Ramadhan Luvandale

Mr
Ramadhan
Luvandale

Research Fellow in One Health & Emerging Pathogens
Kenya Institute of Primates Research
Biography
Ramadhan Luvandale is a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, where his research examines the pathogen dynamics, viral competence, and evolutionary ecology of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Global South, with relevance to vaccine design and deployment in endemic settings. He is also a Research Fellow at the Kenya Institute of Primate Research (KIPRE), working within the One Health Centre on infectious disease surveillance and zoonotic pathogens. He holds an MSc in One Health: Emerging Infections and Research Ethics and a BSc in Microbiology. His work integrates molecular and computational biology, eco-immunology, and epidemiological modelling to support vaccine development, pathogen surveillance, and evidence-based infectious disease control across human–animal–environment interfaces
Research interests
I study how environmental change drives the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases, integrating molecular biology, computational biology, and eco-immunology. My research focuses on viral and bacterial pathogens, including Chikungunya virus and other arboviruses, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, and Theileria parva. Using pathogen surveillance, genomics, and data modelling, I investigate host–pathogen dynamics at the human–animal–environment interface. Drawing on experience from USAID PREDICT, the Kenya Institute of Primate Research (KIPRE), and vaccinology training at The Pirbright Institute, my work aims to strengthen early-warning systems, inform vaccine development, and support One Health–driven public health strategies
Projects you're working on
Projects you're working on I am currently involved in: Chikungunya virus sero-epidemiology, assessing antibody responses in exposed populations. Tuberculosis surveillance, investigating genetic variation and drug resistance in zoonotic strains among livestock and communities. East Coast Fever (ECF) studies, characterizing Theileria parva diversity and evaluating antigenic variation for vaccine development. These projects utilize integrated One Health frameworks and molecular tools such as PCR, sequencing, ELISA, and bioinformatics.
Discipline
Bacteriology Bioinformatics Cellular biology Challenge model development Clinical trials – efficacy Ethics Immunology – B-cells Immunology – T-cells Immunology – innate Molecular biology Parasitology Social sciences Virology
Host species
Wildlife Zoonoses
Pathogen
Parasites›Theileria annulata Parasites›Theileria parva Viruses Viruses›Adenovirus Viruses›Arboviruses Viruses›Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus Viruses›Rift Valley fever virus Viruses›Rotavirus
Stage of vaccine development
Adjuvants Antigen discovery and immunogen design Field trials Pre-clinical trials