Prof Charles Obonyo is a Chief Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), based at the Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR) in Kisumu. He has a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology (Utrecht University), MSc in Clinical Epidemiology (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and a Diploma in clinical medicine (Kenya Medical Training College). His current research focuses on (a) understanding the determinants, burden of diabetes and hypertension and level of health system preparedness to manage these conditions in Kenya; (b) the epidemiology of Parkinson’s disease in western Kenya, and (c) the dietary determinants of the urban food environment and the link with non-communicable diseases. He has special strengths in the design and implementation of community-based intervention studies and the use of systematic reviews in the evaluation of interventions.  He spent the past 10 years conducting research that contributed to an improved understanding of the epidemiology of paediatric malaria, the efficacy of antimalarial drugs and the role of artemisinin-based combination therapies in the preventive treatment of schistosomiasis. He has published over 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals.  He is the Kenyan Principal Investigator for studies conducted under the Global Diet and Activity Research (GDAR) network, the co-Director of Cochrane Kenya and the Head of the CGHR Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit.