Prof. Yunus Daud Mgaya
President
Prof. Yunus Mgaya. Director General National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)
Prof. Yunus Daud Mgaya
Dr. Yunus Daud Mgaya is a Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Dar es Salaam. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Marine Biology from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1986. In 1989 he obtained a Masters in Fisheries Biology and Management from the University of British Columbia in Canada. In 1991 he joined the National University of Ireland-Galway and obtained his Ph.D. in Marine Aquaculture in 1995. He has received several academic awards including one from Commonwealth and Irish Government.
He has published widely in his area of specialization. His publications include 71 journal papers and 28 papers in edited conference proceedings. He has also published 3 multi-authored books and 14 book chapters. Prof. Mgaya has also supervised 17 MSc and 18 Ph.D. candidates who graduated during the period 1999-2016. He is a member of various professional bodies including the Asian Fisheries Society and Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association.
Professor Mgaya is an experienced administrator having held various administration positions at the University of Dar es Salaam, including Dean of the Faculty of Aquatic Sciences and Technology (2002-2006) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Planning, Finance, and Administration) (2006-2014). He served as the Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Commission for Universities from December 2014 to May 2016 and currently serves as the Director-General of the National Institute for Medical Research. Prof. Mgaya has served as Chairman of the following organizations: Board of Trustees of the Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (2004-2008); Board of Directors of the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (2009-2016); Ministerial Advisory Board of the Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (2014-To date), and; Board of Directors of Sea Sense (a marine conservation NGO) (2008-To date). It is worth noting that Prof. Mgaya has served WIOMSA as a Country Coordinator (1997-2006).
He was recently appointed by the Vice President’s Office to serve as the Champion of the Northern Mozambique Channel Initiative (2016-To date) and a founding member and Vice-Chairman of the National Environment Trust Fund (2017-To date). Internationally, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) based in Stockholm, Sweden (2010-To date) of which he is also a member of its Executive Committee.
