Links to professional profile:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukani-moyo-okoba-2b349a58/
Mukani Moyo-Okoba
My name is Mukani Moyo-Okoba. I am a Zimbabwean national now based in Kenya and working as a Research Associate at Kenyatta University, Nairobi. I am a molecular biologist by training and my research focus is understanding the molecular basis of favorable plant traits and utilizing new technologies for crop improvement. My vision for Africa is for the agricultural research sector to advance at a pace fast enough to keep up with human demand for healthy produce.
Bioinformatics is a field which is currently not being fully explored in Africa due to lack of skilled individuals. It is a field where only a few ‘experts’ find themselves with an overload of data to analyse leading to delays in obtaining results and subsequent project implementation in agricultural research. Increasing the bioinformatics knowledge base in Africa will enable better turnaround time in agricultural projects leading to timely implementation of required measures. The Bioinformatics Community of Practice training has equipped me with the ability to handle the analysis of my own data and also data generated by my colleagues. Additionally, I can teach students at my institution different methods of data analysis, enabling them to be self-reliant when they undertake projects that generate huge datasets that would have previously required a bioinformatics ‘expert’ to analyse.