About Me

I am a Google DeepMind Scholar studying a master's in Artificial Intelligence for Science at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), South Africa and the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Previously, I was a visiting Data Science Africa (DSA) Research Fellow, hosted at Centre for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAIL) in Nyeri, Kenya where I worked on computer vision approaches for automated measurements of flexion angle and lower limb alignment.

I hold a BSc. Biomedical Engineering from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. During my undergraduate, I worked with Professor Ciira Maina at DSAIL in Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya on developing a wearable device for monitoring recovery of orthopedic patients. I also visited Marconi Research and Innovations Lab in Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, where I worked with Dr. Andrew Katumba on developing Swahili speech recognition model, and with Dr. Jan Mikelson on breast cancer hackathon preparation which took place at the University of Texas, USA. Both experiences resulted in peer-reviewed publications.

I also interned at Talent Bridge Africa supporting clients with data-driven decision making insights. And at Zilliz to assist AI developers in using Milvus, a popular open-source vector database.

I won multiple scholarships to participate in person in international data science events in countries like Ghana, Norway, France, Rwanda, South Africa. I have also been an active member in communities such as KamiLimu, IEEE, Toastmasters, where I have organized events, lead new initiatives and mentored others.

As a result, I've gained interest in contributing to the development of machine learning solutions to contribute solutions to my community and beyond.

News

Deep Learning IndabaX, Aug 2024, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Inperson, Nyeri, Kenya | Won the Africa AI Research Award 2024!

Data Science Africa, June 2024, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Inperson, Nyeri, Kenya | Part of the organising committee.

2023/24 Emerging Leaders in AI, Black in AI, Oct'23 - May '24

Virtual | Among 131 scholars accepted and completed the 8 months program!

Deep Learning Indaba, September 2023, University of Ghana

Inperson, Accra, Ghana | Presented at TrustAI workshop, facilitated a probability session, and presented a poster.

Probabilistic AI School, June 2023 at NTNU

Inperson, Trondheim, Norway | Documented probabilistic machine learning lessons on GitHub and LinkedIn.

Data Science Africa, May 2023 at University of Rwanda

Inperson, Kigali, Rwanda | Documented my learning and implementation on GitHub and LinkedIn.

Breast Cancer Hackathon, March 2023, University of Texas Southwestern

Inperson, Dallas, Texas | Publish our work on Frontier and documented experience on LinkedIn.

Human Cell Atlas (HCA), Cell Atlas Meeting in Nov. 2022

Inperson, at Sorbonne Université, Paris, France | Documented on LinkedIn.

Hands-on Data Analysis for Metabolic Profiling, Nov. 2022, Imperial

Online, London, UK | Won an MRC full fee bursary to Complete the course

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Course, July 2022, EURECA-PRO

Online | Attended 14 lectures by 7 European universities on entrepreneurship & innovation. Certificate.

Data Science Africa, July 2022, Institute of Accountancy Arusha

Inperson, Arusha, Tanzania | Presented an orthopedic wearable device and documented on LinkedIn.

International Students Conference, October 2022, Kyambogo University

Inperson, Kampala, Uganda | Invited by IEEE as student panelist and documented on LinkedIn.

The George B. Moody PhysioNet Challenge, September 2022

Online | Collaborated with Bjørn-Jostein . Developed 2 deep learning models and presented at CinC conference.

FeatureCloud Hackathon, June 2022, University of Hamburg

Online, Hamburg, Germany | Documenting on GitHub.

19th International Summer School BIO-X, May 2022, Orthodox Academy

Inperson, Crete, Greece | Delivered the closing speech and documented my learning on LinkedIn.

Association of Medical Engineers of Kenya (AMEK), December 2021

Inperson, Kakamega, Kenya | Documented my presentation Linkedln.

KamiLimu Mentorship Program, August 2021

Hybrid, Nairobi, Kenya | Among 36 cohort 6 mentees . Completing with the most outstanding attendance and community engagement. Also featured on Medium.

Launched IEEE CASS, June 2021, Kenyatta University

Inperson, Nairobi, Kenya | Featured on IEEE CASS newsletter.

Digital Fabrication, December 2020, Maker Space, Nairobi University

Hybrid, Nairobi, Kenya | 3D printing, CNC milling and Laser cutter . Certificate.

Value Centered Leadership, April 2020, DePaul University

Online | 16 weeks of value centred leadership . Certificate.

Experiences

Visiting Research Fellow

Data Science Africa | January 2024 - present

Developing a machine learning-based web application to enhance orthopedic recovery monitoring by accurately estimating joint flexion angles.
Designing Python-powered dashboards for effective visualization of orthopedic recovery data, focusing on joint flexion angles to aid clinical assessments.
Implemented robust data storage solutions using time series databases such as InfluxDB and SQL, optimizing data retrieval and scalability.

Visiting Undergraduate Research Assistant

Marconi Research and Innovations Lab, Uganda | January 2023 - March 2023

Developed a Swahili speech recognition model as preliminary steps towards building a more reliable, robust and autonomous patient-doctor documentation tool with the mentorship of Dr. Andrew.

Additionally, prepared and participated in a breast cancer hackathon challenge at the University of Texas Southwestern with the mentorship of Dr. Jan and published a position paper on our implementation.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Centre for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAIL) | February 2022 - April 2022

Designed hardware and software for monitoring of knee rehabilitating patients using an Arduino microcontroller and python programming language with the mentorship of Professor Ciira.

This work was presented at IST-Africa 2023 Proceedings in South Africa. Additionally, won a Mini-Grant award to further development and test the device in a clinic.

Documentation Focal Point

Uvumbuzi Tech Challenge | June 2021 - August 2021

Collaborated in a team of six, including Kakuma and Kaloyebei residents, in a 12 weeks research and development of frugal technology for low cost and sustainable cooking in Kakuma and Kaloyebei, the largest refugee camps in Kenya.

Logged the cook's team research, designs, and prepared progress reports. Used collaboration tools such as Google Workspace for all the documentation and communication.

After the challenge, I wrote a reflection of my learning and shared the results of our work on a medium blog and on LinkedIn.

Data Intern

Talent Bridge Africa | June 2020 - December 2020

Worked fully remote for seven months investigating and preparing reports on healthcare trends, with support of senior market researcher, Stella Nzisa, and business consultant, Veronica George, to support clients make informed healthcare investment decisions during the pandemic.

Updated the Talent Bridge Africa's healthcare database with thousands of data points from the research findings. Collaborated using online video conferencing tools and Google Workspace to successful completion of projects. Supported two other projects, on education, with data preparation and organization.

Gained a huge appreciation for the usefulness of data in supporting decision making. Recommendation letter.

Biomedical Engineer Attaché

Kiambu Level 5 Hospital | May 2019 - August 2019

Spent my only school break interning at biomedical engineering department of the hospital. Involved in installation of over 5 new pieces of medical equipment. Conducted over 50 rounds of medical equipment check, including visiting over nine departments at the Hospital. Took an active role in the planned preventive maintenance (PPM) of the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).

Built troubleshooting and problem analysis skills in over the hundreds of maintenance activities done during my internship. Recommendation letter.

Projects

  • Pitched Projects
  • Practice Playground

Data science projects; including data wrangling, hands-on data analysis for metabolic profiling and other applications in Healthcare. Also, deep & machine learning implementation mostly using python.

Hardware and software implementation of a knee wearable device using Python and Arduino with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), showcased in Crete, Greece. (10th on list) and in Nyeri, Kenya.

Protype of an IoT software and hardware for automatic washroom door opening for physically challenged, pitched at KamiLimu. Documentation.

Pitching a medical app for fighting misinformation during the national RedBull Basement competitions 2021 in Kenya. One minute pitch video.

Hardware programming workshops, attachement projects, and class project on controlling a propeller, using Arduino.

Data structures & Algorithms implementations mostly using C++ and Python. And some unix bash scripting.

Community Engagement

Trulli
KamiLimu

A non-profit organization whose mission is to upskill tertiary-level tech students.

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IEEE

The world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

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EMBS

The world's largest international society of biomedical engineers that serves as a central gathering point for the intersection between engineering, medicine and biology.

Trulli
Peer Counseling

A community of Kenyatta University students that offers free wellness services to peers in campus.

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AIESEC

A global platform that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences.

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Toastmasters Gavel Club

An international nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public speaking and leadership.

Chair 2023, IEEE Student Branch at Kenyatta University.

Cohort 7 Peer mentor at KamiLimu & Peer couselor at Kenyatta University.

Sr. Administrator 2023/24, EMBS Students Activity Committee (SAC) & EMBS Student Mentorship Program Ambassador 2022 & 2023.

Founding President 2022, Toastmaster Gavel at Kenyatta Univesity.

Incoming Global Volunteer Sales Manager at AIESEC, 2022.

Testimonials

What people I have worked with say about me.

Research

Broadly speaking, my research interests are in building explainable machine learning algorithms that have an impact in healthcare. Currently, I am working on developing pose estimation model for orthopedic applications such as recovery monitoring. I am also learning foundational mathematics concepts for machine learning and practising implementing them in PyTorch and Tensorflow. To grasp the concepts, I am reading, I spend some time writing about the lessons I learn on my Medium page. Here is my Google Scholar profile.

Select Articles

[1] S. Bjørn-Jostein, A. M. Gitau, J. Markus Kreutzer , R. Johan, B. Lars Ailo, S. Henrik, Phonocardiogram Classification Using 1-Dimensional Inception Time Convolutional Neural Networks, Comput. In Card., 10.13140/RG.2.2.22956.13440, 2022, pp. 1-4.
Paper with code IEEE: CinC proceeding Poster ReseachGate Blog

[2] A.M. Gitau, C. Maina. (2022, April). NeeFlex: A wearable device for measuring knee flexion angles in rehabilitating patients.
Technical Report Blog Poster

Find Me

When I am not seated with my laptop on a desk building my science craftmanship, you can find me;

1. With friends, walking on the mountains, singing CL songs, or exploring different culture & places.
2. Reading a book, listening to an audiobook, or watching a documentary, on finance, health, entrepreneurship, wellbeing, founder's memoir, or any piece I find enlightening and fun!
3. Playing checkers, chess, poker, or solving sudokus.

I love exploring new opportunities of learning and having fun. I'd love to hear your suggestions.

© Antony M. Gitau 2022 - 2024 | Designed by HTML Codex