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Halfan Ngowo
Research scientist studying population dynamics of malaria vectors
Dr. Halfan Said Ngowo is a Senior Research Scientist at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. He has a PhD in Population and Ecosystem Health from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Ngowo has held various roles at the Ifakara Health Institute, including Research Intern, Research Officer, and Research Scientist before attaining his current senior position in September 2022. He has been the main coordinator of the research group Outdoor Mosquito Control-OMC since 2014, which comprises 10 post-doctoral scientists, 1 Ph.D. student, 12 MSc-level scientists/students, as well as several research officers and technicians.
Dr. Ngowo specializes in quantitative ecology, and his work focuses on the study of disease vector transmission. His primary expertise in Bayesian methods has enabled the development of intricate population models that shed light on the relationship between malaria vectors and environmental variables. Currently, Dr. Ngowo is leading a consortium focused on modeling the impact of extreme weather events on malaria transmission in Tanzania and Mozambique.
Dr. Ngowo has also contributed to scientific knowledge by mentoring the next generation of researchers and working alongside other researcher leaders. He has established a self-sustaining peer-to-peer mentorship program for statistical data analysis for medical entomologists, which has transformed the research culture at Ifakara Health Institute.
Furthermore, he has supported various groups with the development of new techniques for combining infrared spectroscopy with AI techniques to evaluate the outcomes of various malaria interventions. He is now involved in strengthening mathematical modeling capacity to key stakeholders in African institutions (i.e. NMCP’s and Universities). Dr. Ngowo has published over 66 works, which have received widespread acclaim and citations in the scientific community. He is today one of the most cited young scientists at the Institute.