Dr Mudalungu joined icipe inApril 2024. She holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research interest is in the extraction and characterisation of beneficial chemical compounds from insects that can act as potential antimicrobial agents to combat the ever-spreading incidences of antibiotic resistance in animals and humans.

Previously, she was a Research Assistant at Technische Universität Berlin, Department of Organic and Biological Chemistry, where she was involved in the characterisation of new bioactive compounds from microbial sources. She specialises in working with modern analytical instruments such as LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, FTIR, UV-Vis and NMR spectroscopy.

Her former roles include  working as a Research Consultant and mentoring postgraduate students in the Behavioural and Chemical Ecology unit (BCEU) and the INSEFF Programme at icipe. She also worked as a lecturer in Chemistry at the Technical University of Kenya, and the Kenya Methodist University.

Dr Mudalungu is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH) professional bodies.

Her professional achievements include receiving a DAAD scholarship for her doctoral studies in Germany. She has collaborated with international peers on several research projects, leading to publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. She was part of a team that emerged among the Top 5 proposals in the Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge (2024).