Ambrose Otieno Rachier is the chairperson of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Scientific and Ethics Review Unit, which is the KEMRI Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee A. He joined KEMRI ISERC in 1979 as a lay person and later rose to become its chairperson. He has served the ISERC for 43 years now.
He is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya of 46 years’ standing and a senior partner at Rachier & Amollo Advocates. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Dar-es-salaam, a Diploma in French Pedagogy from the University of Madagascar, a Master of Laws Degree from the University of Nairobi, a Master of Arts Degree in Translation (English/French/English) from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Arts Degree in Bioethics from Trinity International University, Illinois U.S.A.
He taught Land Law and Conveyancing Practice at the Kenya School of Law between 1986 and 2006 and at Strathmore University Law School for six years. He is currently an adjunct lecturer in Health Law at the Strathmore University Business School.
He serves as the chairperson of the Strathmore University Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee and a member of the Aga Khan University Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee. Between 1992 and 1997, he served in the Task Force that developed the HIV and AIDS policy that was adopted by Parliament as Sessional Paper Number 3 of 1997. As a lawyer he drafted the HIV and AIDS Control and Prevention Act 2006 and the 2012 Kenyan Land Laws. He was the Chairperson of the Task force on HIV and AIDS law and the first chairperson of the HIV and AIDS Tribunal. A member of the Bioethics Society of Kenya, he has conducted a number of capacity building workshops in research with human participants, published a number of papers on the subject and contributed chapters in published books on medical law.