Dr. Calvin Sindato Kimaro

Dr. Calvin Sindato is a Principal Public Health Researcher with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), and Head of the NIMR Tabora Research Centre in Tanzania. Since 2004, he has led multidisciplinary, participatory and technology-driven efforts in One Health epidemiology, disease surveillance, and outbreak response across Africa. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in risk mapping, modelling, and intervention design for zoonotic, vector-borne, and climate-sensitive infectious diseases. He has played a key role and led major initiatives in strengthening surveillance systems in the African Union Member States, including leading the development of event-based surveillance (EBS) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance frameworks and systems. Dr. Calvin was instrumental in adopting a One Health lens in revising the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention EBS framework and lead the development of EBS training manuals and guidelines for the Africa region. Guided by the principles and new developments in One Health, Dr. Calvin has been leading the cross- border research and adaptation initiatives in affordable and field-deployable genomic surveillance, risk assessments at the Points of Entry, climate change impact on health, infectious disease modelling, and early warning system development. He also heads operational research on the Marburg Virus Disease outbreak in Tanzania, contributing to evidence-based risk mitigation strategies. Dr. Calvin is a member of Tanzania’s National One Health Research Technical Working Group and an active mentor, having supervised numerous postgraduate students. He has co-authored 63 peer-reviewed publications, nine policy briefs, and one book chapter. He continues to advance integrated surveillance systems and health security by advocating for the strategies targeting to realize community health security. He champions this mission through adaptive processes that enhances risk management of public health threats at the source, both geographically (at the location of origin) and zoologically (at the species of origin). Dr. Calvin believes that this kind of approach would ultimately provide a progressive impact to the national, regional, and global health security. Headshot Caption: Dr. Calvin Sindato, Head of NIMR Tabora and One Health expert, presenting integrated approaches to epidemic preparedness and climate-linked health risks.