Mabel Mahasi is a soybean specialist whose research focuses on developing varieties that are diseaseresistant, tolerant of drought and acidic soils, and that contain high nutritional value. Soybean has been found helpful in the fight against heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as preventing body deterioration often associated with HIV and AIDS. In Kenya, soybeans are promoted as a food security crop, however, according to Mahasi, yields and biomass production have been extremely low. To improve productivity, her research is examining varieties successful in Brazil, the world’s leader in soybean breeding. She plans to breed new varieties from Brazilian lines using a method known as gene introgression. These new soybean lines will have attributes for higher yields.