Prof. Thumbi Mwangi is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Washington State University's Paul G Allen School for Global Health and Co-Director of the Center for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (CEMA) at the University of Nairobi. His research work uses epidemiological and mathematical modelling tools to study how diseases are transmitted between humans and between animals and humans. He chaired Kenya's COVID-19 Technical Committee on Modelling, guiding the country's pandemic responses. At CEMA, he leads a diverse team of epidemiologists, data scientists, economists, software engineers, mathematicians, statisticians and clinicians generating insights from data analytics and modelling to guide decisions in the health sector. Outside of science, he enjoys playing racket sports (a lot!) and conquering Mt Kenya - planning for his 21st summit.