Maureen Kuboka holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology and a Master of Science in Food Safety and Quality from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She has previously conducted research on prevalence and mitigation of mycotoxins in food and feed as well as postharvest technologies along the fruit and vegetable value chains. Maureen has over four years of experience training on food safety and hygiene practices among food handlers in the informal business sector and smallholder farmers as well as agro-processors. Her research interests are in food safety and nutrition security for improved livelihoods and a healthier next generation.
Her current research is titled “Hazard Assessment for Food in East African Community” that seeks to understand prevalence of priority hazards in selected food commodities in formal and informal markets and assess the implications for public health. The research will be carried out in selected East African Community (EAC) countries over a period of 3 years, starting May 2021.
The fellowship is hosted by the One Health Research, Education and Outreach Centre in Africa (OHRECA), led by ILRI, under the thematic area of Food Safety and Informal Markets. The fellow is supervised at ILRI by Delia Grace (Professor, Food Safety Systems, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich and Joint appointed scientist, Animal and Human Health Program, ILRI) and Florence Mutua (Scientist and Veterinary Epidemiologist at ILRI). Collaborators include the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden) where Maureen is registered for Doctoral studies.