Assaf Anyamba
Goddard Earth Science and Technology Research, NASA, USA
Dr. Anyamba is a Principal Scientist with the Universities Space Research Association. He joined USRA’s Goddard Earth Science Technology and Research (GESTAR) program in 2011. His research interests on understanding impacts of climate variability on the global biosphere using a variety of satellite derived measurements. He is the Principal Investigator and leads team that develops operational applications for agricultural monitoring and ecologically coupled diseases to support federal partner agencies including United States Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS), Department of Defense/Defense Health Agency -Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch- Global Emerging Infections Surveillance (DHA/AFSHB-GEIS), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Joint Science Technology Office (JSTO) and Biological Threats Reduction Program, (BTRP), Food and Drug Administration- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA-CFSAN) and United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Services – Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology. He serves as a reviewer for USDA Agricultural Research Service’ National Program on Veterinary, Medical, and Urban Entomology.
He is a member of Pandemic Prediction and Forecasting Science Technology Working Group Member (PPFST) and the US Rift Valley Fever Working Group. He collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) – Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) and World Organization for Animal Health/ Organization mondiale de la santé animale (OIE) on early warning of disease outbreaks. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Economics from Kenyatta University, Kenya and MA (Ohio University, Athens, Ohio) and PhD (Clark University, Worcester, MA) in Geography specializing in remote sensing of vegetation. Prior to USRA he was an associate scientist through the NASA-GEST cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.