Anthony Mabele is one of our ’40 Faces of Plant Pathology’
BSPP members can be found in 51 different countries, with 30% of members based in countries outside of the UK. As part of the BSPPs 40th anniversary, we asked our membership to describe some things about themselves, what plant pathology challenges they would most like to see solved, and what could improve the world of plant pathology in terms of inclusivity. Click here to return to 40 Faces Home Page.
Anthony Mabele
Institution and country of residence
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Kenya
Position title
Tutorial Fellow and PhD Student
Area of expertise/study
Molecular Plant Pathology. I study plant viruses infecting legumes and documented the first report on groundnut rosette disease (GRD) viruses; GRAV, GRV and sat-RNA. I am currently working on Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV).
About your early experiences in education
I had a strong passion for science, but missed joining form one due to lack of school fees as a result of poverty and insecurity. When the opportunity arose to study again, I trained as an educator of Chemistry and Biology as an undergraduate, followed by an MSc in Crop Protection (Molecular Plant Virology) and now PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology.
If you could solve one problem in plant pathology, what would it be?
Help reduce crop losses through advising farmers on using appropriate crop protection technologies and sustainable agricultural systems.
If you could solve one issue relating to inclusivity and diversity within the field of plant pathology what would it be?
Encourage involvement of all gender (Males and Females), youths and people with disability to have a level playground and participation in agricultural production without discrimination.
If you weren’t a plant pathologist, what would you be?
A Progressive Farmer
