Organizers and Partners

Organizers (2022 course edition)

Lucia Prieto Godino

The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom

Thomas Auer

Centre for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Fortune Jomane

Lupane State University, Lupane, Zimbabwe

David O’Brochta

Technical Lead for Gene Drive Research, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (see short BIO here: BioDavidOBrochta)

Reagan Mudziwapasi

Midlands State University, Gwero, Zimbabwe

Jochen Wittbrodt

Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University, Germany

Faculty (2022 course edition)

Thomas Auer

Centre for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Ryman Shoko

Chinhoyi University of Technology, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe

Tony Nolan

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

David O’Brochta

Technical Lead for Gene Drive Research, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (see short BIO here: BioDavidOBrochta)

Reagan Mudziwapasi

Midlands State University, Research and Innovation Hub, Gweru, Zimbabwe

Jean-Paul Concordet

Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and TEFOR, Paris, France

Meet the organizers and facilitators in Zimbabwe

Professor Laurine Chikoko

Professor Laurine Chikoko (PhD) is distinguished scholar, with an established research and publication record in monetary and development economics. Currently, she is the Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. Prof. Chikoko has over 15 years of experience in administration of research grants, consultancy work and policy advisory. Over the years, Prof. Chikoko acquired research skills that include: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research methodology; qualitative data analysis that uses computer-based software for analyzing qualitative data; research instrument construction; field-based data collection; report writing; presentation; project management and program evaluation. In the context of academia, government and industry collaborations, Professor Chikoko continues to make prolific and invaluable contributions to national policy formulation and reforms. She has distinguished herself academically by training and examining PhD scholars regionally and internationally. Outside the academic sphere, Professor Chikoko is a Board Member of the CEO Africa Round Table and participates in programs on economic policy issues run by international bodies such as Wilton Park (an executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office providing a global forum for strategic discussions) and she has been recently appointed as the Advisory Board Chair for Transforming Rural Agro-enterprises and Livelihoods Organisation (TRALO).

Professor Upenyu Guyo

Upenyu Guyo is a Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at Midlands State University and a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemical Sciences. He is a researcher with numerous publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, a patent holder, and an innovator who is passionate about making a difference in the world. He is a master’s and doctoral student supervisor, as well as an external examiner for several local and regional universities. He is a great mentor of innovation and entrepreneurial scholars, in addition to supervising postgraduate students at both the master’s and doctorate levels. His research interests include waste conversion processes and the formulation of products from locally available resources such as indigenous plants. Upenyu has extensive experience with process synthesis, product formulation, natural product chemistry, and environmental remediation. He works as a Research Associate in the Flow Chemistry Research Group at Nelson Mandela University. He is a member of several organizations, including the Zimbabwe Chemical Society (ZCS), the Organization for Women in Science and Development (OWSD), the South African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), and the South African Chemical Institute (SACI).

Dr. Winmore Kusena

Winmore Kusena is an Environmental Scientist and a Research Manager at Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. Her work has centered on sustainable livelihood activities in the Global South. In particular, her research and community work has looked at the utilization and protection of natural resources for sustainable income generation and improved wellbeing in both rural and urban communities in Southern Africa. Her research work demonstrates and underscores the need to have access to all forms of capital that include information, finance, productive land and security of tenure for sustainable livelihoods. She has done collaborative work with the University of Johannesburg on the political ecology of water resources in rural communities under the Global Excellency Award. Remarkably, her work extends into ecofeminism, drawing on the concept of gender to analyze the relationships between humans and the natural world. Winmore has demonstrated determination in women’s empowerment and serves as a board member for Women in Mining. She is also a Senior Lecturer and a Chartered Social and Environmental Impact Assessment practitioner registered by the Environmental Management Agency of Zimbabwe.

Reagan Mudziwapasi

Reagan Mudziwapasi is the Innovation Manager at Midlands State University (MSU) Research and Innovation division which runs the MSU Innovation Hub. He is a biotechnology researcher, lecturer and entrepreneur. Reagan is a co-founder and Operations Director at EnviroBiotech Solutions Africa, a company that develops biotechnology-based solutions. Reagan has authored several peer-reviewed journals and books, is a patent holder and has made several inventions and conducted several consultancies. He has contributed to various discussions on biotechnology, entrepreneurship and energy inter alia. Reagan promotes capacity building, awareness and safe and responsible use of genome editing tools and gene drives. These include CRISPR, ZFNs, megaTALs and TALENs. He helps marginalized communities and innovators with intellectual property development, protection and commercialization.

Dr. Fanuel Songwe

Dr. Fanuel Songwe is a biotechnologist with research interests in mechanism(s) of PD-L1 downregulation in tumor microenvironments. He is interested in how tumor derived exosomes immunosuppress the tumor microenvironment in animal models. Fanuel is also into recombinant allergen vaccines for immunotherapy.

Fortune N. Jomane

Fortune N. Jomane is the Acting Director of the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Industrialisation Directorate at Lupane State University. He is an animal scientist who specializes in animal breeding and genetics. Fortune holds a BSc in Agriculture (Animal Science), an MSc in Agriculture (Animal Science) and a Ph.D. in Agriculture specializing in Animal Breeding and Genetics. His passion is enhancing animal production through exploiting genetics. He has published several peer-reviewed papers in animal breeding and genetics. Fortune is a also a senior lecturer and secretary for the beef and leather value chain technical assistance project implemented by the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.

Dr. Ryman Shoko

Dr. Ryman Shoko is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Chinhoyi University of Technology. His areas of expertise include molecular biology, proteomics bioinformatics and computational systems biology. Part of his profile can be accessed at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ryman-Shoko-2