Dianah R. Ngonyama

Upholding the highest ethical standards is critical to ensuring the integrity and public trust in research conducted at Iowa State University. As Research Integrity Officer, Dianah Ngonyama is charged with maintaining the institutional integrity of Iowa State’s research conduct. She brings a unique set of skills, honed through an array of relevant experiences in industry and academia, to help in this important role.

Since March 2018, Dianah has worked closely with Iowa State research faculty in her role as Technology Commercialization Manager for plant-related technologies and germplasm licensing in Iowa State’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization. Prior to joining Iowa State, Dianah spent more than 12 years with Monsanto (now Bayer) and J.R. Simplot, contributing to the successful development and commercialization of various products that benefit farmers around the world. In her roles with these companies, she interacted with both domestic and international regulatory agencies on a range of issues relating to both biotech regulatory policy and compliance.

Dianah is a registered member of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, a Beit Scholar, W.K. Kellogg Fellow, and served as President of the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD) from 2016 to 2019. She has been recognized by peers – both in the U.S. and internationally – for successfully leading large collaborative research programs following ethical research conduct principles of honesty, integrity, respect and transparency, resulting in building trust with all stakeholders.

Dianah earned her Ph. D. in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005, and has completed multiple other graduate and undergraduate degrees.

What is your favorite Iowa State discovery?
“I have several favorite ISU discoveries, from specialty soybean varieties and corn inbred lines developed by ISU breeders that are helping feed the world, to the popular seedless watermelon that is licensed to industry and generating a lot of royalty revenue for ISU. But if I have to pick one favorite discovery from Iowa State, it will be American Blue Cheese (only because I am a dairy scientist by training!). Following Iowa State’s long-standing tradition of collaborative research, ISU Dairy microbiologists Clarence Lane and Bernard Hammer partnered with an Iowa company – Maytag Dairy Farms – to develop a method for making blue-veined cheese using homogenized cow milk rather than traditional sheep milk. This award-winning blue cheese has been produced continuously by Maytag since 1941.”

Dianah can help with: Guidance, information, and education for faculty and students to ensure the highest ethical standards for research are upheld; answers to questions about Federal and ISU policies for research misconduct; and investigating and addressing allegations of research misconduct.