Dr. Festus M. Tolo is a Phyto-Medical biologist holding a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Medicinal Phytochemistry of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). He is an awardee of the “The Nelon Gold Award (NGA)” of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Inter-Academy Medical Panel (IAMP) “Distinguished Scientist Award in Natural Products Research” of the Chinese Medical Sciences (CACMS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Beijing, China. Dr. Tolo is a Chief Research Scientist at the Centre for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research (CTMDR), KEMRI. His engagements in natural products research spans over three decades where he has been involved in various research projects, notably, the JICA sponsored Infectious Diseases Research Programme of KEMRI where he played a key role in the “Plant Drug Research Group for Antiviral Agents” leading to the innovation of an anti-herpes herbal product, “Zedupex”. He has been a project manager of a WHO/TDR funded project on the “Investigation of Safety, Efficacy and Chemistry of Herbal Medicines used Traditionally for Treatment of Malaria” and a lead scientist in the National Council for Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) funded project on the “Natural Products Innovation System: Establishing a National Nutraceuticals and Phytomedicines Development Pipeline”. He is presently engaged in a project evaluating Zedupex for COVID-19 management funded by the Government of Kenya and others touching on identification of herbal products for management of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Dr. Tolo has published widely in the area of natural products research and published papers and presented abstracts (over 100) in various peer reviewed Journals and at various local and international scientific forums. He is a faculty member at the KEMRI Graduate School where he is the Programme coordinator for the Pharmacy. He has successfully supervised a number of postgraduate students both at PhD and MSc. He is an appointed “Peer Reviewer” of Quality Standards (QS) by the Commission for University Education (CUE), Kenya. In May 2024, he was appointed as a member of the Ethnomedicine Committee of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Kenya.