{"id":7972,"date":"2025-06-24T08:35:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T08:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/?p=7972"},"modified":"2025-07-21T08:43:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T08:43:43","slug":"institutes-researcher-awarded-icgeb-fellowship-in-microbial-biotechnology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/?p=7972","title":{"rendered":"Institute\u2019s researcher awarded ICGEB Fellowship in Microbial Biotechnology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"602\" height=\"462\" src=\"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Dr-Mutungi.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7981\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Dr-Mutungi.jpg 602w, https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Dr-Mutungi-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a great milestone that reflects the growing impact of the Institute in advancing scientific research, Dr. Priscillar Mutungi, a leading biological scientist at the Institute has been selected as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She joins the fellowship under the prestigious ICGEB Bio-Inoculants for Food Security in Africa (B-INOC) Programme, which supports advanced research training and enhances global scientific mobility, especially between the Global South and North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Mutungi brings to the fellowship her extensive expertise in microbial bioprospecting for sustainable agriculture and industrial biotechnology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her research under the fellowship, now based within the Plant Systems Biology Group under the mentorship of Dr. Lara Donaldson, focuses on developing bio-stimulants from endophytic bacteria to support crop resilience, nutrient uptake, and stress tolerance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These innovations align with global priorities such as climate-smart agriculture and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her work is emblematic of the Institute&#8217;s strategic commitment to research and innovation, a key pillar of the Strategic Plan (2023-2027).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan prioritizes cutting-edge scientific development, innovations, partnerships, and the creation of homegrown solutions to environmental and socio-economic challenges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Mutungi&#8217;s fellowship not only enhances individual scientific capacity but also contributes to the Institute\u2019s broader goal of supporting national and continental priorities in biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The B-INOC Africa project, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), seeks to promote innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship through microbial inoculants for resilient agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;It is a powerful platform for the Institute\u2019s researchers to plug into global research networks and bring back transformative solutions for local implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking on the opportunity, Dr. Mutungi said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am very grateful to have been awarded the ICGEB B-INOC Fellowship to enhance my skills. ICGEB is a great organization that fosters creativity, innovation, and collaboration. I look forward to building a long-term partnership that bridges global expertise with local application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her achievement marks another step forward in positioning the Institute as a center of excellence in wildlife and environmental research, and a key contributor to sustainable development in Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a great milestone that reflects the growing impact of the Institute in advancing scientific research, Dr. Priscillar Mutungi, a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7982,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7972\/revisions\/7982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrti.go.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}