Dr. Bupe Tembo
Neurology Fellow · UTH Children’s Hospital / University of Zambia · TRENNDZ Fellow since 2024
Dr. Bupe Tembo
Neurology Fellow, UTH Children’s Hospital / University of Zambia
Professional Background
Dr. Bupe Tembo is a Neurology Fellow at the UTH Children’s Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, where she focuses on paediatric neurological conditions with a particular emphasis on neuroinfectious diseases. She completed her MBChB at the University of Zambia School of Medicine and undertook postgraduate clinical training at UTH before joining the TRENNDZ programme in 2024.
Her clinical work centres on children presenting with acute neurological illness — including bacterial meningitis, cerebral malaria, and HIV-associated neurological complications — at UTH Children’s Hospital, one of the highest-volume paediatric neurology services in sub-Saharan Africa. She is passionate about improving outcomes for children with neuroinfectious disease through better diagnostics and evidence-based protocols.
Through TRENNDZ, Dr. Tembo is developing competencies in clinical research design, ethics, data management, and scientific communication, supported by mentors at UTH and the University of Rochester. She is committed to building a sustainable career as a clinician-scientist who can lead neurology research in Zambia and across the region.
Areas of Expertise
- Paediatric neurology and neuroinfectious disease
- Bacterial meningitis and cerebral malaria outcomes
- HIV-associated neurological complications in children
- Diagnostic methods in resource-limited settings
- Clinical research design and ethics
Mission Statement
Children in Zambia are dying from treatable neurological infections, and those who survive are too often left with disabilities that could have been minimised with better, faster care. My mission is to change that — to build the evidence, the protocols, and the diagnostic capacity that gives every child a fighting chance, regardless of where they were born or what resources their hospital has.
This mission shapes Dr. Tembo’s work within the TRENNDZ programme, where her clinical care and research training are focused on improving the diagnosis, management, and long-term outcomes of children with neuroinfectious disease in Zambia and the wider region.
Research & Projects
- Neuroinfectious disease outcomes in Zambian children (2024–ongoing): A prospective observational study examining short- and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in children admitted to UTH with bacterial meningitis and cerebral malaria.
- Diagnostic pathways for acute encephalitis in resource-limited settings: Evaluating the feasibility and yield of a structured diagnostic algorithm for encephalitis in a paediatric tertiary hospital in Lusaka.
- HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in perinatally infected adolescents: A cross-sectional study assessing neurocognitive function and quality of life in adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV attending UTH.
Gallery
Additional photographs of Dr. Tembo in clinical and research settings will be added here.
Mentors & Collaborators
- A. Patel – UTH Children’s Hospital, Lusaka (Primary Mentor)
- D. Bearden – University of Rochester Medical Center (International Co-Mentor)
- D. Tembo – UTH Children’s Hospital, Lusaka (Clinical Supervisor)
Publications & Presentations
- Tembo B, Patel A, Bearden D, et al. Neurodevelopmental outcomes following bacterial meningitis in children at a tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia: preliminary findings. Presented at the TRENNDZ Annual Research Symposium, Lusaka, July 2025.
- Tembo B, Asukile M, Kvalsund M. Diagnostic yield of a structured encephalitis algorithm in a paediatric setting in sub-Saharan Africa. Abstract submitted, African Journal of Neurological Sciences, 2026.
