndirangu’s mother would have read about her only daughter’s research with great interest. Ndirangu’s thesis has a special dedication, “to my mother, Mary Njeri Matubia, a champion of women’s reproductive health and my Guardian Angel.”
Family Health Ministries is one of DGHI’s partners and student fieldwork sites.
Compiled by Janet Portzer of FHM.