BioInnovate Africa

Jacob Mignouna is a molecular biologist/biotechnologist with an MSc degree in chemical engineering and a PhD in molecular biology and genetics, both from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. He worked as a chemical engineer with Oleofina, Inc. in Brussels, Belgium, as research scientist-biotechnologist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for about 10 years (1992-2001) and with the Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA as a visiting Frosty Hill Research fellow from 2001 to 2003. Before joining the African Agricultural Technology Forum (AATF), Jacob served as Research Associate Professor of Biotechnology and co-Director of USAID Farmer to Farmer program in East Africa at Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, USA. He also worked as Biosafety Consultant for the USAID Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington D.C., USA. While at IITA, Jacob became the leader of the Biotechnology Unit and developed and implemented a research program on the use of molecular genetic tools to improve food crops and to efficiently manage crop genetic resources with the ultimate aim of harnessing science and technology for development of Africa’s agriculture to eradicate poverty and bring about development and prosperity to African communities that depend on agriculture for livelihood.