Vivien Kokutangilila Barongo, a Principal Research Officer, has Bachelor’s and Master of Arts degrees in Medical Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1995 and 1998 respectively, and a Doctorate Degree in Social Sciences specializing in Social Anthropology from the Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia in 2015. She was a recipient of the Grant for Graduate Fieldwork Research from the Royal Netherlands Government under the Eastern and Southern African Universities Research Programme (ESAURP) for her Master’s degree and the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) for her Doctorate Degree from the Government of Australia. Vivien also received various research training and skills: a Diploma on “HIV/AIDS Infection and other Sexually Transmitted Infections in Low-Income Countries: Methodological Challenges for Interventional Research” from Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences Division of International Health (IHCAR) and Section for International Health, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway in 2005; a Diploma on Research Methodology, from DBL- Institute for Health Research and Development, Copenhagen, Denmark in 2005; and a Certificate in Reproductive Health Research, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of London, United Kingdom in 1996. In 2000, Vivien joined the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) as a Research Scientist, in 2008 she became a Senior Research Scientist and in 2017, a Principal Research Officer, the post she holds to date. Her main duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to designing and writing fundable proposals; conducting operational research and health systems research on health/disease/socio-cultural and economic issues; supervising and participating in data collection, analysis and writing of research reports and publications; participating in results dissemination to different stakeholders; and undertaking research consultancies from various local and international agencies. Vivien’s professional, research experience and interests revolve around qualitative research into social and behavioural aspects of sexual, reproductive and maternal health, violence, health systems research, diseases, and any research focusing on improving treatment, prevention and eradication of health and social-related problems to promote healthier lives. She has co-authored publications in the areas of malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and violence. In addition to research, Vivien served as the Head of the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation at NIMR from 2016 to 2020, the Head of the Department of Health Research and Regulatory Affairs from 2020 to 2021 and the Head of the Department of Health Systems and Policy Research from 2021 to 2022. Moreover, from 2004 to 2011 she coordinated the international internship programme of non-resident students from USA universities at NIMR and of NIMR junior scientists training in the USA sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).