Patrick Muchai

Patrick has been involved in HIV prevention programs in Kenya for the past fifteen years and is passionate about working with communities to understand their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Patrick has served as the Chairperson of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-University of Washington Community Advisory Board (CAB) in Coast Province and coordinated the Coast Vaccine Support Network in Kenya, which enabled him to link research institutions to the community by repackaging information on HIV vaccines in an accessible language.

Fellowship Focus
Patrick developed a culturally-appropriate HIV prevention research training curriculum regarding participation in clinical trials of microbicides, PrEP and HIV vaccines for community members, with a specific focus on key populations in Kenya such as MSM and sex workers. He also built the capacity of Community Advisory Board members to work with the media to ensure that their perspectives are accurately represented.

In Their Own Words
When research communities are meaningfully engaged, they are empowered to participate and provide feedback to the research teams and, in the process, it creates an enabling environment for research conduct.