Society and funding bodies are increasingly demanding that scientists take the stage and communicate their research clearly and effectively to diverse audiences. This isn’t a skill that Irene Kagera – a young research scientist – feels super confident with, but unlike many of her counterparts, she’s proactively doing something about it.
“I believe that the future belongs to those who prepare for it. By enrolling in the YPARD mentoring program, I hope to overcome my public speaking fears and stand out from my research peers.”
Society and funding bodies are increasingly demanding that scientists take the stage and communicate their research clearly and effectively to diverse audiences. This isn’t a skill that Irene Kagera – a young research scientist – feels super confident with, but unlike many of her counterparts, she’s proactively doing something about it.
“I believe that the future belongs to those who prepare for it. By enrolling in the YPARD mentoring program, I hope to overcome my public speaking fears and stand out from my research peers.”
As a child, Irene was always curious to find out more about things happening around her and she always nagged people with questions.
“I love farming. When I was 6 years old, my parents helped me start a kitchen garden. I still tend to it today and grow various vegetables.”
Position | Research Assistant, International Livestock Research Institute |
Education | BSc Biochemistry |
Country | Kenya |
Mentor | Sarah Mukolwe, livestock research scientist, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Kenya |
This inspired Irene to be an agricultural researcher. She secured a job in a research institute where she has developed a passion for research on various plants and animal diseases, which is a major challenge in agricultural development.
Irene is part of the research community that is studying the trends and quality of food to provide data to policymakers to improve food safety.
As a research assistant at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Irene analyses toxins in milk, pig urine, pig serum, foods and animal feeds as part of the My Dairy project. There are certain fungi present in animal feed that, when ingested by dairy cattle are metabolised and become toxic. This can contaminate their milk, which then becomes toxic to humans.
Irene is focusing on a particular fungus called aflatoxin and she is assessing the economic impacts of contaminated dairy feeds and the most appropriate ways of reducing aflatoxins along Kenya’s dairy feed chain.
During the launch of YPARD’s mentoring program, Irene observed that there was diversity among both the mentors and mentees’ backgrounds. This translates to a lot of experiences and ideas being shared and so she is very excited about being part of this initiative.
Through her work, Irene envisions a food secure and safe African continent with no cases of malnourishment.