Ousubie is a field supervisor at the Keneba field station in MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and manages a team of ten field assistants and twenty village assistants to deliver the Methyl Donors and Epigenetics-2 (MDEG2) nutritional supplementation trial. This trial presents technical challenges as it involves organising daily supervision, including weekends, for 12 weeks of implementation in more than 20 villages spread throughout the West Kiang region. During the study start-up phase there was a very constricted window for recruitment, and Ousubie worked long hours and several weekends in a row and motivated his team to reach the targets.

Throughout the study he has impressed his colleagues with how he has handled trial monitoring visits, which require a lot of coordination between teams, paperwork and follow up in the field. He has hosted these visits with minimal external support and expertly handled all enquiries.

Ousubie visits community leaders himself to ensure good working relationships, and follows up participants individually to address any compliance issues or obstacles. Due to his dedication and commitment, the trial dropout rate is low at about 3%.

Philip James MDEG2 sub-investigator commented that ‘I’m delighted that Ousubie’s dedication to the MDEG2 trial has been formally recognized with this award. He has impressed me with his humility and hard-working attitude from the beginning. The whole team has worked so hard and Ousubie really has played an integral role in maintaining the efficiency and momentum required to deliver the trial’.