The Chancellor is the honorary head and symbol of authority in the University whose main function is to confer degrees and grant diplomas and other awards of the university.
Prof. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u, a global researcher and scholar of repute is now the sixth Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology following his appointment by His Excellency the President, Uhuru Kenyatta through Gazette Notice No. 2063 citing the University Act (No 42 of 2012).
The Chancellor is the honorary head and symbol of authority in the University whose main function is to confer degrees and grant diplomas and other awards of the university.
Prof. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u, a global researcher and scholar of repute is now the sixth Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology following his appointment by His Excellency the President, Uhuru Kenyatta through Gazette Notice No. 2063 citing the University Act (No 42 of 2012).
Prof. Ndung’u Heads the Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme at the Geneva-based, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) in Switzerland, and is the Executive Director of FIND Dx Kenya. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM) from the University of Nairobi, and a Ph.D. in the Immunopathology of Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) from the University of Glasgow’s Veterinary School, Scotland.
With over 100 publications to his credit, Prof. Ndung’u started his professional career in 1985 as an Assistant Research Officer at the Kenya Trypanosomiasis Research Institute (KETRI). In 1992 he became the Deputy Director in-charge of Research and was promoted to the position of Director, KETRI in 1995.
In 2004, Prof Ndung’u moved to the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) as a Chief Research Officer, before joining the Geneva-based FIND in May 2006 to establish the Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) programme which was later renamed Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) in 2011.
Throughout his extensive career, the Professor of Immunopathology of Sleeping Sickness has established far-reaching linkages and collaborations with professionals and universities which have seen him serve as a visiting Professor of the University of Glasgow since 2001. He has held a similar position at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
In 2013, Prof. Ndung’u became a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (CorrFRSE). He also received a gold medal award from the African Union in 2009 for his contribution to research, control and eradication of tsetse and trypanosomiasis.
On September 27, 2019, Prof. Ndung’u, again, became the latest beneficiary of the African Union’s prestigious Excellence Award, 2019. He was selected by a committee based on his achievement and contribution to research and control of T&T in recognition for spearheading the Development of New Diagnostics Tools for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
