Dr Rachel Chicwamba (PhD, MBA)
ACIAR Policy Advisory Council and CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board and Group Executive: Chemicals, Agriculture, Food and Health Division, The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa
Dr Rachel Chikwamba has a passion for research for development. A molecular geneticist by profession, she has a track record in innovation and evidence-based policy development in the life sciences, notably in agriculture and health. Rachel currently serves as the Group Executive for Advanced Chemistry and Life Sciences at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a premier African research and technology organisation with global reach and impact. She has held several key portfolios, including organisational strategy, business development as well as technology commercialisation, her work culminating in the launch of the CSIR’s standalone company commercialisation company CSIR C3. Chikwamba serve(s/d) on advisory and governance boards of organisations in agriculture and health, including the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board, ACCESS, ICRISAT-IN, ACIAR, Wits Health Consortium, the South Africa Medical Research Council. She serves on the high-level African Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET), advising the African Union Member States on harnessing technologies for Africa’s economic development.