Mary is a Plant Biotechnology Lecturer and researcher at Kenyatta University. She holds an MSc in Botany (Genetics) and BEd (Science) Honours. Her interest is banana breeding specifically, dissemination of improved varieties to farmers.

She has implemented several multidisciplinary projects including: “Banana Tissue Culture and Nutrient Enhancement for Food Security and Income among People Living With AIDS in the Lake Victoria Basin (SIDA/VICRES); Establishment of Integrated on Farm Nurseries of Tissue Culture Bananas and Multipurpose Trees  for Sustainable Food Security and Wealth Creation in Kenya (NRF-Kenya); Climate Smart Banana project (CLISMABAN) aimed at phenotyping banana biodiversity to identify climate smart varieties with optimal market potential (EU-LEAP AGRI). Through CLISMABAN, Mary pioneered the introduction and participatory evaluation of NARITA (matooke) hybrids. The project also supported the establishment of a banana tissue culture laboratory and a field site at Kenyatta University and four demonstration sites in central Kenya.   Participatory variety selection is continuing with the aim of selecting the most preferred varieties for eventual registration in Kenya. Alongside the NARITAs, the KU team is also multiplying and evaluating two sweet banana varieties, BRS Princesa and BRS Victoria.

Currently, Mary is a co-promoter for the TC4Real Project funded by (VLIR-UOS). This project aims to support infrastructure and human resource capacity at Kenyatta University, hence enhancing the quality of teaching, research and technology transfer. Mary has published and made winning presentations in several International Conferences, including the IS-MPMI-2023, where she was invited as plenary speaker to share experiences on best practices of undertaking impactful research in Africa.