Professor Appolinaire Djikeng is the 4th Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Senior Director for the Livestock-based systems of the CGIAR since April 2023. Prior to ILRI and the CGIAR, Djikeng was Director of the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health and based at the Roslin Institute, and Professor and Chair for Tropical Agriculture and Sustainable Development at the University of Edinburgh. Djikeng has over 20 years’ research and institutional experience in academia and in international not-for-profit research institutions in the USA, Africa, and UK/Europe. Djikeng was awarded the Nelson Mandela Peace Award.

Djikeng’s work and interests center around genomics and related biosciences and their applications in agriculture, and human and environmental health. He co-founded the African Animal Breeding Network to drive the development and dissemination of improved livestock and sustainable genetic improvement solutions in Africa. He also co-founded the African Biogenome project to harness the power of genomics for the characterization, conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity in Africa.

Djikeng is Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland, Center for Animal Science (Australia), Professor at The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh (UK), and Distinguished Professor at the University of South Africa.