National Research Repository
The National Research Fund facilitates research for the advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation. One of our core functions is to compile and maintain a national database of research and innovation projects funded by the Fund and other agencies as per the STI Act of 2013.
Browse Collections
Select a community to browse its collections.
Registry of Repositories in Kenya (RoRiK)
NRF is developing a Registry of Research Repositories in Kenya (RoRiK) in an effort to promote access to research data in the country.
Recent Submissions
Blended Learning Approach to Integrating Research Competency in Undergraduate Teacher Education Programme for Mathematics Students at Maseno University
(2011) By Dr. Mildred Atieno Ayere
Prince, Felder & Brent (2007) posits that research has a clear potential to make significant
contributions to the quality of undergraduate education. In their opinion, the question is, how
best to do it? University research plays a vitally important role in its own right. Therefore, rather
than lamenting the rising expectations for research, it is more productive to seek ways to improve
undergraduate education that work with the prevailing trends. The strategies for improving
undergraduate research differ from institution to institution, but the need for integrating it in
teacher education has far reaching effects. Using a scholarly approach to test potential integration
strategies in teaching and learning can only increase the synergy between teaching and research
to be realized in practice. Schools exist in all communities in Kenya and great potential exist
when teachers become researchers. Undergraduate teachers on teaching practice are still under
guidance of lecturers at the university and as such hold great potential as researchers when
introduced to the skill.
Mather (2011) explains that research enhanced learning and teaching is a complex notion, and
consequently is based on different understandings and practices across disciplines, institutions
and countries. He further explains that in its basic meaning, it is the bringing together of research
and teaching with the aim of enhancing student engagement and learning. Specific ways in
which it improves personal skills for participating teachers and enhances classroom instructional
processes include: Positive student perceptions of the teaching and learning process; Deeper
student engagement: coursework is more stimulating and interesting; Positive experiences with
problem-based learning; Development of research skills: bibliographical searching, framing a
research question, organisation of data, experimental skills, interpretation and analysis of data,
use and understanding of primary and secondary sources; Opportunity to learn in a collaborative
group setting; Improvement of self-regulated and self-directed learning as students become more
familiar and comfortable with research processes; Fostering of deeper approaches to learning;
Opportunity to collaborate with academics; Contribution to building on existing knowledge and
participation in a community of practice; Personal and professional gains: graduate capability
development, self-confidence, critical thinking, a commitment to lifelong learning, experience
with teamwork, communication skills, and better understanding of how knowledge is
constructed, conveyed and contested (Evans et al 2008). If all these competencies can be
improved in engaging teachers in research, then integrating research in undergraduate education
is worth the effort. Jenkins (2001) makes a befitting conclusion on benefits of integrating
research in undergraduate teaching by saying that “Indeed, over the last five or so years, it has
moved from a strong questioning of the value of (staff) research to undergraduates to advocacy
of coupling teaching and research. Darden (2003) explains that learning needs to be an active
process at all times. The faculty’s role is to facilitate, guide, and motivate the learning process—
training students to be lifelong learners and critical thinkers. Because information in the world is
constantly changing, there is need to learn how to evaluate, integrate, and apply information, not
simply memorize accepted facts and theories. It is for these reasons that this study piloted a
programme of teacher driven but university guided research initiative that was to improve
classroom instructional processes.
As Kenya seeks to be an industrial Nation through its Vision 2030 and Second Medium Term
Plan 2017-2030, research in education is a must. Research integration in education is an
economic driver as it is the catalyst that ensures societal problems are investigated scientifically,
solutions arrived at and forwarded for implementation by relevant government agencies after
results are disseminated. In this regard, integrating research in undergraduate training would
create a link between the university and the community. Giller (2011) explains that National
policies and strategies can play key roles in promoting the integration of research into teaching.
Kenya subscribes to a number of such policies in place that are implied in a number of policy
documents that guide its socio-economic development. These are policy documents such as
Agenda 2063, Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25) and its own
Vision 2030 and MTP II and the STI Sector policy. In the social Pillar of Vision 2030 under
Education, Kenya hopes to provide a globally competitive and quality education, training and
research. Five key issues stand out in this policy that relate directly to this research: reforming
secondary school curricula; modernising teacher training; strengthening partnerships with the
private sector; revising the curriculum for university and technical institutes to include more
science and technology; and increasing government funding to allow for this transformation.
It has been noted by many scholars that Kenya needs a link that would connect training to
industry in order to make its tertiary education relevant. In fact, Giller (2011) proposes that
higher education students of the future should have an excellent teaching and learning
experience, informed by up-to-date research; every student should learn in an environment that is
informed by research, scholarship and up-to date practice and knowledge; both undergraduate
and taught postgraduate programmes should develop generic skills needed for effective
engagement in society and in the workplace. To him, this bottom up approach, serves to make
university programmes relevant to industry that their graduates seek to serve in future. As a
matter of fact, putting greater emphasis on actively engaging students with Putting greater
emphasis on actively engaging students with research, suitably adapted to recognise variation
and complexity of constructing knowledge in different disciplines, is one way of re-linking
teaching and research in the 21st century. These sentiments are supported by outcome from
institutions that have boldly integrated research in their teacher education programmes and the
result (Chetty & Lubben, 2010; Deem & Lucas, 2007).
ASSESSMENT OF ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON NGONG HILLS FOREST IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA: A REMOTE SENSING APPROACH
(ECRTD- UK, 2019-06) *Simiyu Hilda Machuma, B. M. Okumu
Human beings are dependent on forests for various livelihood needs. Forests offer
a variety of benefits, including ecological, social as well as economic benefits. As such, the
development and conservation of forests around the world is vital. Monitoring of the forest
ecosystem is mandatory in order to detect any changes in the ecosystem. Forest cover change
detection gives an opportunity to track the productivity, health and the forest cover as well over
the years so as to enable proper management, promote conservation and enhance functionality.
Optical and radar remote sensors make it possible to monitor changes by use of various analytical
techniques that include visual interpretations. The study investigated how remote sensing can be
applied to detect change in forest ecosystem and to assess the rate of change of Ngong Hills Forest
in Kenya. The project sought to determine whether anthropogenic activities are the major cause
of the change in Ngong Hills Forest. Data from satellite images was analysed from 1984 to 2019
to identify the changes that have occurred on the ecosystem. Landsat and Rapid-Eye images were
used to inform on change detection. In this case, rapid eye data was found to be better than Landsat
data in informing on change detection because of its high resolution thus high precision and better
results. The changes depicted by the remotely sensed data were mapped for ease of analysis and
visualization. The research depicted a massive decrease in the forest cover despite the
afforestation efforts by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in the 1990s. The forest has been
depreciating massively from 1995 depicting greater deforestation rates between the years 2010
and 2019. This depreciation has been acknowledged by the KFS as it is said to be occurring due
to the anthropogenic activities mainly settlement and logging. The means of detecting change by
use of remote sensing is thus able to identify the exact areas that change has occurred and thus
provide insight for the Kenya Forest Service and other ecosystem protection bodies on the most
affected areas and the extent of change. Once the study area is mapped, it is possible to calculate
the areas that have decreased in vegetation quantity, areas where increase has occurred as well
as the areas that have remained unchanged. The findings of the study make it possible for
management agencies to enforce conservation because of the presence of reliable data
Unique Apoptotic Gene Dysregulation in Kenyan Breast Cancer Patients Compared to African American and Caucasian Women
(2025) Marion N. Nyamari, John Gitau, Kennedy Wanjau Mwangi, Carol W. Hunja, Sammy Wambua, and Francis Makokha
Background: Kenya records about 6,000 new diagnoses each year of breast cancer (BC), a major
cause of cancer-related deaths in the country. The apoptotic pathway is well studied and proven to
play a crucial role in cancer onset and progression, but studies have not been extensively done on
Kenyan women with BC. The study’s objective was to compare the gene expression patterns of
apoptotic genes in Kenyan women with breast cancer to those of Caucasian women and African
American women based on demography, subtype, and tumour stage.
Methods: Transcriptomic data from 46 African Americans, 66 Caucasians retrieved from The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and 60 Kenyan RNA-seq data (45 samples from AIC Kijabe/Aga
Khan hospitals and 15 Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) from Gene Expression Atlas (GEO))
were studied. The Kenyan patients were part of a longitudinal BC genomics study in Kenya, and
the TCGA data were retrospectively selected based on availability of RNA-seq data, documented
ethnicity, and tumour stage and subtype classification. HISAT2 v2.2.0 aligned Kenyan transcripts
to the reference genome, and HTSeq-count v2.0.2 determined gene counts. EdgeR v4.2 was used to
analyse differential gene expression, and Enrichr v3.1 and ClusterProfiler v4.0 were used for
enrichment analysis.
Results: The analysis revealed 23 population-specific apoptotic genes differentially expressed
across the 60 Kenyan samples, with 9 upregulated and 14 downregulated. In comparison, 80
upregulated and 25 downregulated unique apoptotic genes were identified in the Caucasian dataset,
while 6 upregulated and 1 downregulated unique apoptotic genes were recorded from the AfricanAmerican dataset. Kenyan BC patients (without controlling for subtype or stage) had a unique
elevation of the anti-apoptotic gene, Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF1R). Kenyan
women with Luminal A subtype, compared to other subtypes studied and compared to Caucasian
and African- American women, had a distinct upregulation of Interleukin-1 beta (IL1B). The IL1B
gene prevents the progression and spread of tumour cells in prostate cancer, with over-exposure of
tumour cells to IL1B in vitro leading to resistance to a variety of anticancer medicines in mice. On
the other hand, IGF1R has been associated with poor prognosis in patients with elevated expression
of the gene in Stage I, in non-small-cell lung cancer.
Conclusion: These results highlight population-specific molecular di
Adoption and Dis-Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture: A Case of Farmers’ Innovations and Integrated Fruit Fly Management in Kenya
(MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations., 2021-04-09) Charity M. Wangithi, Beatrice W. Muriithi, and Raphael Belmin
The invasive fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis poses a major threat to the production and trade of
mango in sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers devise different innovations to manage the pest in an attempt
to minimize yield loss and production costs while maximizing revenues. Using survey data obtained
from Embu County, Kenya, we analyzed farmers’ knowledge and perception as regards the invasive
fruit fly, their innovations for the management of the pest, and the determinants of their adoption
and dis-adoption decisions of recently developed and promoted integrated pest management (IPM)
technologies for suppression of the pest. The results show that farmers consider fruit flies as a major
threat to mango production (99%) and primarily depend on pesticides (90%) for the management
of the pest. Some farmers (35%) however use indigenous methods to manage the pest. Though
farmers possess good knowledge of different IPM strategies, uptake is relatively low. The regression
estimates show that continued use of IPM is positively associated with the gender and education of
the household head, size of a mango orchard, knowledge on mango pests, training, contact with an
extension officer, and use of at least one non-pesticide practice for fruit fly management, while IPM
dis-adoption was negatively correlated with the size of the mango orchard, practice score and use of
indigenous innovations for fruit fly management. We recommend enhancing farmer0
s knowledge
through increased access to training programs and extension services for enhanced adoption of
sustainable management practices for B. dorsalis.
Balancing between Conservation and Livelihoods in African Inland Wetlands: Synthesis of Published Information, Reflection of Reality on the Ground, and Review of Possibilities for Sustainable Use
(East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources, 2025-07-10) Julius Kipkemboi
Wetlands are among the most threatened global ecosystems. African wetlands have
unique vulnerability concerning sustainability and wise use. Apart from many threats,
including reclamation, pollution, and climate change, these wetlands have unique
challenges associated with livelihoods and demand pressures. The current trends in
wetland utilisation for livelihoods in most African countries are unsustainable.
African scenarios are characterised by unique circumstances about how people
interact with natural ecosystems, and this determines the success or failure of any
conservation efforts put forward by local, national, and international institutions. To
unravel the complex issues surrounding human-wetland interaction, there is a need
to not only unpack the science behind the global concepts, such as the Ramsar wise
use. There is a need to understand the entire social, economic, and ecological nexus
in which African wetlands exist. In a region where economic and livelihood
dependency is high throughout the seasons and coupled with limitations of qualitative
and quantitative data on wetlands, it is difficult to quantitatively conceive the
magnitude of human impacts on wetlands. To promote sustainable use, new
innovative approaches are required to create a trade-off between the competing
interests of conservation and utilisation for livelihoods. The maintenance of
ecological character is paramount and requires that the ecosystem properties are not
compromised by the pursuit of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting
ecosystem services, particularly concerning utilisation for human well-being. The
situation for African wetland ecosystems is currently complicated by the
demographic trends around these ecosystems and the attendant livelihood demands,
but also by uncertain climate change. There is not only a need to understand the
social, economic, and ecological nexus within which African wetlands exist, but also
to identify gaps in knowledge. This paper reviews published information on African
inland wetlands and explores the possibilities of sustainable use to support human
wellbeing while maintaining their ecological functions.
