Irene Richard Moshi is a social scientist specializing in malaria and socio-economic aspects of maternal and child health in peri-urban and urban areas. She holds a PhD in Public Health from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, a Master of Arts in Demography and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (Social Policy Analysis and Administration), both obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 

She joined Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in 2012 as a Research Officer for Outdoor Mosquito Control working on community perception, views and uptake of interventions for preventing risks of outdoor malaria transmission. 

In 2014, she started her PhD which aimed to assess the role of human behaviour in risks of outdoor malaria transmission in Kilombero Valley, in which she focused on understanding social and cultural factors but also peri-domestic activities that correlate with malaria vector biting patterns. 

After her PhD, she worked as a Lead Social Scientist for the community-based clinical trial for malaria called BOHEMIA, a multi-country study between Tanzania and Mozambique. In this project, she also led the Community Engagement Work Package. Her work focused on understanding community and local stakeholder perception and responses to the Ivermectin Mass Drug Administration for Malaria Control in relation to context and influences on uptake. 

Between 2013 and 2014, She supervised the implementation of Community-based knowledge on food storage to reduce child malnutrition in rice farming communities in the Kilombero Region. 

The project focused on improving nutrition among vulnerable groups ie: pregnant women, children and adolescents. Since 2012, Irene has actively and productively participated in community-based research by focusing on social economic factors that impact women's and children’s health.

Her main interest as a social scientist, demographer and public health scientist is to minimize the effects of preventable health risks among vulnerable groups such as women and children.