Prof.JANSEN Stefan

Stefan Jansen is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Rwanda - College of Medicine and Health Sciences (UR-CMHS), where he works for close to fifteen years. Stefan is the founder and current head of the Mental Health and Behaviour Research Group. With a dedicated team of twelve academic staff and sixteen project staff and interns, he performs scientific research on the highest international standards, often working with local NGOs and hospitals as his research groups strives to make research relevant and impactful. Collaborating with multiple partners, including Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Karolinska University, Charité Berlin, and others, he has served as Principal Investigator and co-Principal Investigator for over 20 projects. His work includes multiple internationally funded and multi-country research projects, including 6 Randomized Controlled Trials, on intergenerational trauma, alcohol and drug abuse, community based psychosocial interventions, and more, using both applied and fundamental science and introducing state-of-the-art research approaches, including neuro-imaging, genetics/epigenetics research, mixed methods designs, ethnography and behavioural economics. Crucially, he and his team have a firm commitment to embedding their research in local understanding and knowledge, using psychometrics to develop, adapt, and/or validate appropriate data collection tools. In addition, Prof. Jansen is the current Director for the Center of Research and Innovation at UR-CMHS; he is member of the Rwanda National Research Ethics Committee; and Chief Editor of the Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences (RJMHS). He also chaired on the organisational board and scientific boards of large international conferences, among other responsibilities.