Research & innovation
Research born in Africa, to heal the world
Mary Help conducts and hosts clinical research with academic partners, turning local evidence into better care for our patients and home-grown solutions for our population.
Mary Help research activities
A research-active hospital is a stronger hospital
Mary Help conducts and hosts clinical research in partnership with academic institutions, including Mount Kenya University and its Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, and the Centre for Research in Tropical Medicine and Community Development. Our work spans clinical surveillance, non-communicable disease innovation, antimicrobial stewardship and maternal health.
Externally supported studies bring tangible benefits into the hospital: laboratory equipment, stronger data systems, and structured training and career development for clinical, laboratory and nursing staff. The evidence they generate translates directly into better diagnosis and treatment for the mothers, newborns and patients we serve.
Every study is conducted with ethical approval, informed consent and rigorous data governance. Research never comes before patient care; it exists to improve it.
Research programme
Where we have experience
Our work spans clinical surveillance, non-communicable disease innovation, antimicrobial stewardship and maternal health.
- Reported programme
Sickle-cell surveillance
The hospital has established and sustained sickle-cell surveillance with referral for genetic counselling and medical management, activity reported in the annual reports of the NHGRI International Summit on Human Genetics and Genomics.
- 2024 grant award
AI-supported NCD care
A Mary Help researcher was selected in the 2024 Science for Africa Foundation cohort on Artificial Intelligence in Global Health, for work integrating a medical language model with existing information systems to support diabetes and hypertension care in Kiambu County.
- Published expertise
Antimicrobial stewardship
Our Chief Medical Officer is a co-author of published research on antibiotic prescribing patterns, stewardship implementation and antimicrobial resistance in Kenyan hospitals, expertise that informs our own prescribing audits and laboratory-pharmacy collaboration.
- Collaboration
Maternal health research
Staff and donors at Mary Help have contributed to collaborative studies on placental malaria led by university partners, reflecting our commitment to research that answers questions relevant to the mothers we serve.
Our commitment
Home-grown solutions for our population
Mary Help is committed to collaborating with clinical and public health researchers to develop home-grown solutions for the people we serve. By studying the conditions our patients actually face, in the setting where they are treated, we turn local evidence into better diagnosis, treatment and prevention for Thika and beyond.
Work with us
Partner, collaborate, study
Academic and funding partners
We welcome collaboration on ethically approved studies aligned to our patients' needs: maternal and newborn health, non-communicable diseases, infectious disease and health systems.
Students and fellows
Supervised research placements and clinical learning for postgraduate students from partner universities.
Laboratory partnerships
Point-of-care diagnostics, surveillance and quality-assured laboratory collaboration.
Interested in partnering with us?
Write to the Research Unit through our contact page and we will respond within a few working days.