Dr Fathiya Mbarak Khamis is a senior scientist in ICIPE’s Plant Health Theme.
She holds BSc and MSc degrees in biochemistry from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and a PhD in molecular biology from Kenyatta University. She has worked in Kenyatta University transitioning from a graduate assistant to a tutorial fellow and later a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
Fathiya is currently working on native and invasive insect pests of fruits and vegetables that are of economic importance for food security in Africa and beyond. She applies molecular techniques to assess the safety of insects as a sustainable source of nutritious food for humans and feed for livestock.
She has taken a key role in utilising her expertise to develop and promote effective and ecologically sustainable integrated pest management systems, and to assess microbial safety of edible insects and their rearing substrates, which is critical for mainstreaming the insects’ alternative sources of protein for food and feed in the continent.
She serves as a member of ICIPE’s institutional biosafety committee and Institutional Board of Postgraduate Studies, a member of the Biochemical Society of Kenya and on the editorial board of Frontiers in Insect Physiology and is a reviewer for several high impact peer reviewed journals.
Fathiya has authored and co-authored more than 100 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters with a Google Scholar citation of 1984, an h-index of 23 and i10 index 50. She is active in building research capacity in Africa through mentoring and supervising students, young scientists, and technical staff.
In recognition of her contribution to research and development in Africa, Dr Khamis was awarded the 2019 TWAS-Abdool Karim Prize in biological sciences.
