Environmental Health

Dr Requier Fabrice

Dr Fabrice Requier is a Visiting Scientist under the Environmental Health Theme, with expertise in pollinator ecology and pollination biology.

He holds a PhD in Ecology in 2013 from CNRS and the University of Poitiers, France. He then did several postdoc in France (2014-2016, INRAE), Argentina (2016-2018, CONICET) and Germany (2018-2019, University of Würzburg). Since 2019, he is Research Scientist at IRD based at the University Paris-Saclay (France).

His research focuses on pollinator responses to changes in landscape structure, exposure to agrochemicals and pressure from (invasive) biotic factors, and the subsequent implications for biodiversity conservation and crop pollination. He typically combines the use of laboratory experiments, field monitoring and modelling techniques, and has a growing interest in integrative socio-ecological approaches. His work is oriented towards applied perspectives, including suggestions for policy and stakeholder decision making.

He has published more than 90 scientific articles, and is Associate Editor in Journal of Applied Ecology (since January 2018).

His detailed profile can be found at: https://www.egce.universite-paris-saclay.fr/?p=10937&lang=en

Dr Cheseto Xavier

Dr. Xavier Cheseto is a Postdoctoral Fellow at icipe, working in the Insects for Food, Feed and Other Uses (INSEFF) Programme under the Environmental Health Theme. He holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from Kenyatta University.

His research focuses on the chemistry of insects, spanning chemical ecology, food chemistry, and natural product discovery. He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and 4 book chapters, and received several prestigious awards, including the Rothamsted International Fellowship (UK), icipe’s Governing Council Outstanding Research Publication of the year and Award for Best Published Science Paper. In 2018, he was appointed by the then Director General of icipe to serve as a Task Force member within Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, State Department of Livestock, where he contributed to accelerating the re-listing of Kenyan honey with the European Commission. He also serves as icipe’s coordinating lead for the NSF-IRES programme and contributes actively to resource mobilization for the Centre’s research initiatives.

Beyond research, Dr. Cheseto is deeply committed to capacity building, having supervised MSc and PhD students, mentored postdoctoral fellows, and trained more than 50 interns in analytical and natural products chemistry. He regularly engages in manufacturer-led trainings to stay at the forefront of advanced instrumentation such as NMR, LC-Orbitrap-MS, LC-Qtof-MS, LC-MS/MS and GC-MS, ensuring excellence in both his research and training. He is an active member of several professional bodies, including the Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the Kenya Chemical Society (KCS).

Links:
ORCID iD
ResearchGate
Google scholar

Dr Meenakshisundaram Menaga

Dr. Menaga Meenakshisundaram is a Postdoctoral Fellow under the Environmental Health Theme and is based at Duduville.

She holds a PhD in Aquaculture from Tamil Nadu State Fisheries University, India.

Prior to joining icipe, Menaga worked as an Assistant Professor at Tamil Nadu State Fisheries University. Her other previous engagements include Student Director at World Aquaculture Society-Asian Pacific Chapter.

Menaga is a member of Aquaculture Engineering Society, Global Seafood Alliance & World Aquaculture Society. She is also a recipient of “Mgr. Dr. Jan D. F. Heine Memorial Award 2019” by the International Tilapia Foundation.

Some of her professional achievements are in the areas of functional feed ingredients extraction and its application in fish feeds, Advanced Aquaculture systems, biofloc technology for shrimp and Improved Tilapia strains specific to water quality management.

Her research focus or interest areas are in Insect based animal protein for fish feeds and also into the cutting-edge fields of metagenomics and next-generation sequencing.

Dr Nganso Beatrice T.

Dr. Beatrice T. Nganso is a Research Scientist in Commercial Insects under the Environmental Health Theme.

She holds a PhD in Entomology from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Her achievements are in the areas of molecular biology, physiology and behavioural ecology of honey bees, with a keen interest in the genetic and behavioural mechanisms regulating their interactions with associated biotic stressors (e.g. Varroa destructor mite) to improve honey bee health.

She has authored 10 peer-reviewed publications and mentored PhD and BSc. Students. She is the recipient of various awards: 2022 Travel Grant Award to the XIX International Congress of the IUSSI (International Union for the Study of Social Insects) in San Diego, California, USA; 2018 Early Career Researcher Award for the Best Paper by an Early Career Researcher Published in Parasitology; 2018 icipe Governing Council Award for the Second Best Published Science Paper; 2018 Best Oral Presentation Award at the 19th International Conference on Apiculture and Bee Health, Rome, Italy; 2015 icipe Governing Council Award for the Best Science Poster; 2014 ARPPIS-DAAD PhD Scholarship at icipe; 2011 Prof. J. N. Ayertey Prize for the Best M. Phil Student in Entomology (coursework) at the University of Ghana.

She is a member of the African section of IUSS, African Association in Insect Science (AAIS), and COLOSS- the Honey Bee Research Association.

Dr Beesigamukama Dennis

Dr. Dennis Beesigamukama is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Insect Frass fertilizers and Soil Health, under the Environmental Health Theme. and is based at the Duduville Campus.

He holds a PhD in Soil Science from Kenyatta University, Kenya. He has been working as a Soil Fertility Consultant at icipe since January 2021. Prior to joining icipe he worked as a Lecturer of Soil Science and Agronomy at Busitema University, Uganda. He has also served as a Lecturer and Consultant at Makerere University.

Dr. Beesigamukama has authored 16 peer-reviewed publications and mentored several postgraduate students. He has been a recipient of several awards including the DAAD and SIDA scholarships. Dr Beesigamukama is a member of Soil Science Society of East Africa.

His research focuses on refining and diversifying frass fertilizer production technologies and understanding the impacts of insect-composted organic fertilizers on soil health and crop productivity in different agroecological zones. He also assesses the diversity of saprophytic insects and their potential to transform organic matter and recycle nutrients in different land uses.

Dr Nkoba Kiatoko

Dr. Kiatoko Nkoba is a Research Scientist in icipe’s Environmental Health Theme and is based at Duduville.

A former ARPPIS student (2008– 2012), Dr Kiatoko holds a PhD in Applied Agricultural Entomology from Kenyatta University, Kenya, conducted in partnership with icipe. He also holds an MSc in Aquaculture from the University of Liege, Belgium and a BSc in Agricultural Sciences, from the University of Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He joined icipe in 2013 to build the Centre’s expertise and capacity in stingless bees and pollination. He currently develops several hive designs and management techniques to domesticate African stingless bee species for honey production and pollination of horticultural crop for farmers in Africa. Some of his research work is on the pollination efficiency of native pollinator in enhancing horticultural and plantation food crop yields in greenhouses and plantation. Dr. Kiatoko is involved in creation of stingless bees awareness and establishing of meliponiculture in Africa.

Before joining icipe in 2008, he worked in the Faculty of Agricultural Science at the University of Kinshasa, International NGO'S, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisherie and Livestock in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

One of his research interests is on studying the impact of habitat degradation on wild bee population diversity and develop invitro technics for mass production of stingless bee queens.