Samuel Oyola (PhD), is the ILRI’s Specialist Senior Scientist in Molecular Biology and Genomics. Dr Oyola holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Cambridge. Before joining ILRI, he studied functional genomics of Leishmaniasis and host-parasite interaction as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of York. He then took a Scientist position at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge UK, where he worked on malaria; developing and applying high throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies to study natural genetic variations in malaria parasite populations. He developed novel molecular tools that enable application and translation of NGS technologies into basic healthcare and public health applications. At ILRI, Samuel is using his experience and expertise in modern genomics, biotechnology and molecular biology to study and develop tools for effective control of livestock pathogens. Specifically, Samuel is focused on developing modern genomic tools to support pathogen epidemiology, vaccine development and drug discovery.  He is also actively involved in developing genomics capacity in Africa.