Dr. Florence Muringi Wambugu is an agricultural plant pathologist with specialization in virology and genetic engineering for viral diseases crop protection. She is the Chief Executive Officer of A Harvest Biotech Foundation International.
Dr. Wambugu holds memberships on the Private Sector Committee of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the DuPont Biotech Advisory Panel-USA, the Board of Trustees of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, and the Board of the International Genetics Federation. She is Vice-Chair of the African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum, and participates in both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations Hunger Task Force.
A strong believer in the power of biotechnology to boost food production, Dr. Wambugu has participated in many international forums in support of biotechnology for developing countries and Africa. She has authored or co-authored about 60 papers appearing in local and international journals and publications, and is the author and publisher of the book Modifying Africa -- How Biotechnology Can Benefit the Poor and the Hungry: A case Study from Kenya, Year 2001. The book’s Web site won the international Golden Web Award for 2002-2003. Dr. Wambugu was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the American Biographical Institute.
From 1991 to1994, Dr. Wambugu was a post-doctoral fellow at a plant science biotech company in the United States, where she used gene technology to help develop sweet potato crops resistant to virus diseases. The project produced a transgenic virus resistant sweet potato that is being tested in Kenya, and trained several African scientists who are now involved with bio-transformation of more sweet potato genotypes, in gene-technology for widespread impact in the region. Between 1978 and 1991, Dr. Wambugu was a Senior Research Officer (Pathologist) and Coordinator of Plant Biotechnology Research at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Nairobi.
Dr. Wambugu received her Ph.D. in Virology, Biotechnology from the University of Bath, England in 1991, her M.Sc. in Pathology from North Dakota State University in 1984, and her B.Sc. in Botany from the University of Nairobi in 1978.
In 2000, she was a first place medal winner in the science and technology category of the Global Development Network Awards for the International Service for the Acquistion of Agri-Biotech Applications-facilitated KARI project, “Biotechnology to Benefit Small-scale Banana Growers in Kenya.” In 1981, Dr. Wambugu and KARI received the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture’s Award for successful establishment of a tissue culture laboratory in support of root and tuber crops germplasm improvement. She also has been honored with KARI’s 1989 Crop Science Award for excellent performance in scientific conferences, the International Potato Center’s 1989 Regional Research Award and grant for outstanding advancements in sweet potato research, and the Pyrethrum Marketing Board of Kenya 1990 Farmers Support Award for successful establishment of a rapid micro-propagation laboratory for pyrethrum (chrysanthemum). She was recognized by the Virology Division of Horticultural Research International in England and KARI in 1991 as exemplary Ph.D. candidate for outstanding dissertation contributions on sweet potato virus disease, and received the the Monsanto Company Outstanding Performance Award for 1992 and 1993.