Dr Wilber Sabiiti 22 Ocotober
Wed, Oct 22nd 2025 at 12:40 pm - 2:00 pm
‘My story from the shores of Lake Edward in Uganda to East coast of Scotland’.
Principal Biomedical Research Scientist (Associate Professor) at St Andrews University
President Tommy Brown introduced speaker Dr Wilber Sabiti, Principal Biomedical Research Scientist (Associate Professor) in the University of St Andrews, and a regular visitor to the Club. His talk My story: from the shores of Lake Edward to the east coast of Scotland explained his inspirational academic research and his charity work. Wilber was born near Lake Edward in Uganda. Following a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Kampala, he went on to teach and study in Belgium, became the first African to be awarded the Darwin Trust Scholarship, and completed his PhD at Birmingham University. A post doc followed in London. He planned to return to Uganda until, in 2013, Professor Stephen Gillespie of the University of St Andrews (now retired) offered him an initial 18-month contract as a Principal Research Fellow in the Division of Infection and Global Health at the School of Medicine. He’s still here, 12 years later! Walter explained how, previously, it was difficult to manage and treat TB because diagnosis was slow and there was no effective way to monitor patient response. A test pioneered and developed by Professor Gillespie’s team, however, has helped to address these challenges and is now being used in 20 countries throughout the world. Wilber led the international evaluation study of the test and is training teams around the world to use it. He went on to describe the school that he and his wife set up as a charity in Uganda where working mothers can send their children, secure in the knowledge that they are safe from kidnapping or harm. The Rotary Club of St Andrews Club is proud to have been able to support this. Sue Hill gave the vote of thanks.
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