Eric Ochomo
Kenyan medical entomologist Dr. Eric Ochomo has turned the mosquito’s genome into a roadmap for national health policy. Raised in western Kenya where malaria is endemic, he earned a PhD in Biomedical Science and Technology from Maseno University and now heads the entomology section at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). His team runs the country’s nationwide insecticide-resistance surveillance network, feeding data into Ministry of Health guidelines that determine which nets, sprays and larvicides reach 20 million households each year. Ochomo’s studies on pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles populations have shaped WHO notes and spurred pilots that rotate new chemical classes, slowing resistance by up to 35 percent in hotspot counties.
Beyond the lab, he is a sought-after partner for genome-editing consortia and a mentor who has guided more than 40 post-graduates into vector-biology careers. He sees the next frontier in integrating satellite climate data with AI-driven trap networks to predict outbreaks weeks before they surface and is lobbying for a bio-bank to support gene-drive trials once safeguards are in place. As Kenya pushes to cut malaria incidence by half this decade, Ochomo’s blend of field grit and policy fluency will remain central to keeping the parasite; like its vector on the run.