Early career researchers to receive grants from Elsevier

Two early career researchers at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org) have been awarded travel sponsorship grants by Elsevier (https://www.elsevier.com/). Elsevier is a global leader in information and analytics, whose aim is to help researchers and healthcare professionals to advance science and improve health outcomes, striving to create a better future worldwide.

Valued at USD 1,000, the grants have been provided by the Current Research in Insect Science’ journal, and the Journal of Insect Physiology, and they will enable the researchers to attend suitable conferences.

“icipe gratefully acknowledges this support from Elsevier. The travel grants are aligned to the Centre’s capacity building goal of pivoting our young researchers through world class training and skills, while also enabling them to access the global reward system, which includes resources, knowledge, recognition and networking,” stated Dr Sunday Ekesi, Head, Capacity Building and Integrated Sciences.

The two researchers are:

Franck Bruno Tonle (Cameroon)

PhD scholar, icipe African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS)

Registered at: University of Dschang, Cameroon

Previous qualifications: MSc (2021) in Computer Sciences; BSc (2019) in Mathematics and Computer sciences, both from University of Dschang, Cameroon.

Research project title: Designing complex systems analogies: a novel computational approach to optimize integrated pest management delivery.

Supervisors: Dr Saliou Niassy and Dr Henri Tonnang (icipe) and Prof. Maurice Tchoupe (University of Dschang). 

Peter Kimani Muchina (Kenya)

PhD scholar: Dissertation Research Internship Programme (DRIP)

Research project title: Unraveling the genetic diversity and population structure of Hermetia illucens (Black Soldier Fly) in Kenya and Uganda

Registered at: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya

Supervisors: Dr Fathiya Khamis and Dr Chrysantus Tanga (icipe); Prof. Johnson Kinyua (JKUAT); and Prof Grum Gebreyesus, Aarhus University, Denmark

Previous qualifications: BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2018) from South Eastern Kenya university);  and an MSc (2022) in Bioinformatics, from Pwani University, Kenya, funded by EANBiT.