Mr Michael Ooko

Profile

I joined the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi, Kenya, in 2012 after completing a BSc in Applied Statistics with IT from Maseno University (2007 - 2011). I was awarded a Master's fellowship by WellcomeTrust, which funded a one-year MSc in Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) from 2015 to 2016, along with one and a half years of training at KWTRP. I worked at Phastar Limited as a Statistician from 2019 to 2020 and then joined LSHTM as a Research Fellow based at The MRC Unit in The Gambia (2021 - 2024). I am currently a statistician at the PCTU within the Center for Evaluation and Methods, where I provide statistical support for a number of clinical trials. Additionally, I serve as a statistical advisor for the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Hub at Imperial College London & Partners.

Research

Research Interests:

I am interested in clinical trial methodology and conduct, particularly in cluster randomised trials, interrupted time series, and simulation studies for optimal statistical methods and study designs. I am also interested in modelling infectious diseases, with a focus on malaria.

Publications

Outstanding Publications

1. Malaria burden and residual transmission: two thirds of mosquito bites may not be preventable with current vector control tools on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107197
2. In praise of Prais-Winsten: An evaluation of methods used to account for autocorrelation in interrupted time series. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.9669
3. Effect of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on the incidence of radiologically-confirmed pneumonia and clinically-defined pneumonia in Kenyan children: an interrupted time-series analysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30491-1
4. Entomological impact of mass administration of ivermectin and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in The Gambia: a cluster randomized controlled trial. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-022-05557-4
5. A measles and rubella vaccine microneedle patch in The Gambia: a phase 1/2, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised, activecontrolled, age de-escalation trial. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00532-4