Rev. Florence Isabirye Muranga PhD is a Ugandan woman, who serves as an Associate Vicar at St. Andrews Bukoto, Church of Uganda, a lecturer at Makerere University, Department of Food Science & Technology and the Director of the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID) Project whose mission is to offer rural farmers services, outreach and research and development opportunities in sustainable banana productivity, business and product process development , product assurance and safety and process/product technology transfer and commercialisation. She is the sitting winner of the Presidential Scientific Innovation Excellence Award for the 2005/06 Presidential Science Award Cycle who has also been recognised among the top women of year-2006 by the Management Forum of the British Council, Uganda. She graduated with an Upper Second Degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Makerere University in 1975 after winning the Fommum Award for the best Chemistry Student, in 1974. She also holds a Diploma in Education & graduate training in Environmental Science of the same University. She obtained an Msc in Food Science (Food Option) in 1990 at the University of Reading, U.K. and a PhD in Food Science (Food Biochemistry) in 2000 from Makerere University.

Rev. Dr. F. Muranga has vast experience both as a trainer (including gender training) and as a researcher at various institutions in the country and abroad. Her sandwich PhD research in Germany lent her access to some of the world’s renown researchers in her area of study at the then  Federal Institute for Cereal, Potato and Fat Research  (BAGKF) at Detmold, Fraunhoeffer Institute for Applied Polymer Research –Berlin and at the Germany Institute for Nutrition at Postdam Ruebruecke. She has also served as a visiting Professor/Research fellow to a number of institutions including, the University of Wisconsin Madison and University of Cornell in the US and University of Bonn, Germany. She has also visited extensively at institutions in China and other parts of Asia including Thailand and India.  She serves on a number of governing councils/Boards of Institutions of higher learning and government bodies and has recently attended a course of the Institute of Corporate Governance and is due to commence on an Executive management Course.

She is a member of the Institute of Food Technologies (IFT) and the Third World Organizations for Women in Science (TWOWS). Dr. F. Muranga has pioneered science around matooke (a triploid acuminate cooking banana) as a food through a number of competitive grants including the Africa Career Award (ACA) of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Africa Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) of the Japanese Government. She has also filed and obtained a number of patents from her research. She is the author and Principal Investigator of the scientific volume of work under the PIBID Project. She is also pioneering tests in school feeding programme applying her Instant matooke products.  Besides she has travelled widely including holding exhibitions of her research products at strategic food fairs around the globe including IFT fair at New Orleans, Anuga Fair at Cologne, Speciality Food Show in Paris and very recently at the Comesa exhibition in Nairobi. Dr. F. Muranga is one of the pioneer registered bakers in Uganda.  She is also author of a children’s book and is due to submit for publishing a book in two volumes on basics of food & nutrition for every Ugandan Household. She is an ordained priestess of the Church of Uganda, a mother of two and is married to Rev. Dr. M.J.K Muranga, an Associate Professor and former Director of the Institute of Languages Makerere University, now Principal of Bishop Burham, a UCU constituent College.  She loves children and work.