Academic Affairs

Prof. Anne Muigai (BEd-Botany/Zoology, MSc and PhD), is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs and Research, National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K). She is a molecular population geneticist with over 20 years of experience in research, academic and administrative management in the Kenyan public university sector. She holds a doctorate degree in Biochemistry from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Kenya, a Master of Science in Genetics and Bachelor of Education (Science) from Kenyatta University, Kenya.

She joined NDU-K from JKUAT, where she was a Professor of Genetics in the Department of Botany. She was employed by JKUAT in 1992 as a teaching assistant and rose to the position of Professor of Genetics in the Department of Botany in 2013. Within JKUAT she held several academic and administrative positions, including being the founder Chairperson of the Department of Botany (1994 - 1998) where she was instrumental in the recruitment and training of staff. She was the Director of the Institute for Biotechnology Research at JKUAT (2005 – 2008). Key achievements during her term as a Director of the Institute included the expansion of the institutes mandate, recruitment of staff and the introduction of a Masters in Biotechnology course. She served as a member of the JKUAT Senate twice (1995 - 1998 and 2005 - 2008) during which she was nominated to the JKUAT Council as the Senate Representative during both tenures. Other positions she held in JKUAT include Editor in Chief of the Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology and the Post Graduate Programmes Coordinator, Department of Botany.

Prof Muigai has been a Visiting Scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya where she was the coordinator of a national research project on the characterization of indigenous sheep genetic resources of Kenya.She has been a collaborator with ILRI and the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) between 2014-2015 in a project that is assisting rural communities in Western Kenya mitigate the effects of the climate using sheep and goats. She has also served on the Boards of two State Corporations in the Republic of Kenya namely, The Commission for University Education, which regulates university education in Kenya (2016 – present) and the Kenya Plant Health and Inspection Services (2015-2018), which regulates the Kenyan agricultural sector. Keen to see the advancement of science in Kenya she has volunteered her time and expertise to the Young Scientists Kenya as the Chief Judge since 2018.

She has served as a member of the African Union Animal Genetic Resources Taxonomy Advisory Group for Africa (2015-2019), an African group of experts on the characterization, use, inventory and monitoring of the indigenous animal genetic resources in Africa. During this role she developed a digital tool kit – the Animal Genetic Resources Characterization and Inventory and Monitoring (ANGR-CIM) tool for Africa that is being used by all 54 African Member States for the recording, documentation and monitoring of African livestock species. This saw her being recognized by the African Union leadership with an award presented by Her Excellency Ambassador Josefa Correia Sacko, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union and the then Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Hon Mwangi Kiunjuri for this outstanding contribution

She has served as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Advisory Committee to Develop Global Standards for Governance and Oversight of Human Genome Editing which was tasked to advise and make recommendations on appropriate institutional, national, regional and global governance mechanisms for human genome editing. In 2021 the Committee published a global registry on human genome editing, a governance framework, recommendations on the governance and oversight of human genome editing and a policy statement. Currently she serves as a Council member in the Bayer AG Bioethics Council.