Employing (Home) Organisation: University of Botswana
Project title: Investigating the association between kidney function biomarkers and blood pressure regulation in an African population.
Keneilwe is a senior lecturer for Human Physiology at the University of Botswana. She completed her PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology in 2021 from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Her research interests include pathophysiology of hypertension in African ethnic groups and using innovative technology for hypertension management. Her passion includes creating public awareness and advocacy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Her interest in cardiovascular research in Africans was inspired by her PhD mentors Professors Norton and Woodiwiss.
Summary of Project Destination
Although biomarkers in kidney and cardiovascular disease have been well studied, their utility in routine clinical practice is not well understood. Furthermore, there is limited understanding of how kidney biomarkers that regulate cardiovascular function vary between different ethnic groups in people with hypertension.
The aim of the study is to investigate how kidney function biomarkers associate with the ability of the kidneys to regulate blood pressure in hypertensive African adults aged 18 years and above. This will be a cross-sectional, quantitative study.
We hope to know which biomarkers have greater association with severity of renal injury, and regulation of blood pressure in African hypertensive adults. The findings will guide targeted interventions for management and treatment of hypertension in this group.
Summary of Fellowship Plan
Keneilwe will be hosted at the Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART) Unit at North-West University, South Africa under the mentorship of Professor Lebo Gafane-Matemane. Cardiovascular research in her country Botswana is mostly an unentered area, so the new skills and techniques she will learn will go a long way towards advancing this research in Botswana. Keneilwe also plans to mentor emerging young scientists in cardiovascular research in Botswana, at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, as well as her junior colleagues.
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“This collaboration with HART in South Africa will help develop Botswana’s first centre of excellence in cardiovascular care and research.”
Dr. Keneilwe Nkgola Mmopi expects to start her fellowship in November 2025