Aquillah Kanzi
Centurion
Summary
Experienced bioinformatician with a strong background in infectious diseases and expertise in developing bioinformatics pipelines, workflows, and analyzing complex genomic data. Proven leader with a track record of guiding teams, managing complex projects, and driving strategic objectives. Equipped with strong problem-solving abilities, integrity, a commitment to continuous learning, and excellent communication skills. Dedicated and enthusiastic professional ready to tackle new challenges and contribute to advancing organizational goals through innovation and collaboration.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Technical Project Manager
African Society for Laboratory Medicine
06.2022 - 04.2025
- Collaborated with stakeholders to implement global health strategies strengthening national public health laboratory systems.
- Developed project work plans and budgets to support regional genomics surveillance programs.
- Led capacity-building initiatives in pathogen genomics, establishing regional sequencing and bioinformatics capabilities.
- Coordinated project budget and consultants/vendors for the flawless execution of project activities.
- Monitored project implementation progress using project management tools, achieving a 90% on-time completion rate
- Maintained ongoing partnerships with funders and other stakeholders by reporting through reports and publications.
- Provided technical guidance on genomic sequencing capacity building initiatives to enhance local and regional genomic surveillance.
- Facilitated workshops training laboratory technicians increasing local sequencing and bioinformatics capability.
- Contributed to the development of regional genomic surveillance frameworks for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), malaria, foodborne and vaccine-preventable diseases to support genomics integration in public health systems.
Genomics Scientist
Inqaba Biotechnical Industries
05.2021 - 05.2022
- Managed projects within the bioinformatics and genomics departments ensuring smooth operations.
- Designed and oversaw the implementation of data analysis pipelines to streamline genomic data processing.
- Established and enforced standard operating procedures enhancing consistency and quality of data analysis.
- Interfaced with clients building strong business relationships to boost customer satisfaction and sales.
- Provided team leadership, trained, supervised staff and interns on genomics and bioinformatics workflows.
- Led research and development initiatives, identify new product services and enhancements to existing projects.
- Implemented quality control measures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of experimental results.
- Consulted with clients to recommend genomics workflows and bioinformatics analysis strategies.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Pretoria
01.2020 - 04.2021
- Conducted genomics analyses of pathogenic fungi advancing knowledge of pathogen biology for enhanced control.
- Mentored and supported junior graduate students on research projects, fostering their growth as independent scientists.
- Evaluated scientific reports and manuscripts ensuring scientific rigor and publication quality.
- Authored and contributed to peer-reviewed publications and presented at seminars and conferences.
- Facilitated hands-on training workshops for staff and students, building internal capacity in genomics and bioinformatics and increasing research productivity.
- Enhanced research quality by designing and executing bioinformatics workflows to analyze genomic data.
- Continuously expanded knowledge in the field by attending workshops, seminars, and training sessions to stay up-to-date with recent advancements.
- Managed group computational resources efficiently, ensuring optimal use for successful project completion.
Education
Ph.D. - Genetics
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, South Africa09-2017
Master of Science - Bioinformatics And Computational Molecular Biology
Rhodes University
Grahamstown, South Africa04-2013
Bachelor of Science - Medical Microbiology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture And Techno
Nairobi, Kenya07-2009
Skills
- Project management
- Unix/Linux environments expertise
- Programming: Python, R, bash
- High Performance Computing
- Pipeline and workflow development
- Data management and analysis
- Technical writing
- Stakeholder communication
- Technical project planning
- Project leadership
Affiliations
- American Society for Microbiology
- African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
- Honorary Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Honorary Research Fellow, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Timeline
Technical Project Manager
African Society for Laboratory Medicine
06.2022 - 04.2025
Genomics Scientist
Inqaba Biotechnical Industries
05.2021 - 05.2022
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Pretoria
01.2020 - 04.2021
Ph.D. - Genetics
University of Pretoria
Master of Science - Bioinformatics And Computational Molecular Biology
Rhodes University
Bachelor of Science - Medical Microbiology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture And Techno
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