Dr. Stephen Buah is a Lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kyambogo University, Uganda. Dr. Buah completed his PhD in 2014 at Queensland University of Technology, Australia under the overall supervision of Distinguished Professor James Dale. His PhD research focussed on understanding the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in banana fruit during which he demonstrated the role of transcriptional control, differential metabolic sink capacities and enzymatic degradation of pro-vitamin A carotenoids in the fruits of different banana cultivars. During his PhD studies, Dr. Buah taught Cell and Molecular science to the QUT undergraduate students (2012 – 2013). After completing the PhD, Dr. Buah led a team of researchers at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) to develop pro-vitamin A biofortified cooking banana to combat micronutrient deficiency in Uganda and surrounding countries (2015 – 2022). In 2019, Dr. Buah was recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ scientist by the Global Grand Challenges Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his commitment to scientific excellence in the field. Dr. Buah holds an MSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (2009) and a Bachelor of Biomedical Laboratory Technology (2003) from Makerere University. Dr. Buah worked at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture  (CIAT), Uganda as a Research Assistant in Plant Biotechnology/pathology from 2004 – 2011 during which participated in various research and development efforts to combat common bean production constraints in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. His first job assignment was as a Laboratory Technologist at Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (2019 -2004) where he managed the Genetics Laboratory with extensive field experiences to study the genetic diversity and structure of African wildlife resources. He is a member of the Uganda Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium (UBBC).

Area of speciality

 Genetics, Agricultural biotechnology, Plant pathology

Research Interests

Dr. Buah is interested in exploring plant metabolic pathways for crop improvement, including nutritional enhancement, disease resistance, climate change resilience and environmental management. He has pertinent interest in the use of indigenous domestic and wild sources of novel genes and natural products for addressing local health, nutritional, biotic and abiotic challenges.

Current Projects

Characterisation of an emerging banana wilt disease in Uganda- P.I

Development of governor’s plum (Flacourtia indica) herbal formulation for the management of microbial infections in humans in Uganda – Co-P.I

Peer review

Dr. Buah is an active peer reviewer of articles from several journals not limited to: African Journal of Agricultural Research, Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution and PlosOne among others. He has served as external examiner of over 10 graduate student theses from Makerere University.