Abel Kakuru is a medical epidemiologist with a PhD in Infectious and Tropical Diseases and a Master of Science in Epidemiology, both from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He also holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Makerere University. 

Since 2007, he has been actively involved in clinical research at the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, where he has led several successful clinical trials focused on malaria prevention and treatment in children and pregnant women. He is currently serving as an investigator on clinical trials evaluating dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for malaria prevention in these vulnerable groups.