Director, Research and Training

Professor Jane Ambuko

Prof. Ambuko is the Director of Research and Training at the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). She is a Professor of Horticulture from the University of Nairobi with extensive experience in research, training and community engagement.

Professor Ambuko supports the ARUA Secretariat in advancing the Alliance’s research and training agenda. In this role, she promotes collaboration across ARUA’s Centres of Excellence and Clusters of Research Excellence, while contributing to initiatives that strengthen research capacity and excellence across the network. She leads ARUA’s training programmes, supports the development of mentorship initiatives for early-career researchers, and advances collaborative PhD programmes among member universities. Professor Ambuko also contributes to resource mobilisation efforts and supports the Secretary-General in promoting ARUA’s strategic priorities and advocacy initiatives.

Professor Jane Ambuko holds a BSc in Agriculture and MSc in Horticulture from the University of Nairobi as well as a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (Pomology and Postharvest Major) from Tsukuba University, Japan. She currently holds the position of Associate Professor and Head of Horticulture at the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Her training, research, and outreach activities are focused on sustainable and effective solutions to reduce postharvest losses in horticultural value chains. Using the “lab-to-land” approach, Prof. Ambuko works with smallholder farmers and other food value chain practitioners in various capacity building and technology scale-up initiatives.