Joining Cape Town – ICGEB AICAD Fellows

ICGEB Cape Town is delighted to welcome researchers from Kenya as part of the ICGEB AICAD Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme.

In August 2023, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between ICGEB and the African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) set the stage for a partnership, grounded in a framework for cooperation in science, education, and technology. Last week marked a significant milestone, with ICGEB welcoming the first two Postdoctoral Fellows part of the ICGEB AICAD Fellowship Programme.

The Programme offers Postdoctoral scientists from Kenya, The United Republic of Tanzania and candidates from Uganda a training period of 6 months at ICGEB laboratories in Italy, India or South Africa, to perform research on biotechnology and related fields, including Health (Infectious Diseases and Non-Communicable Diseases), Sustainable Agriculture, Industrial Biotechnology and Renewable Energy.

We welcome Dr Sharon Chepkwony and Dr Grace Kinyanjui and present their testimonials:

Dr Sharon Chepkwony, from Kenya, joins ICGEB from the Kenya Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi. Joining the Virology - Emerging Viruses Group, under the mentorship of Dr Georgia Schafer, Sharon will learn how to sequence SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses as well as other viruses including chikungunya and herpes viruses. "We intend to develop sequencing pipelines for several of these viruses. With whole genome sequencing, we will be able to compare these strains with the SARS-CoV-2 strains that circulate in humans and possibly identify strains with pandemic potential. I am grateful to ICGEB and AICAD for granting me this opportunity. This is a dream come true."

Dr Grace Kinyanjui is from the University of Embu in Kenya. At ICGEB Cape Town, she is in the Biopesticides Group, under the mentorship of Dr. Dennis Ndolo. Her research is focused on promoting the use of biopesticides in the management of agricultural insect pests. "The ICGEB-AICAD fellowship is a great opportunity for my professional development and expanding my networks. I am grateful to both partners for this incredible fellowship."

The ICGEB AICAD partnership is based on a framework for cooperation in science, education and technology, which facilitates and strengthens the collaboration between the two organisations in fields of common interest such as emerging technologies, biotechnology and life sciences, to the benefit of the common member countries.

Dr Ndolo, Dr Schafer, Dr Chepkwony & Dr Kinyanjui

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