Biography

I, François Hakizayezu, am a Rwandan public health professional with over 13 years of experience in medical laboratory science and 2 years in epidemiology. I hold a Master’s in Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Management and have contributed to teaching, research, outbreak response, and health system strengthening. I have authored over 10 peer-reviewed publications on malaria, HIV, TB, and antibiotic resistance, featured in journals like Frontiers in Public Health and Scientific Reports. I’ve served in key roles at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre and academic institutions, with strong skills in data analysis and multilingual communication.

Expertise

TB Diagnostics
Public Health

Key Impacts

Cost-effective tuberculosis diagnosis: Evaluating sputum pooling with Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra in Rwanda

This study shows that the sample-pooling strategy using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra effectively reduces testing costs and time in Rwanda, making molecular TB diagnostics more accessible. Given the country’s low TB prevalence, pooling minimizes retesting, making it a practical and cost-efficient approach for community surveys targeting high-risk, asymptomatic individuals.

Source: Conference 2024