James M. Wainaina

James M. Wainaina studies plant diseases and pests that affect food crops in East Africa, using genomic and genetic sequencing tools to track viruses, fungi, and insect pests such as whiteflies. Much of the work focuses on crops important for food security in Kenya and Tanzania, including maize, common bean, and sweet potato, and on understanding how pathogens and toxin-producing fungi spread and evolve in these agricultural systems. Prospective students would likely engage with genome sequencing, phylogenetics (studying evolutionary relationships among viruses and organisms), and field-based sample collection.

Publication output peaked sharply in 2018 and has since slowed to a lower, fairly steady rate of about 2-4 papers per year through the most recent years.

Generated by claude-sonnet-5 from public bibliographic data · Jul 20, 2026