Fredros Okumu is a professor of vector biology (infectious disease ecology) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He cofounded the African Conversations initiative, which monitors African stakeholders’ opinions and concerns regarding new technologies including gene drives. He was formerly the director of science at Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania (2016–23), where he remains a scientist. He serves in various international committees, including the World Health Organization’s Malaria Policy Advisory Group, the Gates Foundation Malaria Strategic Advisory Panel, and the University of California San Francisco’s Malaria Elimination Initiative. He is also a science advisor for the African Diaspora Network. The views expressed here are his own.