Fredros Okumu is a Kenyan parasitologist and entomologist, who currently works as director of science at the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania.

[1][2] After leaving school Okumu entered mosquito research by working at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.

Okumu has been involved in field studies using mosquito baits near his institute and in local villages to test their effectiveness in situ.

[13][15][16] Foreign Policy honoured Okumu with being a Global Thinker in 2016 for his rapid and innovative design of low-cost Aedes aegypti repellent sandals (as mosquitoes most frequently bite around the ankles) for use in Brazil to help tackle the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic.

[17][18][19] Okumu's research into mosquito repellants aims to develop cheap, safe and durable protection from bites using everyday objects, including footwear and even chairs.