Dembo is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has over 20 years experience as a Leader in research management, organizational strategy, operations, and research business processes engineering. He was the pioneer head of the Research Support Office in the Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia, setting up a robust support and managerial mechanism for research scientists at all levels of their careers.

To promote research management beyond the MRC Gambia, Dembo has built extensive expertise providing training and consulting services in theme across the entire African continent. He is a regular trainer/facilitator for WARIMA and the Africa Research Excellence Fund http://www.africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/. He is a member of the International Professional Recognition Council https://iprcouncil.com/iprc-members/ He has managed funding and contracts from all major funders of biomedical science research. He presents strong experience in policy development and risk management in several organizations. He is a specialist in setting up monitoring and evaluation frameworks, performance management and reporting at organizational, departmental and program levels

Dembo is an economist by training and holds an MBA Degree from the Open University in the UK. He has a passion for capacity building, partnerships and the promotion of human development and growth in Africa.