Brief History

Thank you for visiting the Department of Human Pathology website

The current Department of Human Pathology was initially constituted as a Department of Pathology and Microbiology in 1967 to service the then newly established medical school within the University College Nairobi. The University College Nairobi was at that time   a constituent college of the University of East Africa. The Department was started through international collaboration with The Royal Infirmary Glasgow Medical School, UK.   Microbiology later separated from Pathology in the 1975 -1979 period to become the present Department of Medical Microbiology.  

 The Department of Human Pathology has trains general pathologists and has graduated over 100 Pathologists (MMED Pathology)  practicing in the  different subspecialties of Anatomic Pathology, Immunology, Clinical Chemistry, Haematology  & Blood transfusion and Medical microbiology. The majority of these Pathologists are serving in senior positions within the Kenya   central Government’s Ministry of Health, county hospitals, local Universities, the Private sector and laboratories in neighbouring countries.

 

In the late 1990s the Department launched the MSc Clinical Cytology course serving as a training centre for the ECSA region. The program has produced over 20 clinical cytologists and also launched a MSc Clinical Chemistry that is about to graduate pioneer class in December graduation 2020. Since 2019 the Department is involved in pioneering minimally invasive post mortem technique and has been involved in the training of ECSA region members.

The first head of the Department was Prof. H.M. Cameron. The Department was subsequently headed by Professor Alfred Kung’u. Others who have headed the Department include Prof. D.G. Gatei, Prof. Huber, the late Prof. G.Kasili, Prof . P.J. Ojwang, the late Prof. A. Nyong’o, the late Prof. J. Mumo, Prof. L.W.  Muchiri, Dr. Jane Mwangi, Prof. J.N.Githang’a , Prof. W.O. Mwanda,  Prof. Angela Amayo and Dr Wairimu Waweru. Currently,  the department is headed by Dr. Peter Maturi