Our Team

Dr. Margaret Karembu (MBS) is the Director of ISAAA-AfriCenter (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications – Africa region and pioneering chair, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB – Kenya chapter). She is a senior level environmental science management specialist with extensive experience in technology transfer, environmental impact audits and modern biotechnology applications on small-scale agriculture. A science educator and communication trainer, Margaret has actively been involved in strengthening capacity for science communications and policy outreach for informed choices on modern biosciences in Africa. She has significantly contributed to the biotechnology discourse through presentations in many international fora and working papers on modern biotechnology, including the Convention on Biological Diversity Biosafety COP-MOP negotiations (2010-2018).

She is also the principal convener of the Africa Biennial Biosciences Communication symposium (ABBCsymposium), Editor in chief of DrumBeat, a monthly e-newsletter on Africa Bioscience Trends and founding chair of the African Women for Biosciences and Africa Association for the Advancement of Synthetic Biology (AAASynBio). These platforms provide stakeholders an opportunity to share experiences on modern biosciences and policy implications of emerging bioscience trends. She is very passionate about science and a strong believer in the power of innovations for transforming African agriculture into efficient and competitive enterprise for women and small-holder families. In 2020, Margaret’s efforts were recognized with a conferment by Kenyan President with a State Honour – Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS). She previously served as Council chair and vice-chair of the Cooperative University of Kenya and Meru University of Science and Technology respectively. Margaret holds a PhD degree in Environmental Science Education from Kenyatta University, where she taught for more than 10 years prior to joining ISAAA.

Anne Mukuna is the Administrative Assistant at ISAAA AfriCenter. She holds a Diploma in Business Administration and Management from Kenya Institute of Management. She is principally responsible for managing the diary of the AfriCenter Director. Anne also oversees general office management, management of transport services, and events organization among other administrative duties.

Nderitu is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K) and also holds a Bachelor of Commerce. He is in charge of overall finance administration, human resource and compliance to all applicable protocols, statutory and federal regulations.

Anthony has a wealth of experience in auditing, tax compliance and project management. He is a proud graduate from Kenya College of Accountancy.

Bibiana Iraki has wide experience in science communication, spanning a period of over 10 years. She holds an MA in Journalism from the University of Wales, Glamorgan, and a BSc in Biotechnology from Cardiff University. Bibiana handles various communications-related duties, key among them leading in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of communication and outreach strategies for major biotech projects. She has been actively involved in strengthening capacity for effective science communication and policy outreach across the region and has trained over 1000 African scientists and researchers on how to effectively communicate their work to a non-technical audience.

As an ardent Science Communicator, Bibiana has led in the development of various simplified knowledge products that have been used widely by key stakeholders, including policy and decision makers, on the journey towards commercialisation of genetically modified crops in Africa. To support accurate and balance reporting on biosciences both at the national and regional level, Bibiana has trained over 500 African journalists on effective science reporting and has been part of various initiatives that strive to bridge the gap between science and society.

Bibiana is passionate about science communication which she believes is key in transforming Africa’s wealth of research knowledge into tangible solutions for development.

Ezekiel Ng’ang’a joined ISAAA AfriCenter in February 2106 as a Video Production Consultant. He is a Media Professional with over 5 years experience working with both local and international media.

Before joining the AfriCenter, he previously worked as a Television Producer at Family TV (Media) Kenya prior to which he served as the Chief Operation’s Manager at Youth TV Kenya, a vertical growth from the position of a Production and Content Acquisition Manager for the same TV station. He is a Mass Communication graduate from Multimedia University of Kenya.

Paul has experiential strengths in sharing of information on benefits accruing from acquisition of biotech crops to an array of stakeholders including policy makers, legislatures, community leaders, farmers and consumers. He has an acumen in networking with industry leaders in his country Kenya, across Africa and beyond. He has played a significant role in enhancing Africa’s capacity for international biosafety negotiations, and was part of the African delegation at COP/MOP 8 and COP/MOP 10 in Cancun Mexico and Montreal, Canada respectively. 

Paul is also passionate about crop improvement through modern technologies and has keen interest in genome editing besides plant breeding. Prior to his current role at PBS, the youthful scientist worked as a Program Officer in charge of Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB-Kenya Chapter) at ISAAA AfriCenter. He also worked briefly at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT- Nairobi) as a research consultant in dryland legumes breeding.

Paul holds a Ph.D. degree in Crops and Horticultural Sciences from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He has an MSc. degree in Agricultural Biotechnology from the same university, and a BSc. in Horticulture from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya.

Edna coordinates the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in Africa – Kenya Chapter. OFAB is a platform that provides an opportunity for key stakeholders to have frank discussions on the benefits and challenges of modern biotechnology. 

She holds a BSc in Biochemistry and is pursuing an MSc in Biotechnology with specialization in animal biotechnology (diagnostics and vaccine development). Edna has experience in people-centred designs towards development of behaviour change interventions within the public health space and is an alumnus of the prestigious Samya Rose Stumo Public Health Fellowship.

In 2022, she was honoured with the African AI Research Award for Innovation Funding for Junior Researchers to develop a fish knowledge portal which will offer comprehensive information on fish farms across two counties in Kenya, serving as a dynamic platform for fish scientists, practitioners, and farmers to share, discuss, and generate new knowledge.

Edna is passionate about science communication, which she believes is essential in translating research into practical solutions for development, and has been part of numerous science communication trainings where, either as part of the trainees or trainers, she continues to gather, and disseminate, knowledge that will help in a better understanding of agricultural biotechnology and subsequent transformation of the society.

As the Digital Communications Officer, Peter is tasked with creation of content for publication on ISAAA AfriCenter website (including blog posts) and development of a strategy for running the organization’s social media platforms. He also leads panel moderation in AfriCenter-led conferences and co-osts the Africa Science Dialogue podcasts.

Peter has a background in both science and communication, invaluable assets that help him deliver as a science communicator. 

Between January 2020 and 2024, Peter worked as a business and science reporter, and then as a senior reporter, for the Standard Group, principally writing for The Standard newspaper and reporting for KTN News. He was awarded The CEO’s Award in the company in 2021, the highest internal honour, and was named Employee of The Year 2022.

Prior to joining The Standard, he twice won The Writers’ Guild Kenya short story writing competition and published in several magazines such as The Kalahari Review, The UoN’s Student Engineer, and The Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) annual journal.

Peter has covered several international business and science conferences and was, in 2024, awarded a fellowship by the International Journalists’ Programme (IJP) in Berlin. He also won a 2024 African Space Leadership Institute (ASLI) scholarship and completed the Space Systems Engineering course.

He graduated from The University of Nairobi with a BSc in Geospatial Engineering and Space Systems. He is a passionate science communicator and has been part of AfriCenter’s training as a debate moderator and as a trainer. He believes in the power of professional science communication to pass knowledge that will transform Kenya and the continent in the face of problems such as climate change.

Program Associate, Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa

As a Program Associate for the Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA) project through ISAAA AfriCenter, he connects technical One Health (OH) actors with non-technical players through a sustained collaboration for delivery of OH solutions. 

He holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics from the same institution. In addition, he has postgraduate training in Disaster Management-Disaster preparedness. Previously, Christian worked for the International Livestock Research Institute where he was a team member of the Zoonoses in Livestock in Kenya (ZooLinK) project, a multi-sectoral/multi-disciplinary initiative that develops an effective integrated surveillance program for zoonotic diseases. 

He was instrumental in creating a community awareness video for Antimicrobial Resistance and Animal welfare for food safety, among other scientific publications for the technical audience. Christian also worked to support the rabies eradication plans in Kenya under the Laikipia Rabies Vaccination Campaign, and pilot field rabies diagnosis in canines to enhance rabies surveillance in hard-to-reach areas of rural Kenya.

Franklin Ongeti Osango is a very jovial Program Officer at ISAAA AfriCenter as he delivers the organization’s mandate to advocate for the use of agri biotechnology in Africa. From relevant background experience in brand management and public communication, Franklin has over seven years experience to effectively communicate ISAAA’s message to critical stakeholders through keen media monitoring and insights’ reporting. Franklin is a graduate of Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts, has consulted for organizations such as UN-FAO and has headed the publications department at the Kenya Land Alliance. He brings focus on media trends and design in advocacy for Science Based Agricultural Innovations at ISAAA and raises awareness for ISAAA across the continent.