Her father and grandmother were traditional herbalists and she grew up wanting to be a healer too.

But the idea of pursuing herbal medicine at Kenyatta University was overridden by the desire to study clinical medicine at the University of Nairobi.

"Our home was surrounded by herb trees, and our kitchen garden had all sorts of herbs such that when I got a little cold, I knew what leaves to pluck and make some herbal tea, or if I got a bad stomach, I knew which roots to pick and chew on to make it better, and this is why I knew I wanted to be a healer, just like my dad," recalls Dr Hellen Barsosio, now a senior clinical research scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).