Monica Namayanja is the Associate Director, Postgraduate Studies at the Kampala International University – Western Campus (KIU-WC). 

Monica is currently pursuing a PhD in Molecular Biology from Makerere University. She holds a Masters Degree in Biotechnology and a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry Botany & Zoo from Barkatulla Vishwavidyalaya University in Bhopal-India. She also holds a Certificate in Immunology in the Tropics from the Makerere UVRI Infection and Immunity Research Training Programme, a Certificate in Intermediate Biostatistics in Epidemiology from the Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala-Uganda, a Certificate in Infections and Brain Dysfunctions (sleep, epilepsy and behaviour) from the Neuro Science Schools in Africa ( sponsored by IBRO), and a Diploma in Office Automation from the Microsoft Institute of Information Technology in Bhopal-India.

From 2005 to 2012, Monica was a Research Fellow at Molecular Biology Laboratory and Part time Lecturer, at the Department of Bio-Molecular and Bio-Lab Sciences, School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and Biosecurity at Makerere University in Kampala-Uganda where she gained knowledge and skills in Immunology Research. She also worked as a visiting Research Associate in USA in 2009 at the Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology in Newark-Delaware, where she with the Immunology Department to evaluate the vaccine candidates using techniques such as ELISA, Western blotting, Immunofluorescence assay among others. In 2008, she worked as a visiting Research Associate at in the Neuroscience Department Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm-Sweden

She is qualified in carrying out all manner of experiments on nucleic acids, proteins different type of cells as well as animal related experiments. Her research work aims at unravelling the mechanisms of Trypanosoma brucei-host cell interactions related to the traversal of the blood brain barrier whose results will provide information that will be useful in development of new drugs. In addition to this, the expertise gained from this study can also be used in tackling other diseases. She intends to continue working with Universities or renowned scientific research institutes as a renowned Scientist, coming up with ways of developing research capacity both at infrastructure and human resource level.