CONTACT US
RD Rwanda is located in Kigali City, Gasabo District.
Phone: +250 788 634 048/ 788 901 789 Email: rdrwanda@gmail.com P.O. Box: 6174 Kigali-Rwanda
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OUR MISSION
RD Rwanda's mission is to promote the social welfare through research on disease control and prevention, education and health programs, and economic development initiatives.
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OUR PARTNERS
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Gallican Kubwimana, MBA
Executive Director & Co-founder
Gallican Kubwimana has over 12 years of experience in both international and national projects core leadership roles, especially for non-profit organizations. In late 2016, he collaborated with colleagues and interested professionals in various fields to found Research for Development/RD Rwanda. He was elected by his colleagues as the Legal Representative because of his demonstrated skills, passion, and endeavors in organizational development.
Kubwimana is currently the Deputy Director for the Rwanda/Einstein Research Consortium where he leads US-funded Research projects. He has also held various other senior leadership positions, such as Administration and Operations Manager with Partners in Health, Administrator and Associate Director of Research in Women’s Equity Access to Care and Treatment(WE-ACTx). He has also served as a project consultant for the Rwandan Ministry of Education where he trained teachers in the designing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating of small and medium income generating projects.
Kubwimana holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kampala International University (KIU) since 2012. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in the Faculty of Economics and Finance in 2007, He’s a PhD candidate in Health Economics and Management; he has also completed various trainings and courses, including NIH/NIAID Grants Policy and Management trainings and was trained in Project Management and Leadership skills by the Harvard Business School.
Executive Director & Co-founder
Gallican Kubwimana has over 12 years of experience in both international and national projects core leadership roles, especially for non-profit organizations. In late 2016, he collaborated with colleagues and interested professionals in various fields to found Research for Development/RD Rwanda. He was elected by his colleagues as the Legal Representative because of his demonstrated skills, passion, and endeavors in organizational development.
Kubwimana is currently the Deputy Director for the Rwanda/Einstein Research Consortium where he leads US-funded Research projects. He has also held various other senior leadership positions, such as Administration and Operations Manager with Partners in Health, Administrator and Associate Director of Research in Women’s Equity Access to Care and Treatment(WE-ACTx). He has also served as a project consultant for the Rwandan Ministry of Education where he trained teachers in the designing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating of small and medium income generating projects.
Kubwimana holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kampala International University (KIU) since 2012. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in the Faculty of Economics and Finance in 2007, He’s a PhD candidate in Health Economics and Management; he has also completed various trainings and courses, including NIH/NIAID Grants Policy and Management trainings and was trained in Project Management and Leadership skills by the Harvard Business School.

Laetitia Umulisa
Co-founder, Executive Secretary
Laetia Umulisa has over 15 years of experience working with vulnerable women and children. She has been a trauma counselor, a grassroots coordinator, a trainer on the roots of violence and how to build a society free of violence; she has also represented various NGOs that created groups in schools in order to protect youth society from violence.
In 2010, Mrs. Umulisa began working for WE-ACTx for HOPE as the coordinator of the Children and Young Mothers Programs where she created workshops with caregivers for children living with HIV/AIDS and is a counselor for children and young mothers. She also acts as a liaison between many women cooperatives in Rwanda and potential foreign customers.
Mrs. Umulisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rwanda since 2015 and a MSc in Education from Mahatma Ghandi University since 2017.
Co-founder, Executive Secretary
Laetia Umulisa has over 15 years of experience working with vulnerable women and children. She has been a trauma counselor, a grassroots coordinator, a trainer on the roots of violence and how to build a society free of violence; she has also represented various NGOs that created groups in schools in order to protect youth society from violence.
In 2010, Mrs. Umulisa began working for WE-ACTx for HOPE as the coordinator of the Children and Young Mothers Programs where she created workshops with caregivers for children living with HIV/AIDS and is a counselor for children and young mothers. She also acts as a liaison between many women cooperatives in Rwanda and potential foreign customers.
Mrs. Umulisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rwanda since 2015 and a MSc in Education from Mahatma Ghandi University since 2017.

Pascal Uwimana
Director of Administration and Finance
Pascal Uwimana joined RD Rwanda in 2017. He is highly motivated with management accounting expertise, a wide experience in financial management, auditing and principles of taxation. He has worked as a consultant and sales Manager at Bridge Center Ltd with the duties of conducting activities of audit, presentation of audit reports performance of financial statements preparation activities, presentation of accounting records and training of other staff on tax declaration records and filling at Accountant Auditors Society Ltd (ACAS).
Pascal Uwimana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Rwanda, College of Business and Economics, former School of Finance and Banking (SFB). He is familiar with management of finance and all accounting-related concepts. He has a certificate for collaboration from Leuphan University with the help of the University of Rwanda and currently a candidate for Certified Public Accountant.
Director of Administration and Finance
Pascal Uwimana joined RD Rwanda in 2017. He is highly motivated with management accounting expertise, a wide experience in financial management, auditing and principles of taxation. He has worked as a consultant and sales Manager at Bridge Center Ltd with the duties of conducting activities of audit, presentation of audit reports performance of financial statements preparation activities, presentation of accounting records and training of other staff on tax declaration records and filling at Accountant Auditors Society Ltd (ACAS).
Pascal Uwimana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Rwanda, College of Business and Economics, former School of Finance and Banking (SFB). He is familiar with management of finance and all accounting-related concepts. He has a certificate for collaboration from Leuphan University with the help of the University of Rwanda and currently a candidate for Certified Public Accountant.

Prof. Leon Mutesa, MD, PhD
Co-Founder, Head of Research + Capacity Building Initiatives
Throughout his career, Prof. Mutesa has been involved in clinical services, academics, research, capacity building and management in the health sector. He served as the Director of Clinical Laboratory Dept. at the Kigali University Teaching hospital, which is the largest referral hospital in Rwanda.
Prof. Mutesa is a full Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (UR-CMHS). He has supervised/mentored more than 70 MSc, MMed, PhD, and Post-Doc fellows from Rwanda and from overseas universities. Prof. Mutesa has also served as Director General of Medical Research Center at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) under theMinistry of Health, where he coordinated health-related research activities in all national medical institutions.
Prof. Mutesa has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers; he is a member of various expert committees, and has led various regional and international research consortia. Over the past 10 years, he has participated in several international research and training collaborations. Currently, he is dual-PI/PD of a NIH grant- National Cancer Institute (NCI)- U54-HIV/HPV Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Pathogenesis: Rwanda/Einstein (1U54CA190163-01); the PI/PD of NIH grant- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-U01-Transgenerational Epigenomics of Trauma and PTSD in Rwanda (1U01MH115485-01); and also PI of other research grants in various aspects including cytogenetic and molecular studies, forensic, malaria, and newborn screening.
Prof. Mutesa obtained his MD from the University of Rwanda in 2003 and his PhD in 2009 from the University of Liege-Belgium, where he also completed his post-doc in 2011.
Co-Founder, Head of Research + Capacity Building Initiatives
Throughout his career, Prof. Mutesa has been involved in clinical services, academics, research, capacity building and management in the health sector. He served as the Director of Clinical Laboratory Dept. at the Kigali University Teaching hospital, which is the largest referral hospital in Rwanda.
Prof. Mutesa is a full Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (UR-CMHS). He has supervised/mentored more than 70 MSc, MMed, PhD, and Post-Doc fellows from Rwanda and from overseas universities. Prof. Mutesa has also served as Director General of Medical Research Center at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) under theMinistry of Health, where he coordinated health-related research activities in all national medical institutions.
Prof. Mutesa has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers; he is a member of various expert committees, and has led various regional and international research consortia. Over the past 10 years, he has participated in several international research and training collaborations. Currently, he is dual-PI/PD of a NIH grant- National Cancer Institute (NCI)- U54-HIV/HPV Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Pathogenesis: Rwanda/Einstein (1U54CA190163-01); the PI/PD of NIH grant- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-U01-Transgenerational Epigenomics of Trauma and PTSD in Rwanda (1U01MH115485-01); and also PI of other research grants in various aspects including cytogenetic and molecular studies, forensic, malaria, and newborn screening.
Prof. Mutesa obtained his MD from the University of Rwanda in 2003 and his PhD in 2009 from the University of Liege-Belgium, where he also completed his post-doc in 2011.

Gad MURENZI, MD, MPH
Head of Research Clinical Systems & Co-founder
Dr. Murenzi joined RD Rwanda in March 2017 as the Director of Research Clinical Systems and he is a founding member of RD Rwanda. He is also an Investigator and Primary Colposcopist of the Cervical Cancer Screening Project and Coordinator of research laboratory development for the Rwanda/Einstein Research Consortium at Rwanda Military Hospital. Dr. Murenzi completed his Master of Public health (MPH) from the University of Rwanda’s School of Public Health in 2018. He completed a post-doctoral Research fellowship in Gynecologic Pathology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, USA in 2013. He is a senior medical officer with a Bachelor of General Medicine (MD) from the National University of Rwanda since 2011 and MPH in 2018.
He has extensive experience in general medical practice and is well knowledgeable with the Rwandan healthcare system ranging from obstetric to intensive care as well as all aspects of public health. Currently, he leads a team of research nurses and laboratory technicians in all aspects ranging from administration, logistics to clinical supervision as well as good clinical practice and research ethics.
He also coordinates other research projects in the consortium including a pilot project to assess pregnancy outcomes and long term clinical outcomes among HIV-exposed uninfected children in the option B/B+ area and he is also an investigator on the Central Africa International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA grant), Rwanda project as well as the minimizing losses from HIV care under universal treatment in Rwanda project (K23 grant).
He has working experience in multicultural working environments from working locally in both rural and urban elementary clinical facilities as well as referral and teaching hospitals plus working with international partners and in international settings. During end 2015 to early 2016, he was a Consultant at Community Health Works/Health Builders on Oxygen Use Training Materials Development where he coordinated a team of specialist doctors tasked with developing oxygen use training materials for health center and district hospital level users.
Head of Research Clinical Systems & Co-founder
Dr. Murenzi joined RD Rwanda in March 2017 as the Director of Research Clinical Systems and he is a founding member of RD Rwanda. He is also an Investigator and Primary Colposcopist of the Cervical Cancer Screening Project and Coordinator of research laboratory development for the Rwanda/Einstein Research Consortium at Rwanda Military Hospital. Dr. Murenzi completed his Master of Public health (MPH) from the University of Rwanda’s School of Public Health in 2018. He completed a post-doctoral Research fellowship in Gynecologic Pathology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, USA in 2013. He is a senior medical officer with a Bachelor of General Medicine (MD) from the National University of Rwanda since 2011 and MPH in 2018.
He has extensive experience in general medical practice and is well knowledgeable with the Rwandan healthcare system ranging from obstetric to intensive care as well as all aspects of public health. Currently, he leads a team of research nurses and laboratory technicians in all aspects ranging from administration, logistics to clinical supervision as well as good clinical practice and research ethics.
He also coordinates other research projects in the consortium including a pilot project to assess pregnancy outcomes and long term clinical outcomes among HIV-exposed uninfected children in the option B/B+ area and he is also an investigator on the Central Africa International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA grant), Rwanda project as well as the minimizing losses from HIV care under universal treatment in Rwanda project (K23 grant).
He has working experience in multicultural working environments from working locally in both rural and urban elementary clinical facilities as well as referral and teaching hospitals plus working with international partners and in international settings. During end 2015 to early 2016, he was a Consultant at Community Health Works/Health Builders on Oxygen Use Training Materials Development where he coordinated a team of specialist doctors tasked with developing oxygen use training materials for health center and district hospital level users.

Chantal Ingabire, PhD.
Director of Research Initiatives
Dr. Chantal Ingabire holds a PhD in Public health from Maastricht University, the Netherlands and a master’s degree in Medical Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam. She started her professional career in 2002 working for a clinical research organization in Rwanda “Projet UBUZIMA”, with the goals to reduce the spread of the HIV virus, to mitigate the impact of the HIV epidemic, and to reduce the burden of other reproductive tract infections in Rwanda through the conduct of clinical research studies.
The studies were being conducted in collaboration with the Academic Medical Center (AMC), the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). In 2006, she coordinated a large HIV incidence study among female voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) clients and other high-risk women such as female sex workers.
In 2010, she was appointed to work as a study manager with main responsibility of overseeing several studies that were currently planned and implemented in the field of HIV and other reproductive health related diseases. In 2012, she enrolled into a sandwich PhD aimed at empowering the community towards malaria elimination while using multidisciplinary approach. She has experience in social, behavioural and epidemiological studies in urban and rural settings. She currently serves as a local PhD supervisor of a joint program between Wageningen University and the University of Rwanda on social and communication factors that determine the adoption of a digital citizen science platform against malaria in Rwanda.
She works as a senior researcher for Community based Sociotherapy in Rwanda and she is a visiting lecturer at the University of Rwanda. Dr Ingabire has also been engaged in a consultancy work with the World Bank, GIZ, KTNET, Wageningen Centre for Development and Innovation (CDI) and Chemonics International. She has authored various scientific publications and she is a member of the editorial board of the Rwanda Medical Journal. She started working with RD Rwanda in Aug. 2017.
Director of Research Initiatives
Dr. Chantal Ingabire holds a PhD in Public health from Maastricht University, the Netherlands and a master’s degree in Medical Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam. She started her professional career in 2002 working for a clinical research organization in Rwanda “Projet UBUZIMA”, with the goals to reduce the spread of the HIV virus, to mitigate the impact of the HIV epidemic, and to reduce the burden of other reproductive tract infections in Rwanda through the conduct of clinical research studies.
The studies were being conducted in collaboration with the Academic Medical Center (AMC), the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). In 2006, she coordinated a large HIV incidence study among female voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) clients and other high-risk women such as female sex workers.
In 2010, she was appointed to work as a study manager with main responsibility of overseeing several studies that were currently planned and implemented in the field of HIV and other reproductive health related diseases. In 2012, she enrolled into a sandwich PhD aimed at empowering the community towards malaria elimination while using multidisciplinary approach. She has experience in social, behavioural and epidemiological studies in urban and rural settings. She currently serves as a local PhD supervisor of a joint program between Wageningen University and the University of Rwanda on social and communication factors that determine the adoption of a digital citizen science platform against malaria in Rwanda.
She works as a senior researcher for Community based Sociotherapy in Rwanda and she is a visiting lecturer at the University of Rwanda. Dr Ingabire has also been engaged in a consultancy work with the World Bank, GIZ, KTNET, Wageningen Centre for Development and Innovation (CDI) and Chemonics International. She has authored various scientific publications and she is a member of the editorial board of the Rwanda Medical Journal. She started working with RD Rwanda in Aug. 2017.
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Olivier Gakunde
Co-founder, Director of Education Initiative
Oliver Gakunde works with We-Act for Education, an International NGO based in US and a partner of RD Rwanda, where he coordinates all educations activities, budgeting, school materials provision, school fees payment, and breakfast distribution. He also overseas up the tuition and stipends payments for University students, mainly Masters and PhD students in Rwanda and overseas.
Mr. Gakunde is also a consultant at the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda and is a chief editor for several NISR Research Projects including World Census of Agriculture, Agricultural Integrated Survey, and Comparison of Alternative Agricultural Survey Designs. Additionally, he is trained in different statistics software/packages and methods for national and global agriculture surveys.
Mr. Gakunde holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Rwanda with a specialization in Soil and Environmental Management, he’s pursuing his online Master’s in Project management from Mahatma Gandhi University.
Co-founder, Director of Education Initiative
Oliver Gakunde works with We-Act for Education, an International NGO based in US and a partner of RD Rwanda, where he coordinates all educations activities, budgeting, school materials provision, school fees payment, and breakfast distribution. He also overseas up the tuition and stipends payments for University students, mainly Masters and PhD students in Rwanda and overseas.
Mr. Gakunde is also a consultant at the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda and is a chief editor for several NISR Research Projects including World Census of Agriculture, Agricultural Integrated Survey, and Comparison of Alternative Agricultural Survey Designs. Additionally, he is trained in different statistics software/packages and methods for national and global agriculture surveys.
Mr. Gakunde holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Rwanda with a specialization in Soil and Environmental Management, he’s pursuing his online Master’s in Project management from Mahatma Gandhi University.