August 4, 2026 • 12 mins
Today we delve into the works of Ethiopian scientist, molecular plant pathologist Segenet Kelemu.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Smitha and welcome to stuff
I never told your protection I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And welcome to another activist around the world. And today
we wanted to feature an ethiopien scientist molecular plant pathologist,
doctor SegaNet Kellamu.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Which she is fascinating. So.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Doctor Kellamu has described herself as a rebellious individual, someone
who pushed back and didn't take things just at face value,
but would dig deeper.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And ask questions.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
She says this was part of the reason she has
been able to accomplish as much as she has. She
tells stories about how her mother would put her in
charge of selling their farm goods because they knew a
she would bring back the money and she could be
trusted with it and be that she would drive a
good bargain like she was not going to back down.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
And she also asked a lot of questions at school.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
She said it might have been a little bit annoying,
but a lot of the teachers really just encouraged her
want of learning and really pushed that for her. She
also says that she thinks that's why she didn't get
married at a young age, because no one wanted to
marry her because she was so argumentative.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I love that she's very self aware, she said.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Growing up in a rural area in Ethiopia, doctor Kellamu
became one of the first women. I think the first women,
as they noted so, but you know.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
How we do here.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
We'd like to put quotes just in case because you
never know what first. But back to in her area
to attend and graduate from the university. I mean after
completing her degree at the Addis Ababa University, she would
move on to get her master's in plant pathology and
genetics and a PhD in molecular in plant pathology at
Montana State University and Kansas State University. Then she would
(01:46):
move on to do more research at Cornell. So she's
been around and then some. When asked about what motivated
her to pursue science, she told Technologynetworks dot Com this
I realized when I was in my first year of
university that lifting people out of poverty first and foremost
begins with modernizing agriculture and providing access to nutritious and
adequate food to all. That is the basis in building
(02:08):
block for any development in progress. Without enough food, everything
else slides down.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The priority list.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
This is why I chose to study agricultural sciences, and
her area specifically was very farm culture heavy, so she
thought that there was something that was very impactful in
something that she could do to help her community. So
she has talked about a very impactful memory for her
that she has carried and that has pushed her to
go down this career path. So this is from Jpost
dot com. When I was young, she recalls, one day
(02:35):
we got up and a swarm of locusts came in
and completely wiped out the grass and vegetation in the village.
The villagers prayed, assuming that the locusts had been sent
as punishment from God. But young segond Net, however, reacted differently.
That devastating episode provided her with the impetus to excel
in school, dedicate her life to science, and help her people.
I've always carried that with me in my mind, she says,
(02:57):
and she does talk about this on several occasions, about
how that moment really just changed her perspective of what
she needed to do for her community. After studying and
researching in the US, she went on to work at
the International Center of Tropical Agriculture. Soon she started receiving
accolades for her work, including for her work in China,
and she said this about that experience specifically, back to
(03:17):
that Jpost dot com. I was happy to receive the award,
but I was embarrassed at the same time HERA was
a person from a poor country, and I was given
recognition in China for making a difference in China when China,
in actuality didn't need my help. And I've seen a
couple of videos where she talks about this and just
how she realized that, yes, she's making a difference, but
(03:38):
she's not making a difference where she wanted to be specifically.
And with that she soon traveled back to Africa and
it would soon become the director at the International Livestock
Research Center for the Biosciences in the Eastern and Central
Africa HUB, which is also known as BECCA. Here's a
bit from her Wikipedia page. Under her leadership, the Becca
Initiative was transformed from a contentious idea into a driving
(03:58):
force that is changing the face of African biosciences. Beca's
research capacity, staff facilities, funding partners, and training programs have
expanded at an ever accelerating pace. She has assembled and
inspired a scientific and technical team bound by common passion
for using science to enhance Africa's biosciences development. So very cool,
(04:19):
like she's the one who's kind of pushed all this
catalysts in her area. Later, she would go on to
become the director of the International Center of Insect Physiology
and Ecology or ICIPE in Kenya, where she held a
position from twenty thirteen till twenty twenty three. This was
the only African institute dedicated to the research on insects
and other arthropods. So back to her interview with Technologynetworks
(04:41):
dot com, she explains some of her work there. I'm
trained as a molecular plant pathologist, specializing in plant microbial
interactions at a molecular level. However, I'm currently running an
impactful research for development R four D organization specializing in
insect related sciences, the International Center of inc Sex Physiology
and Ecology ICIPE. This is the only R four D
(05:05):
organization in the world that combines plant, animal, human and
environmental help using insects as entry points. ICIPE is a
knowledge dense, impactful, and highly relevant organization whose mission is
to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security, and improve the
overall health status of people in the tropics. We develop
and extend management tools and strategies for harmful and useful
(05:26):
arthropods while preserving the natural resource base through research and
capacity building. ICIPE was founded in nineteen seventy. I am
the fourth Director General and CEO and the first woman
to lead It. So very cool work that she has done.
And she goes on to explain a bit about how
this specific research is helping to fight against poverty, hunger,
(05:46):
and disease. She says, our interdisciplinary research on insects science
is geared towards social and environmental justice through nature based solutions.
ICIPE has well developed mechanisms and global partnerships for conducting
and managing world class collaborative research and for translating research
outputs and technologies into innovations for societal use. The center
(06:08):
has been harnessing innovations in insects science, facilitating high level
policy discussion, cultivating major partnerships, and implementing transformational projects to
achieve greater impact towards sustainable development in Africa. This is
achieve to the transformation of continental food, nutrition and health
systems in the face of a climate crisis. We generate
knowledge that's translated into nature based, environmentally friendly, inclusive, innovative, accessible,
(06:31):
and affordable solutions, which are consolidated into integrated vector management
packages for the control of human and animal disease vectors,
integrated pest management packages for crop pests, and comprehensive approaches
for sustainable insect based enterprises. So a lot of stuff,
and some of the videos they show the amount of
bugs that they work with.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
There's a lot. There's a lot of bugs. Any feeling okay, Well,
I had to take abatos like, oh oh no.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
And she goes into a bit of more detail in
her Jpost dot com article. Insects, she explains, are the
most abundant animals on the planet. Of the one point
four million animal species, a little over one million are insects.
The vast majority are very helpful to us. Introducing insects
based protein to food and animal feed is an important
road to reducing the environmental effects of traditional livestock farming.
(07:23):
She adds that two billion people consume insects, which are
a source of protein and other nutrients. Klimu and her
team designed methods to allow for efficient year round harvesting
of insects, which are not only eaten, but are made
into nutritious oils as well. Again, this is very fascinating
to me because as the climate change is happening, as
food scarcity is also increasing, this is important things that
(07:46):
she's working on. And she's even talked about how the
growing population by twenty fifty, they're gonna have to have
seventy percent more food in order to help the humans survive.
So again fascinating and also very important. With all this
amazing amount of work and research, she's been able to
navigate this while also having to deal with gender and
racial discrimination. So from another article written in twenty eighteen
(08:09):
for The New Humanitarian, she writes, as a woman and
a woman of color, I have encountered challenges along the way.
Sexism and racism are all alive across the globe in
subtle and more blatant ways. On a daily basis. The
science world is dominated by men. Sometimes when I receive visitors,
they actually tell me they expected to see a white
man in the position.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I hold.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Oh, well, sorry to disappoint you, I tell them, and
she continues. The key thing I believe is to never
take personally any other prejudice I face The source of
bigotry and ignorance has nothing to do with me. Why
should I waste my time and energy on things that
are irrelevant to me? Why should I sweat the small
stuff that can be a distraction to achieving my goals.
Demonstrating excellence can eventually help destroy sexism and racism. That
(08:49):
is what has kept me going in my career. The
fact that I am given the responsibility to lead important
and high profile research for the center is a good
example of being judged by viability rather than by my gender.
So back to that Technologynetworks dot Com interview, she says
this about its slowly improving I think there have been
improvements over the years, while being deliberate in certain instances
(09:11):
to target an increase in female scientists. Other avenues for
equalizations should include provisions of a balanced work environment. We
need to boost women's participation in graduate programs at master's
and PhD levels and provide support and well planned strategies
for career path and growth. Yes, more women, and let's
normalize more women in science.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And when she was asked by them about advice for
young women interested in a career in science, she said this,
I give advice all the time, including to my own daughter,
who is currently a PhD candidate at Princeton University. Some
of the advice includes not to despair when the experiments
don't work. That is why you do the experiment, to
figure out how to do it and to find answers.
The science is very rewarding, that you can create a
(09:53):
fulfilling career in science and do the things you love
to do and contribute to society. That science knowledge is
empowering and uplifting. That women are meticulous scientists, that you
can balance work, family demands, believe in yourself and in
your capacity to be brilliant scientists, be assertive, etc.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I love that it is.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
It is empowering. Science is empowering. I just wasn't good
at it, Annie.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
She worried.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Are you've told me some experiments, some science fairs.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
That just fell into my lab? I still don't understand
what I did. I'm not gonna lie. You were good
at science and math.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I was, But I think I think you had a
niche that maybe you never quite homed in on.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
We'll see my tomato plans are doing better.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Of course, she has several accolades under the heart Belt,
including this year, being in an Elected Fellow by the
Royal Society, Presidential Awards from the French Republic in twenty
twenty three, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in twenty
twenty two, Women of the Decade in Natural and Sustainable
Ecosystems by Women Economic Forum, and being Bill Gate's Heroes
in the Field in twenty eighteen, the lorel Unesco for
(10:59):
Women in Science or in twenty fourteen, and of course
so much more.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
There's so many things on that list. I was like, oh,
I can't keep going.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
But she has done some amazing work. You could definitely
see different videos of our talking about her work as
well as YouTube videos featuring her work.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
You should definitely check her out.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, you know I love learning more about insects, so.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, yes, and she can tell you less about it.
I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I'm excited. Well, listeners, if you would like to contact us,
you can. You can email us at Hello at Stuffhenever
Told You dot com. You can find us on Blue
Sky at mom Stuff podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
at stuff When Never Told You rosso on YouTube. We
have some merchandise to coomp hero and we have a
buck you can get where you get your bucks. Thanks
as always to our super producer Rimat and our executive
(11:44):
priuser Maya, thank you and thanks to you for listening.
Stuff on Her Told You is production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out your Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
The Knowing Me Something
Hey, this is Anny and Smitha and welcome to stuff
I never told your protection I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And welcome to another activist around the world. And today
we wanted to feature an ethiopien scientist molecular plant pathologist,
doctor SegaNet Kellamu.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Which she is fascinating. So.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Doctor Kellamu has described herself as a rebellious individual, someone
who pushed back and didn't take things just at face value,
but would dig deeper.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And ask questions.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
She says this was part of the reason she has
been able to accomplish as much as she has. She
tells stories about how her mother would put her in
charge of selling their farm goods because they knew a
she would bring back the money and she could be
trusted with it and be that she would drive a
good bargain like she was not going to back down.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
And she also asked a lot of questions at school.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
She said it might have been a little bit annoying,
but a lot of the teachers really just encouraged her
want of learning and really pushed that for her. She
also says that she thinks that's why she didn't get
married at a young age, because no one wanted to
marry her because she was so argumentative.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I love that she's very self aware, she said.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Growing up in a rural area in Ethiopia, doctor Kellamu
became one of the first women. I think the first women,
as they noted so, but you know.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
How we do here.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
We'd like to put quotes just in case because you
never know what first. But back to in her area
to attend and graduate from the university. I mean after
completing her degree at the Addis Ababa University, she would
move on to get her master's in plant pathology and
genetics and a PhD in molecular in plant pathology at
Montana State University and Kansas State University. Then she would
(01:46):
move on to do more research at Cornell. So she's
been around and then some. When asked about what motivated
her to pursue science, she told Technologynetworks dot Com this
I realized when I was in my first year of
university that lifting people out of poverty first and foremost
begins with modernizing agriculture and providing access to nutritious and
adequate food to all. That is the basis in building
(02:08):
block for any development in progress. Without enough food, everything
else slides down.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The priority list.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
This is why I chose to study agricultural sciences, and
her area specifically was very farm culture heavy, so she
thought that there was something that was very impactful in
something that she could do to help her community. So
she has talked about a very impactful memory for her
that she has carried and that has pushed her to
go down this career path. So this is from Jpost
dot com. When I was young, she recalls, one day
(02:35):
we got up and a swarm of locusts came in
and completely wiped out the grass and vegetation in the village.
The villagers prayed, assuming that the locusts had been sent
as punishment from God. But young segond Net, however, reacted differently.
That devastating episode provided her with the impetus to excel
in school, dedicate her life to science, and help her people.
I've always carried that with me in my mind, she says,
(02:57):
and she does talk about this on several occasions, about
how that moment really just changed her perspective of what
she needed to do for her community. After studying and
researching in the US, she went on to work at
the International Center of Tropical Agriculture. Soon she started receiving
accolades for her work, including for her work in China,
and she said this about that experience specifically, back to
(03:17):
that Jpost dot com. I was happy to receive the award,
but I was embarrassed at the same time HERA was
a person from a poor country, and I was given
recognition in China for making a difference in China when China,
in actuality didn't need my help. And I've seen a
couple of videos where she talks about this and just
how she realized that, yes, she's making a difference, but
(03:38):
she's not making a difference where she wanted to be specifically.
And with that she soon traveled back to Africa and
it would soon become the director at the International Livestock
Research Center for the Biosciences in the Eastern and Central
Africa HUB, which is also known as BECCA. Here's a
bit from her Wikipedia page. Under her leadership, the Becca
Initiative was transformed from a contentious idea into a driving
(03:58):
force that is changing the face of African biosciences. Beca's
research capacity, staff facilities, funding partners, and training programs have
expanded at an ever accelerating pace. She has assembled and
inspired a scientific and technical team bound by common passion
for using science to enhance Africa's biosciences development. So very cool,
(04:19):
like she's the one who's kind of pushed all this
catalysts in her area. Later, she would go on to
become the director of the International Center of Insect Physiology
and Ecology or ICIPE in Kenya, where she held a
position from twenty thirteen till twenty twenty three. This was
the only African institute dedicated to the research on insects
and other arthropods. So back to her interview with Technologynetworks
(04:41):
dot com, she explains some of her work there. I'm
trained as a molecular plant pathologist, specializing in plant microbial
interactions at a molecular level. However, I'm currently running an
impactful research for development R four D organization specializing in
insect related sciences, the International Center of inc Sex Physiology
and Ecology ICIPE. This is the only R four D
(05:05):
organization in the world that combines plant, animal, human and
environmental help using insects as entry points. ICIPE is a
knowledge dense, impactful, and highly relevant organization whose mission is
to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security, and improve the
overall health status of people in the tropics. We develop
and extend management tools and strategies for harmful and useful
(05:26):
arthropods while preserving the natural resource base through research and
capacity building. ICIPE was founded in nineteen seventy. I am
the fourth Director General and CEO and the first woman
to lead It. So very cool work that she has done.
And she goes on to explain a bit about how
this specific research is helping to fight against poverty, hunger,
(05:46):
and disease. She says, our interdisciplinary research on insects science
is geared towards social and environmental justice through nature based solutions.
ICIPE has well developed mechanisms and global partnerships for conducting
and managing world class collaborative research and for translating research
outputs and technologies into innovations for societal use. The center
(06:08):
has been harnessing innovations in insects science, facilitating high level
policy discussion, cultivating major partnerships, and implementing transformational projects to
achieve greater impact towards sustainable development in Africa. This is
achieve to the transformation of continental food, nutrition and health
systems in the face of a climate crisis. We generate
knowledge that's translated into nature based, environmentally friendly, inclusive, innovative, accessible,
(06:31):
and affordable solutions, which are consolidated into integrated vector management
packages for the control of human and animal disease vectors,
integrated pest management packages for crop pests, and comprehensive approaches
for sustainable insect based enterprises. So a lot of stuff,
and some of the videos they show the amount of
bugs that they work with.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
There's a lot. There's a lot of bugs. Any feeling okay, Well,
I had to take abatos like, oh oh no.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
And she goes into a bit of more detail in
her Jpost dot com article. Insects, she explains, are the
most abundant animals on the planet. Of the one point
four million animal species, a little over one million are insects.
The vast majority are very helpful to us. Introducing insects
based protein to food and animal feed is an important
road to reducing the environmental effects of traditional livestock farming.
(07:23):
She adds that two billion people consume insects, which are
a source of protein and other nutrients. Klimu and her
team designed methods to allow for efficient year round harvesting
of insects, which are not only eaten, but are made
into nutritious oils as well. Again, this is very fascinating
to me because as the climate change is happening, as
food scarcity is also increasing, this is important things that
(07:46):
she's working on. And she's even talked about how the
growing population by twenty fifty, they're gonna have to have
seventy percent more food in order to help the humans survive.
So again fascinating and also very important. With all this
amazing amount of work and research, she's been able to
navigate this while also having to deal with gender and
racial discrimination. So from another article written in twenty eighteen
(08:09):
for The New Humanitarian, she writes, as a woman and
a woman of color, I have encountered challenges along the way.
Sexism and racism are all alive across the globe in
subtle and more blatant ways. On a daily basis. The
science world is dominated by men. Sometimes when I receive visitors,
they actually tell me they expected to see a white
man in the position.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I hold.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Oh, well, sorry to disappoint you, I tell them, and
she continues. The key thing I believe is to never
take personally any other prejudice I face The source of
bigotry and ignorance has nothing to do with me. Why
should I waste my time and energy on things that
are irrelevant to me? Why should I sweat the small
stuff that can be a distraction to achieving my goals.
Demonstrating excellence can eventually help destroy sexism and racism. That
(08:49):
is what has kept me going in my career. The
fact that I am given the responsibility to lead important
and high profile research for the center is a good
example of being judged by viability rather than by my gender.
So back to that Technologynetworks dot Com interview, she says
this about its slowly improving I think there have been
improvements over the years, while being deliberate in certain instances
(09:11):
to target an increase in female scientists. Other avenues for
equalizations should include provisions of a balanced work environment. We
need to boost women's participation in graduate programs at master's
and PhD levels and provide support and well planned strategies
for career path and growth. Yes, more women, and let's
normalize more women in science.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And when she was asked by them about advice for
young women interested in a career in science, she said this,
I give advice all the time, including to my own daughter,
who is currently a PhD candidate at Princeton University. Some
of the advice includes not to despair when the experiments
don't work. That is why you do the experiment, to
figure out how to do it and to find answers.
The science is very rewarding, that you can create a
(09:53):
fulfilling career in science and do the things you love
to do and contribute to society. That science knowledge is
empowering and uplifting. That women are meticulous scientists, that you
can balance work, family demands, believe in yourself and in
your capacity to be brilliant scientists, be assertive, etc.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I love that it is.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
It is empowering. Science is empowering. I just wasn't good
at it, Annie.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
She worried.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Are you've told me some experiments, some science fairs.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
That just fell into my lab? I still don't understand
what I did. I'm not gonna lie. You were good
at science and math.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I was, But I think I think you had a
niche that maybe you never quite homed in on.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
We'll see my tomato plans are doing better.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Of course, she has several accolades under the heart Belt,
including this year, being in an Elected Fellow by the
Royal Society, Presidential Awards from the French Republic in twenty
twenty three, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in twenty
twenty two, Women of the Decade in Natural and Sustainable
Ecosystems by Women Economic Forum, and being Bill Gate's Heroes
in the Field in twenty eighteen, the lorel Unesco for
(10:59):
Women in Science or in twenty fourteen, and of course
so much more.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
There's so many things on that list. I was like, oh,
I can't keep going.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
But she has done some amazing work. You could definitely
see different videos of our talking about her work as
well as YouTube videos featuring her work.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
You should definitely check her out.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, you know I love learning more about insects, so.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, yes, and she can tell you less about it.
I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I'm excited. Well, listeners, if you would like to contact us,
you can. You can email us at Hello at Stuffhenever
Told You dot com. You can find us on Blue
Sky at mom Stuff podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
at stuff When Never Told You rosso on YouTube. We
have some merchandise to coomp hero and we have a
buck you can get where you get your bucks. Thanks
as always to our super producer Rimat and our executive
(11:44):
priuser Maya, thank you and thanks to you for listening.
Stuff on Her Told You is production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out your Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
The Knowing Me Something
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
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