Jomo Kenyatta University Medical Students Research Club: Embracing Evidence-Based Medicine
By Evah Kamau,
Jomo Kenyatta University Medical Students Research Club (JKUMREC) hosted its 2nd Annual Scientific Conference organized by the College of Health and Sciences at the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (SAJOREC) at JKUAT. The conference’s aim was mentoring undergraduate research that embraces evidence-based medicine.
Its goal was to encourage student research, giving them the tools they need to conduct cutting-edge studies that will serve as a basis for original and imaginative solutions to the problem of achieving sustainable development and to share the research findings obtained from these studies. Students from the College of Health and Sciences (COHES) at JKUAT and Mount Kenya University students were in attendance.
The inaugural remarks were given by Dr. Patrick Mburugu, Chief Medical Officer JKUAT Hospital. He walked the students through his academic journey, explaining his area of expertise, and also counseled students on conducting undergraduate research and the steps they needed to take to publish their journals.
‘’If you want to publish, you have to work very hard at it,’’ He reiterated, ‘’We also offer guidance and mentorship to committed students.’’ Dr. Patrick Mburugu said.
He stressed the importance of students being curious during this phase of their education and stated that university is the best place for them to do so because they have access to everything, including mentors who are willing to walk alongside them if they show interest.
Prof. Orlando Hoilett, a Telemedicine Specialist was one of the key presenters. His academic interests involve developing wearable sensors for mobile health platforms and creating engaging engineering design activities for undergraduate and graduate students. He gave a demonstration of the integration of bio-engineering and medicine.
During his abstract presentation, he took the students through his previous work which included
developing a wearable opioid overdose monitor for substance use disorder patients and developing
an impedance analyzer for a microfluidic blood-brain barrier model among other projects.
The students got a chance to interact with the panelists and ask questions on how they should approach
their research. The panelists urged the students to put in a lot of effort and demonstrate interest in
what they are doing since it will eventually pay off in future.
