Research project: To identify diagnostic biomarkers for coma of unknown cause using the transcriptome of human plasma and CSF samples

Brenda is an EANBiT fellow, pursuing a master’s in bioinformatics at Pwani university. Her Masters thesis is on identification of diagnostic biomarkers to elucidate etiology of coma of unknown cause in Kilifi, Kenya. The project is funded by East African network of bioinformatics training (EANBiT) and the initiative to develop African research leaders (IDeAL). Her research focuses on finding differentially expressed genes in patients with different aetiologies of coma using cell free RNA of human plasma and CSF samples. It also entails the use of machine learning to identify etymologies of coma of unknown cause. She holds a post graduate diploma in Health research methods from Pwani University and a degree in Biochemistry from Egerton university.