ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
Charter for Kenya Medical Research Institute, 2026
7. Functions of the Institute
Edition: 2025-07-21 · In force
7. Functions of the Institute
The Institute shall—(a)conduct research for human health;(b)provide specialized postgraduate education, research and training in health sciences and related disciplines;(c)conduct examinations and confer postgraduate degrees in health sciences, and related disciplines;(d)collaborate with other institutions, entities and bodies in research, training, innovation for health, health security and health service provision, and related matters;(e)undertake scientific and technological invention, innovation, and product development for human health and service delivery;(f)establish and operationalize incubation and innovation centres to translate research outcomes into health products, technologies, and solutions;(g)establish and maintain institutional infrastructure, systems, and platforms to support research, innovation, postgraduate training and medical services;(h)establish and maintain critical infrastructure for national health security to enhance resilience for health security;(i)establish biosecurity structures, for the prevention, detection, and response to biological threats and public health risks;(j)establish such mechanisms for providing independent expert guidance on the Institute's scientific and academic work and related matters;(k)support continuous national surveillance, preparedness, and response to public health emergencies including research, innovation and drug repurposing;(l)establish and maintain biosafety and biosecurity systems to prevent misuse of biological research, ensure responsible science, and protect public health and national security;(m)formulate national human health research agenda for purposes of identifying health research programmes and priorities;(n)provide specialized laboratory, diagnostic, and clinical services in support of research, training, surveillance, outbreak response and healthcare delivery(o)provide scientific, technical and security support services to the Government on matters relating to health security, biosecurity and bioterrorism;(p)manage biological materials and data in accordance with ethical, scientific, and regulatory requirements;(q)establish and oversee an integrated scientific, ethical, and regulatory review mechanisms to ensure integrity, compliance, and quality in research;(r)establish and coordinate a regulatory sandbox for research for human health to support emerging science and technology and inform the regulatory frameworks of the resulting innovations;(s)develop, apply for, and hold rights in intellectual property, and enter into agreements or arrangements for their protection and commercial exploitation;(t)mobilize resources and establish endowment, investment, and enterprise funds, including public–private partnerships and commercialization of intellectual property and innovative products;(u)offer specialized medical, clinical, and diagnostic services through facilities such as a research and teaching hospitals for translational research and advanced healthcare;(v)establish and maintain national health research data centres to support data access, security knowledge management, and evidence-based policy application;(w)advise the National Government and county governments on matters relating to research for human health, biosecurity, biodefence bioterrorism, emergency preparedness and capacity building for human health; an(x)perform any other functions as may be specified by Statutes.