Identity and Rationale

TOMBio (Translational One Health and Molecular Biosciences) is envisioned as a multidisciplinary research initiative based within or affiliated with a host academic or research institution in Kenya. TOMBio investigates interconnected biological, microbial, nutritional, environmental and community determinants of health, with particular emphasis on non-communicable diseases and metabolic health; food systems, microbiomes and health; and community health and primary healthcare systems.

TOMBio combines molecular and translational biosciences with microbiology, microbial ecology, epidemiology, population health and community-based research. Its overall approach is grounded in the recognition that many contemporary health challenges in African settings cannot be understood through a single disciplinary lens. Diet, metabolism, microbial exposures, food systems, immunity, environmental factors and health-system conditions frequently interact to influence individual and population health.

TOMBio therefore provides a platform for developing integrated research questions that connect laboratory and molecular science with food-system, population and community realities. This approach enables research to move across levels of investigation, from biological mechanisms and microbial processes to individual health outcomes, community-level interventions and health-system implementation.

A central objective is also to build research capacity in Kenya through postgraduate training, mentorship of early-career researchers, collaborative proposal development, national and international scientific partnerships and sustained external research funding.