PEARL is a research and training laboratory based on the Webuye County Hospital campus. Originally funded by a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and generous donation from Dr. Eugene Washington (Chancellor of Health Affairs, Duke University), PEARL is a physical representation of the longstanding partnership between the hospital, Duke University, and Moi University Department of Family Medicine.
Laboratory & Clinical Microscopy Training Activities
The goal of PEARL is to improve patient clinical care and community health in western Kenya through collaboration in training and research.
The flagship activity at PEARL is the clinical microscopy training course, which is a one-week, hands-on intensive course that focuses on providing training in clinical microscopy. It is led by Drs Teresa Lotodo, Joel Kirinyet, and Andrew Obala of Moi University School of Medicine. The lab hosts a custom-designed five-headed teaching microscope with a digital camera for participants to use during this course and other training activities, as well as a classroom that can accommodate 20-25 participants. Additional technical trainings that have been held at PEARL include Giemsa stain prep, Peripheral Blood Film staining and examination, and malaria microscopy.
The team also hosts a monthly virtual CME with laboratory technicians and participants from health facilities across Kenya, with guest speakers from Duke, Moi, and other partner institutions. Topics are inspired by speakers’ expertise and cover a range of topics related to clinical laboratory diagnosis of both infectious and non-infectious diseases from different samples (stool, urine, blood).
Research Projects & Field Activities
PEARL also serves as a home-base for several regional research and research training activities that tackle important regional health problems including malaria and respiratory illness. On any given day, you might see 10-20 field researchers coming in and out of PEARL, picking up study tablets to take to the local retail pharmacies participating in our TESTsmART study, or if you come early enough in the morning you might meet our dedicated entomology team who gear up in rubber gumboots, raincoats, and strap prokopaks on their backs to go suck up some mosquitoes from study households.
The laboratory space also contains a dedicated PCR room where the team runs samples and analyses to support some of the many research projects taking place in western Kenya.
If you ever visit PEARL, make sure to take a peek around the corner where you’ll see our insectary! There you will be greeted by Evans Omollo, our full-time entomologist who is responsible for taking care of the mosquitoes being reared for one of our studies. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about mosquitoes and would be happy to show you around.
