Kenyan has put a mark on the Future Leaders- African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowships awards as five of tit researchers scooped an award.
The five Kenyans were part of 29 African researchers who were awarded by FLAIR supported by the African Academy of Science and Royal Society.
Esther Muema, a Kenyan based at the University of Pretoria in South Africa scooped the award after her proposal seeking to identify local rhizobia bacteria stuck deep into FLAIR.
Her proposal seeks to find out the interaction of rhizobia bacteria with chickpeas which ultimately led to better yields and soil fertility.
Another Kenyan researcher from Mount Kenya University, Jesse Gitaka; his proposal was on how to save lives and overcome sexually transmitted infections through better screening methods using common DNA markers which are linked to the problem and would help in identify it early enough.
For the third Kenyan researcher who scooped the award, Lilian Wambua of International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), her research proposal was on infections from antimicrobial bacteria which are resistant.
The antimicrobial is more at risk of contamination, expensive, capacity to increase and is time-consuming which Wambua hopes to develop a holistic diagnostic approach to address these issues.
The fourth Kenyan who won the award was Nicholas Musyoka of South African-based Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). His research was pegged on biogas and is seeking to explore other ways to curb “pre-existing and challenging waste streams which include plastic refuse, combustion exhaust and wastewater and use them to process raw biogas into biomethane.”
The fifth Kenyan, Samuel Muiruri of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), his research expounds ways which can be enlisted to bolster the breeding and cultivation process of cassava through genetic manipulation and premature flowering.
There were 400 scientists with different proposals from the continent.
According to the African Academy of Sciences, this is the second cohort of research fellowships targeting outstanding early-career African Scientists.
The African Academy of Science in a statement hailed the research by the 29 as diverse.
“Their research is diverse, ranging from new techniques for sustainable agriculture and fisheries, managing water shortage to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, improved methods to store clear energy and targeting health conditions that are most acute for people in Africa,” read part of the statement by the African Academy of Science.