Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infecting free-ranging non-human Primates in Kenyan Urban Centres

Abstract

My foremost profound gratitude goes to God Almighty who has granted me good health,strength and ability to accomplish this study and more so during the challenging academic times. Second, I am grateful to my supervisors Dr. Maamun Jeneby and Dr. Vincent Owino Adung’a for their time, guidance, dedication and involvement in my academic pursuits. Special thanks to Dr. Maamun and Dr. Mercy Akinyi who were kind enough to offer an opportunity to conduct a research project for my thesis under their guidance both in the laboratory and fieldwork. I would also like to thank Dr. Vincent Owino Adung’a whose expertise in molecular cell biology played a big role in shaping and implementation of this study. I am grateful to Dr. Moses Otiende for approving the use of KWS laboratory facilities and consumables. Lastly, I acknowledge Dr. Edwin Kimathi on immense support and expertise for the computational/bioinformatics work, starting from enlightening me on the tools to use for sequence analysis, guidance on phylogenetic analysis and selection pressure. I extend my gratitude to the Institute of Primate Research, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and Kenya Wildlife Services for permitting use of their facilities and resources during my research. I also extend my acknowledgments to the World Federation of Scientists (WFS) for the scholarship that facilitated undertaking of this study at icipe.