Esther Ndaisi Kioko

Esther Ndaisi Kioko
File:Portrait of Esther Ndaisi Kioko, principal research scientist at National Museums of Kenya.pngPortrait_of_Esther_Ndaisi_Kioko,_principal_research_scientist_at_National_Museums_of_Kenya.png Portrait_of_Esther_Ndaisi_Kioko,_principal_research_scientist_at_National_Museums_of_Kenya.png Esther Ndaisi Kioko
Born
🏳️ Citizenship	Kenya
🎓 Alma mater	Kenyatta University University of Wales
💼 Occupation
Known for	Insect systematics, Lepidoptera pollinator research, capacity building and digitization of natural history collections in East Africa
🏅 Awards	Marsh Award for Ecologists in Africa (2019) CAS President’s International Fellowship (2023)

Esther Ndaisi Kioko is a Kenyan principal research scientist, entomologist, and arachnologist whose research focuses on insect biodiversity in East Africa. She is the Head of the Zoology Department at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi, an institution she joined in 1989. Her work focuses on lepidopterology, pollinator ecology, and the intersection of scientific research with sustainable community development.

Career

Kioko began her employment at the National Museums of Kenya in October 1989, working as a researcher responsible for managing the Lepidoptera collection within the Department of Invertebrate Zoology.

Over the following decades, she advanced to the position of Senior Research Scientist and subsequently became Head of the Zoology Department. She completed a PhD in Agricultural Entomology at Kenyatta University, conducting research in collaboration with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology. She also holds a postgraduate Diploma in Applied Insect Taxonomy from the University of Wales.

In addition to her role at the National Museums of Kenya, Kioko is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi. She co-chairs the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Kenya Species Specialist Group for terrestrial species and coordinates regional digitization projects involving natural history collections in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. She also participates in training programs and international conferences on biodiversity, museum science, and mentorship for researchers.

She has also contributed to international partnerships, including collaborations with institutions such as the Senckenberg Museum in Germany and projects under the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJOREC).

Research

Kioko's research focuses on the distribution, diversity, and ecological roles of insect populations in East Africa. She specializes in several Lepidoptera families, including Sphingidae, Hesperiidae, and Papilionidae. Her published work includes co-authored data papers documenting species data across the African continent.

Kioko is the principal investigator for a project funded by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation, titled “Assessment of Lepidoptera Pollinator Species Diversity Data in East Africa.” In this role, she has directed field surveys in the Taita Hills forests in Kenya. The project includes training museum personnel and students, expanding reference collections at the National Museums of Kenya, and publishing occurrence records to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Between 2004 and 2009, Kioko coordinated a project funded by the Global Environment Facility that investigated the commercial use of insects for forest conservation. From 2011 to 2015, she managed an initiative funded by Kenya’s National Council for Science and Technology regarding the use of insects as a food source for nutrition and rural livelihoods. She has also worked on the digitization of the zoological collections at the National Museums of Kenya.

More recently, Kioko has taken part in international collaborative projects, including research linked to the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre. She has contributed to several field guides on Kenyan insects, including work on the butterflies of the Taita Hills.

Awards and recognition

In 2019, Kioko received the Marsh Award for Ecologists in Africa from the British Ecological Society and the Marsh Christian Trust. The award was given in recognition of her research on the continent and its applications to ecological science.

In 2023, she received the CAS President’s International Fellowship for her work in Sino-African scientific collaboration. She has also received recognition for science communication and capacity building from the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa).

Impact

Her research integrates taxonomy with applications in pollinator decline, food security, and community conservation. Her work includes capacity building in East Africa through museum collection development, open data sharing, and researcher mentorship.

She participates in international forums and conferences on biodiversity and heritage conservation in Nairobi, where she discusses international collaboration regarding species extinction and habitat loss.

Selected publications

• Kioko, E. N. et al. (2020). Swallowtail butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) species diversity and distribution in Africa: The Papilionidae collection at the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya. Biodiversity Data Journal.

• Kioko, E. N. et al. (2021). Geographical and temporal distribution of hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) species in Africa. Biodiversity Data Journal.

References

Further reading

• [National Museums of Kenya – Lepidoptera Pollinator Project](https://museums.or.ke/assessment-of-lepidoptera-pollinator-species-diversity-data-in-east-africa/)
• [JRS Biodiversity Foundation – National Museums of Kenya Project](https://jrsbiodiversity.org/grants/national-museums-kenya-2019/)
• [TCC Africa – 2019 Marsh Award Announcement](https://www.tcc-africa.org/tcc-trainee-dr-esther-kioko-wins-2019-marsh-award-for-ecologists/)
• [British Ecological Society – 2019 Award Winners](https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/announcing-2019-british-ecological-society-award-winners/)
• [ResearchGate Profile – Esther Kioko](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Esther-Kioko)

Category:Kenyan women scientists Category:Living people Category:Entomologists Category:Arachnologists

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