The demand for well-trained Bioinformatics to support genomics research continues to rise. The Bioinformatics Incubation and Mentorship program at icipe seeks to attract five highly motivated graduates for a three-month internship and mentorship. The interns undergo intensive training within the first month, after which they will be attached to ongoing genomic initiatives for a mini-project. The mini-project will provide a hands-on experience and guarantee knowledge and skills retention. To instill continued self-learning, they will be assigned free online courses compiled to suit their training needs.
Bioinformatics Incubation and Mentorship Program
COHORT ONE
OCTOBER 2020 - JANUARY 2021
Virginiah Kengara
Bachelor of Science Micro Biology and Biotechnology
University of Nairobi
From October 2020 to January 2021 I attended the Bioinformatics Incubation and Mentorship program hosted by the Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics and Statistics Unit (MBBU) at icipe campus. The program afforded me a transformative experience where I was able to gain a deeper understanding on various topics I had challenges in, access a wide selection of resources, and improve my laboratory and programming skills in an effort to build my abilities towards my career in the future.
The program was very flexible allowing interns to have access to learning materials for self- study and have sessions with a trainer, this made certain that I could focus on my weak areas as well as, it provided enough technical support which gave me exposure to the systems and made learning smoother. The collaborative nature of the program allowed me to interact with other interns from different discourse communities within the Bioinformatics field and this allowed me to learn and understand topics from theory to wet lab concepts and in a different way.
My goals entering the program were fulfilled by the end of the 3 month experience, I gained skills in different programming languages for instance Linux and Python. In conclusion, this was quite an exploratory experience that was very engaging.
Fredrick Kebaso Mariita
Bachelor of Science Molecular Biology
Kenyatta University
The training, mentorship and networking I had during the Bioinformatics Incubation and Mentorship program has improved my passion and skills for to move forward in searching for scholarship opportunities towards a Masters in Bioinformatics. This internship opportunity has played a key role in shaping my career development plan. It was a noble opportunity for mentorship and networking with people of similar interest in the bioinformatics field. I got to understand what is required of me to become a skilled Bioinformatician. The skills that I need to work on as per now and the various networks that are important for me to grow. The interaction with colleagues triggered and renewed my energy to soldier in pursuit of my career. The various activities organized such as journal club and weekly updates kept me on the move and changed my perception in life as well taught me the importance of self-organization in your day to day activities. I take his opportunity to thank our PI, Dr. Dan Masiga, Karen Wambui, Dr. Caleb Kibet, Mr. Festus Nyasimi and the MBBU staff who played key role in ensuring a smooth stay during the 4 months period, the combined effort has enabled me to achieve my goals as outlined in the roadmap at the beginning of the internship. I was able to acquire new skills that I wouldn’t have gained on my own without this opportunity that supported me to set right my priorities in the future.
Bryan Abuchery
Bachelor of Science Microbiology
Moi University
The Bioinformatics Internship opportunity offered by the ICIPE’s MBBU unit was geared to help facilitate recent undergraduate students with Bioinformatics knowledge and skills. This was because there are a few undergraduate students aware of careers in Bioinformatics and even fewer with experience in the same field. Throughout the entire introduction to Bioinformatics, interns were able to work collaboratively with the MBBU staff. This bolstered a unique relationship between the interns and the supervisors exposing the interns to other scientists in different Bioinformatics careers. There were also periods of interaction between progress presentations, journal clubs and in informal settings which helped the interns get more comfortable. Psychologically, this helped improve communication skills among one another and also debunk myths that Bioinformatics was hard or something to fear. At the end of the internship, Bioinformatics had become one of the most easiest and fun branch of science to learn.
Margaret Chifwete
Bachelor of Science Biotechnology
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
My experience during the internship was educative, informative, life changing and great exposure into the computational world. Most of the skills and lessons learned were useful and very helpful for an upcoming scientist. The mode of learning was mainly hands-on and self-learning which I think is the best in raising the students’ curiosity, detail-oriented, make mistakes, work on them on the different ways or further consult. It was also a challenging experience, getting to know and interact with people that are way ahead in the computational field. This triggers your urge to proceed further, learn more and grow. My sincere gratitude to the organizers for choosing me to be part of the team. It was great experience and great exposure to young scientists. I now have a clearer picture of the career path I want to take, thanks to the exposure. It is also a great opportunity that I can recommend to young aspiring computational biologists. Special thanks to Dr. Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi for their generous contribution and dedication towards the success of this course. Not to forget the master’s students and the entire MBBU team for their unending support.
Lenaroto. L. Lmelias
Bachelor of Science Biotechnology
Kenyatta University
This internship has been a life changing experience for me, the exposure of a research environment gave me the opportunity to understand some real world problems that are being solved in science. Interacting with successful scientists has motivated me to keep moving forward as a scientist, The mentorship program has been a great learning experience, the skills I have gained can attest to the expectations I had at the beginning, the tools and resources were up to date and easily accessible. The hands-free approach towards teaching has allowed me to work with High Performance computing (HPC), Programming, and Making use of Biological Databases and so on. I did a mini-project on RNA-seq data analysis in which I applied most of the above skills. Working on this project was an opportunity for me to obtain a hands-on experience in NGS data analysis. I would like to thank everyone who participated in creating this opportunity, it is a door to career growth for young scientists like me. I thank Dr. Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi for their dedication in training and mentoring us.
COHORT TWO
FEBRUARY 2021 - MAY 2021
Rose Wambui
Bachelor of Science Medical Biology and Chemistry
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
The incubation program focused on specific topics and allowed me to explore on areas in Bioinformactics I wanted to focus on. My expectations for the program was to analyse and understand Genomic data and this was possible through the Accredited Program, where we worked in a collaborative environment to tackle data in realtime. The program is flexible and Dr Caleb Kibet has been a mentor and has been providing major support towards my future.
Simeon Hebrew
Bachelor of Science Bio Chemistry and Molecular Biology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
The Bioinformatics Incubation program offered a well-detailed introduction to Bioinformatics. Our supervisors Dr. Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi guided us through various problem solving strategies, they were also willing to help if I had any issues with the tasks that I undertook. Joining the program allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Bioinformatics and as a result, I have started to form a clear outline of what field I want to be in.
Bachelor of Science Marine Biology
Pwani University
I took on the Bioinformatics mentorship program to bridge the gap of data between Environmental science and Bioinformatics. The program so far has been mindblowing i have interacted with various programs such as Python, Basher and R. Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a challenge, but Dr Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi were able to provide support during the tough times andtherefore I was able to catup with the tasks and projects very fast.
Bachelor of Science Applied BioEngineering
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
My goal joining the Bioinformatics program was to
-Explore what the mentorship entails
-Understand programming languages
The learning curve has been good, resources are readily available, the structure of the courses contribute to each other and go hand in hand with my undergraduate Degree in Applied BioEngineering. I would like to thank Dr. Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi for proving real time projects through the Accreditation program to help us prepare for real life data handling.
-Understand programming languages
The learning curve has been good, resources are readily available, the structure of the courses contribute to each other and go hand in hand with my undergraduate Degree in Applied BioEngineering. I would like to thank Dr. Caleb Kibet and Festus Nyasimi for proving real time projects through the Accreditation program to help us prepare for real life data handling.
Wilson Mudaki
Bachelor of Science Molecular Biology
Kenyatta University
Bioinformatics in Kenya is not well understood, The EANBiT program has exposed me to various Bioinformatics areas in computational biology and the biology aspect in Bioinformatics. Through the Bioinformatics Incubation program we have been able to work collaboratively to translate bioinformatics in real life situation, data in Kenya is huge and is yet to be handled and with the sudden adoption of innovation and technology this would now be easier to access, manage and monitor.