•The deal allows the two to partner in the establishment of the anti-doping lab at Kemri Centre in Eldoret
•The partnership with the London-based College will bring on board the required expertise for the institute to carry out effective sports research
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The recently unveiled Sports Sciences Research centre in Eldoret will soon have a fully-fledged and well equipped and accredited anti-doping laboratory.
This is after the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kings University College London.
The deal allows the two institutions to partner in the establishment of the anti-doping lab at Kemri Centre in Eldoret.
The partnership with the London-based College will bring on board the required expertise for the institute to carry out effective sports research.
The collaboration will see the two work together in the design of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved protocols as well as equipping of the laboratory with approved instrumentations.
Should the centre receive the WADA approval, it will be a hub for athlete sample testing, eliminating the need to send samples out of the country. This will make the process more efficient and timely.
Kemri staff will also get a chance to be trained at Kings Forensics in the signed deal.
Kings University College is the only accredited anti-doping laboratory in the United Kingdom and among others is the testing centre for all Premier League footballers.
In addition, the partnership will see the two institutions collaborate in research and testing activities on anti-doping, forensics and drugs of abuse.
“We are really excited to partner with King’s College- a university that has vast experience, expertise and reputation in anti-doping testing and research,” Kemri’s Acting Director General Elijah Songok said.
“We believe this is the right step in ensuring Kemri serves as a hub for athlete sample testing but also as a homegrown platform for other research and aim to eliminate the need to send samples out of Kenya,” Songok noted.
The Kemri Eldoret Centre which is based at Daima Towers was launched by the Health CS Susan Nakhumicha in August.
The centre is designed to prioritise sports health research including comprehensive analysis of biological passports, factors associated with anti-doping testing, nutrition and sports injuries.
It also serves as the Rift Valley regional station for research activities for the Institute.
“We are happy to partner with Kemri and we shall work together in consultation with WADA for Kenya to acquire the first accredited anti-doping laboratory for the East Africa region,” Head of Kings Forensics Centre Kim Wolff said.
The centre is poised to evolve into a fully-fledged facility dedicated to comprehensively addressing the well-being of athletes through a spectrum of holistic research studies.
These include sports medicine and medical research components specifically targeting nutrition research, social and mental health research, clinical health aspects, provision of laboratory services as well as anti-doping.
Kenya is currently in Category A under World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules with approximately 55 Kenyan athletes serving varying bans, , according to a 2022 report by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Another eight are undergoing provisional suspension.
This means that Kenyan athletes must undergo at least three no-notice tests.
Kemri has also disclosed that it is in the process of signing another MoU with the Scottish-based University of Stirling from the United Kingdom.
The University of Stirling is ranked first in the UK and top five globally in sports facilities and excellence in sports research facilities, something that the institute seeks to replicate at the Eldoret Centre.
Some of areas of collaboration will range from healthy ageing to athlete performance including physiology, nutrition, genetics, coaching, gender and anti-doping.