Elsie Effah
Kaufmann, PhD (PREDISENT)
Biomedical Engineering Department-University of Ghana, Accra
Dr. Elsie Effah
Kaufmann is a Senior Lecturer and the Head of the Department of
Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana. She holds a Bachelor of
Science in Engineering (BSE), a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)
and a PhD in Bioengineering, all from the University of Pennsylvania.
After her graduate studies she received her postdoctoral training at
Rutgers University before joining the University of Ghana in June,
2001.
Dr. Effah Kaufmann was a member of
the Planning Committee set up by the Academic Board of the University
of Ghana to make proposals for establishing the Faculty of Engineering
Sciences and was also a member of the three-person Implementation
Committee set up by the Vice Chancellor following the submission and
adoption of the Planning Committee’s report. She was
appointed as the first Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering
in 2006. Dr. Effah Kaufmann’s teaching and research focus on
Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials and Application of Biomedical
Engineering concepts to the solution of problems in the Ghanaian
context. She is also keenly interested in Science education at all
levels and has been the Host/ Quiz Mistress of the Ghana National
Science & Mathematics Quiz TV Programme since 2006.
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Akwasi Ayanful, PhD
(Vice PREDISENT)
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Emory University in Atlanta
Dr. Anyanful is
currently an Instructor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory
Medicine, Emory University in Atlanta. His main area of interest is to
elucidate the virulence mechanisms of Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC)
and host response mechanisms using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
(C. elegans). EPEC kills 2 million children in developing countries
every year through diarrhoea and dehydration.
Dr. Anyanful has developed a C.
elegans:EPEC model to understand the pathogenicity of Enteropathogenic
E. coli and Enterohaemmorhagic E. coli (EHEC). Previously, the only
other models for study were humans, horses, dogs and rabbits making
EPEC research a laborious process. This model has increased our
knowledge on virulence mechanisms utilized by the bacteria and host
mechanisms that determines susceptibility and resistance to infection.
Since 2005, this model has secured over 1 million dollars funding and
data from this work has been published in two peer-reviewed manuscripts
with two more pending. Dr. Anyanful’s initial Postdoctoral
training focused on understanding how tissue-specific alternative
pre-mRNA splicing of the unc-60 gene is regulated by the RNA binding
protein sup-12 in the muscle cells of C. elegans. He was able to
successfully secure a Postdoctoral grant from the American Heart
Association to support this work. Data from this work was published in
a peer-reviewed manuscript.
For his PhD, Dr. Anyanful’s research focused on
identification and characterization of the third and fourth tropomyosin
isoforms and elucidating its regulatory transcription factors in C.
elegans. Data from this work was published in two peer-reviewed
manuscripts. Dr. Anyanful has mentored several Undergraduates and two
Graduate Students at Emory University. He also served as a Teaching
Assistant at the University of Ghana Medical School for Second year
medical Students and at Okayama University for third and fourth year
Biological Science students. He worked as a Senior Research Assistant
at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and as a
Laboratory Technician at the Cocoa Clinic Hospital laboratory. Dr.
Anyanful has authored/co-authored 8 scientific articles and has made
several presentations both oral and posters at several international
Scientific meetings. He also authored two Advanced Level pamphlets in
Organic and Inorganic Chemistry. Dr. Anyanful’s ultimate goal
is to establish the first C. elegans laboratory in Ghana and Africa by
the year 2012 for biomedical research.
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 Samuel
Kojo Kwofie, MSc,
PGCE Cum Laude (Secretary)
South African National Bioinformatics Institute, UWC. Cape Town
Samuel is
currently a registered PhD student in Bioinformatics at the South
African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western
Cape (UWC). He is a part-time Lecturer and Researcher at the
School of Science and Mathematics Education. His MSc in Structural
Biology was jointly awarded by the University of Cape Town and UWC. He
also earned a PGCE Cum Laude from UWC.
He obtained a BSc Biochemistry
(Hons.) degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology in Ghana. Samuel has previously worked as Marketing and
Research Manager at Kinapharma Limited in Accra. His current area of
research involves development of Hepatitis C Virus knowledgebases and
computational drug design.
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Peter Agbekoh, MRES
(TREASURER)
Assistant Lecturer, Biomedical Engineering Department, University of
Ghana, Legon
Currently an
Assistant Lecturer in the Biomedical Engineering Department, University
of Ghana, Legon. Obtained a BSc. (Hons) from the University of Ghana in
2005. In 2008, awarded an MRes degree in Biomedical Science from the
University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Current interest lies in
biotechnology and hopes to pursue further studies in a
multidisciplinary field which combines principles of engineering and
the understanding of human physiological processes.
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 Prof.
Winfried Amoaku, FRCS, FRCOphth, PhD, (Past President and Director)
University of Nottingham. UK
Mr Winfried Amoaku
is Associate Professor/Reader and Hon Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon,
with subspecialty interest in medical retinal diseases at the
University Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. He
undertook his basic medical training in the University of Ghana Medical
School, Korle Bu, after which he proceeded to UK for his postgraduate
specialisation.
Most of this training was in the
Royal
Victoria Hospital, Belfast and associated hospitals in Northern
Ireland, and subsequently in Birmingham, and Leeds. He undertook a
fellowship in Ghent, Belgium. His main research interests are ocular
wound healing, pathogenesis and therapies of macular diseases including
age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal
vein occlusions. He is local principal investigator in clinical trials.
He is Vice President, and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of The
Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK and chairs the AMD Service
Provisions Subcommittee which is evaluating and advising on the
introduction of anti-VEGF treatments and their impact on ophthalmic
services in the UK. He is also Chairman of the VISION 2020 UK Macular
Group.
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Prof. George
Acquaah-Mensah, Ph.D (PAST PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR)
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. USA
George K. Acquaah-Mensah is currently an Associate Professor of the
Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences. He obtained a B.Pharm.(Hons.) degree from the
University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He earned his Ph.D. from
the University of Texas at Austin, under the mentorship of Drs. James
P. Kehrer and Steven W. Leslie in the Division of Pharmacology and
Toxicology.
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For his
post-doctoral training, Dr. Acquaah-Mensah worked through 2004 with Dr.
Lawrence E. Hunter at the Center for Computational Pharmacology at the
University of Colorado's School of Medicine. His research interests
include the study of mechanisms of oxidative stress, transcriptional
regulation in disease, and of ethanol neurotoxicity. In addition to
molecular techniques, Dr. Acquaah-Mensah uses computational tools, such
as machine learning and a variety of computational algorithms, to
elucidate and predict aspects of drug action and toxicity. He currently
teaches pharmacokinetics, biopharmaceutics, and pharmacogenomics in an
accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program.
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Prof. Karen A. Duca, PhD
(DIRECTOR)
Dept. of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Science
& Technology. Kumasi
Karen A. Duca has a PhD in the Biomedical Sciences and is currently an
Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. She
is also an affiliate Research Associate Professor at the Department of
Biomed Sciences and Pathobiology at VA-MD College of Veterinary
Medicine, USA
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Prof. Duca is currently involved in
diverse research such as IP policy formulation and tertiary educational
curriculum development. She is also researching on tropical diseases
such as malaria and her specialty involves the usage of computational
systems biology applications.
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| Solomon
F Ofori-Acquah,
PhD
(DIRECTOR)
Director, Center for Endothelial Biology, Department of Pediatrics,
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA 30322
USA
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Peter Atadja, Ph.D
(DIRECTOR)
Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research , USA
Born in Ghana, Peter Atadja received the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree
from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He then
proceeded to begin his postgraduate studies at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, Israel, where he made seminal contributions to the
pioneering work of his mentors Professors Alex Levitzki and Michael
Chorev in the designing and developing of first-generation tyrosine
kinase inhibitors (Tyrphostins) for anti-cancer therapy.
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His work on Tyrphostins which are
currently available commercially as Research Lead tools was recognized
with a M.Sc (Magna Cum Laude in Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
) and the Hebrew University's Michael Sherwood Prize for graduate
research. Peter Atadja continued his graduate studies and obtained a
Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Oncology from the University of
Calgary, Canada, where his research yielded important fundamental
observations in molecular mechanisms of aging and their linkage with
cancer development. His doctoral dissertation was also nominated for
two prestigious Canadian research awards (the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Award and the Canadian Graduate Research Award).
In 1997, he joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey to work on
their efforts to develop drugs that target epigenetic mechanisms for
anti-cancer therapy.
Through his work at Novartis, Peter Atadja, is currently an
internationally acknowledged research expert and pioneer in the
therapeutic targeting of histone deacetylase (HDAC), a promising
approach in treatment of cancer and other diseases. His leadership of
anti-cancer drug development in this area has resulted in several novel
scaffolds, an important patent estate and ultimately two compounds that
are undergoing clinical evaluation. The most advanced anti-cancer drug
discovered by Dr. Atadja, LBH589, is currently in pivotal clinical
trials for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), with USFDA
submission expected in 2009. In clinical trials, LBH589 (INN:
Panobinostat) produced dramatic complete and partial remissions in
CTCL, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, prostate and
breast cancers. Dr. Atadja’s work is also opening up
opportunities for treatments in disease areas such as cardiac
hypertrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, neurodegeneration, transplant
rejection, etc. In recognition of his innovative and groundbreaking
discoveries resulting in substantive advances in the treatment cancer,
Novartis conferred one of its highest titles in drug discovery and
Development “The Novartis Leading Scientist” on Dr
Peter Atadja for the year 2008.
Peter Atadja has published more than 60 peer-reviewed original
articles, a number of invited reviews and book chapters, as well as
hundreds of meeting abstracts and presentations. Peter is married to
Cynthia and is blessed with three "daughters of Africa" Makafui (16),
Aseye (14) and Nuna (12).
Three Major Academic and/or Professional Achievements: (1) Pioneered
and led Anti-cancer drug research in histone deacetylases from
therapeutic target validation through drug candidate selection and
preclinical development, resulting in two clinical investigative drugs
(LAQ824 and LBH589) which are demonstrating clinical remissions in
multiple cancer types. (2) Designed, synthesized and characterized
bisubstrate analogs of the earliest tyrosine kinase inhibitors
Tyrphostins which are currently commercially available as research
reagents and therapeutic lead compounds. (3) 2008 recipient of
Novartis’ highest Award for Vision, Innovation, Value and
Achievement in Drug Discovery and Development. The title
“Novartis Leading Scientist” bestowed.
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Prof. Martin Safo, Ph.D.
(DIRECTOR)
Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Martin K. Safo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicinal
Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. He
earned his PhD from The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA,
and his BS from the University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
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His
research interest centers on rational development of drugs for
diseases, with special emphasis on therapeutic agents to treat sickle
cell disease and cancers. The research in sickle cell disease
has culminated in the discovery of a non-toxic but the most potent
antisickling agent, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5HMF). He is the author
of two patents for 5HMF and its derivatives. 5HMF is currently licensed
to AesRx Inc. for further development. Dr. Safo is also actively
conducting research to elucidate the structure and function of two
vitamin B6 salvage enzymes involved in vitamin B6 metabolism and
regulation. This area is exciting as emerging studies suggest that
several neurological disorders, including autism,
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia,
etc, as well as neurotoxic side effects of several drugs could be due
to vitamin B6 deficiency. Dr. Safo is the author of over 60
peer-reviewed publications, as well as several book chapters, abstracts
and patents.
He teaches medicinal chemistry, biochemistry and pharmaceutical
analysis courses to undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
He is also the manager of The Institute for Structural Biology and Drug
Discovery X-ray Crystallography Core Facility. He has served on a
number of Special Review Study Sections at the National Institute for
Health, USA. He has also served as a reviewer for several
internationally recognized journals, including Journal of Biological
Chemistry, Biochemistry, PNAS, Proteins, Journal of Medicinal
Chemistry, Journal of Molecular Biology, Journal of Bacteriology, etc.
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Kwabena O. Duedu, MPhil
(Student Director)
University of Ghana Medical School, Accra
Kwabena Obeng
Duedu is currently a postgraduate student at the Department of
Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) reading MPhil
in Microbiology. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Medical
Laboratory Science-Microbiology from the University of Ghana. His
interest is in pathogenesis and host-pathogen &
pathogen-pathogen interactions. His masters research is on the
contribution of human parvovirus B19 and malaria to severe anaemia. He
is also a member of the Tropical Diseases Group (TDG) of the Department
of Microbiology, UGMS.
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Kevin Kofi
Adutwum-Ofosu, MPhil (Past TREASURER)
University of Ghana Medical School, Accra
Kevin
Adutwum-Ofosu has since March 2004 been a Lecturer in Anatomy at
the University of Ghana Medical School. He obtained a BSc. (Hons)
Biology and a Diploma in Education from the Uiversity of Cape in Ghana
in 1998. In 2003 he earned an MPhil. Degree in Anatomy from the
University of Ghana. Kevin begins his pursuit of a PhD. Degree in
Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in
September 2009.
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Pearl Ashitey (Past
Director,
Student Member)
Biomedical Engineering Department-University of Ghana, Accra,
Pearl ashitey had her tertiary education at the university of ghana,
legon where she offered biomedical engineering. Her areas of interest
include biomaterials,tissue engineering and biotechnology.
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While in school, she had the
opportunity to serve as the secretary of the national society of black
engineers(nsbe- legon chapter) as well as serve on a number of
commitees including the programs and events commitee of the Purpose
group network. Curently she is a member of the local organising
commitee of the Ghana biomedical
convention 2009 and the student board member of the Ghana biomedical
convention
2008/09.
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