Professor Blandina Theophil Mmbaga is the Director of Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCRI), a Paediatrician at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) and Associate Prof. Paediatric and Child Health at the KCMC University in Moshi, Tanzania. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Global Health at the Duke Global Health Institute, visiting Professor Research University of Virginia, USA and Adjunct Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at University College Cork, Ireland. She had her PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology, from the University of Bergen, Norway 2013.

Prof Mmbaga’s ability to work with multidisciplinary teams has enabled her to collaborate with researchers in maternal and child health, infectious diseases including Tuberculosis, HIV, AMR and zoonoses, and non-communicable diseases including mental health, Cancer and Cardiovascular Conditions. She is a site leader for the KCMC CRS for the IMPAACT and ACTG clinical Trials. She provides mentorship and supervision to several students both within and outside Tanzania who pursue their careers in different fields including for the Network for Oncology Research in Tanzania (NORA), Research and Excellence for African Capacity to Control and Treat Cancer (REACCT-CAN), MPI for training grants on Trauma and Injury- TRECK (D43TW012205), PI/PD for the social behavioural science in HIV (D43TW009595) building capacity for mental health specialist with a focus on HIV, and Digital Innovation Diagnostic for Infectious Disease in Africa (DIDIDA). Deputy director for the Eastern African Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR) an EDCTP network of excellence and Afrique One-REACH One-Health capacity building consortia. She has led the development of One-Health research (RVF, CCHF, Brucella, Leptospirosis) and Genomic and Bioinformatics capacity at KCRI.  She represents KCRI in other consortia including PANACEA. Prof. Mmbaga was received the MARIA KAMM Best Female Scientist award for 2024 by the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania. She has authored over 400 publications majority with mentees.