Connecting Minds Africa 2019 · 2019-09-24 · 5 Connecting Minds Africa 2019 is organized by the...

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Connecting Minds Africa 2019‘For the Africa we want’

25-27th September 2019, Nairobi

Connecting Minds Africa 2019‘For the Africa we want’

#ConnectingMinds

aasciences | www.aasciences.ac.ke

AddressesConference VenueThe World Agroforestry CentreICRAF Road, Off UN Avenue, next to the United Nations Offices in Nairobi, GigiriNairobi, KenyaContact: Eva Kiragu [email protected]

AccommodationThe Trademark & Tribe HotelsThe Village MarketUN Crescent, GigiriNairobi, KenyaContact: Janet Kariuki [email protected]

Partners

Steering Committee

Consent: Without expectation of compensation, royalties or other remuneration, now or in the future, by participating in this conference, you give your consent to the African Academy of Sciences, its affiliates and agents, to use your image and likeness and/or any interview statements from you in its publications, advertising or other media activities (including the internet).

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Table of Contents

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Foreword .................................................................................................................. 4

Connecting Minds Africa ........................................................................................ 5

Programme .............................................................................................................. 6

Participants .............................................................................................................. 13

The Steering Committee ............................................................................................. 13

Hosts ......................................................................................................................... 16

Speakers .................................................................................................................... 18

Panellists .................................................................................................................... 21

Research Spotlights ................................................................................................... 24

Posters ....................................................................................................................... 42

Walking Minds.......................................................................................................... 56

Well-being at Connecting Minds ............................................................................ 57

Connecting Minds Gateway ................................................................................... 58

The AAS Rising Research Leaders in Numbers ................................................... 59

Partners .................................................................................................................... 62

Steering Committee ................................................................................................ 63

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ForewordThe projected surge in Africa’s population in less than three generations is predicted to result in 41% of the world’s youth being African. By 2050, Africa’s youth will constitute over a quarter of the world’s labour force. This presents real opportunities for a future African population that is younger, adaptable and open to endless possibilities particularly in science, technology and innovation.

As a continent we have not committed ourselves to many unsustainable pathways that other nations have taken in the past. Our ‘new challenge,’ is in harnessing innovations to ‘leapfrog’ Africa to economic transformation and a sustainable future. This will require radical thinking to bring each citizen to attain the Africa they want.

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) recognises the central role science plays in the development agendas of African countries. The AAS has made significant investment in Early Career Researchers (ECRs) as the future is theirs and as such, young African scientists need to lead the continent’s development agenda. Africa is already experiencing unprecedented growth in home-grown innovations and the opportunities made available by the rise of digital technology and talented innovative entrepreneurs, many of whom are Africa’s ECRs.

It is against this backdrop that the AAS and the Royal Society have partnered to host the very first meeting of Connecting Minds Africa. This meeting is about changing the voice and the dialogue on Africa’s development from challenges to opportunities and to a truly African voice. It is about science leading Africa’s leapfrog agenda whilst conscious of the unique cultural and social dynamics of our people, our places and our institutions. We are defining connecting as “joining or linking together to provide access and enable honest and authentic communication,” with the continent’s best minds in science.

The AAS and the Royal Society are delighted to connect with

other groups of African ECRs who share the vision to equip the younger generation for Africa’s future. We welcome our steering committee members from the Global Young Academy, the National Young Academies, the Next Einstein Forum, the World Academy of Sciences, and the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study. Together, these organisations have put together, what we hope, will be an exciting programme over the next two days and into the future.

We must stretch ourselves to the limits of our ability in discovery, innovation, knowledge and pursuit of excellence, and the quest for equity for without equity peace will always elude us. The task is great but together we will change the voice that speaks on these matters into a distinctly African voice.

I end with a quote from a truly visionary African leader in reference to an equally visionary African scientist and a founder fellow of the AAS:

“I remember the advice given to me by one of the international members of the Mission, Dr Thomas Odhiambo, head of the African Academy of Sciences, about how important our future investments are in the area of S&T and how many African countries are only now realizing that they would have been further along the path of economic development had they recognized, following independence, the importance of investments in this area. This lesson has not escaped our new government and indeed S&T is recognized as a major pillar of the Reconstruction and Development Programme.” - Nelson R. Mandela, September 19951

Judy Omumbo, FAASProgramme Manager, Affiliates and Postdoctoral ProgrammesThe African Academy of Sciences

1 Building a New South Africa: Volume 3 Science and Technology Policy: A Report from the Mission on Science and Technology Policy for a Democratic South Africa. With a fore-word by Nelson Mandela and an Afterword David Kaplan. Edited by Marc Van Ameringen. International Development Research Centre, (IDRC) 2014 M05 14 - 109 pages

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Connecting Minds Africa 2019 is organized by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in collaboration with the Royal Society of London, it is a transdisciplinary scientific and networking conference that convenes African young scholars to share their research and provides them with a platform to connect, inspire, motivate and build mutually supportive networks that will enable them to contribute to the development of science that addresses Africa’s needs.

The conference is organised on the premise that if Africa is to achieve its aspirations for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, as envisioned in Agenda 2063 then investing in emerging research leaders who are advancing science, technology and innovation (STI) becomes paramount. Such investments should not only focus on increasing the number of emerging research leaders but also on alleviating challenges that hinder progress in the STI landscape.

The conference goals are:

1) Provide a platform for young scholars to share their scientific work in a way that provokes interdisciplinary engagement in line with Africa’s development agenda;

2) Forge connections amongst young scholars across disciplines and countries in order to unlock necessary resources for their career development.

The conference will involve high-level presentations of excellent science from across all disciplines and provide platforms for sharing experiences and skills on research capacity strengthening models such as leadership, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaborations, and networking.

Connecting Minds Africa

The outcome of this conference will be a vibrant community of young scholars

committed to brokering connections that enhance their career progression, while also

accelerating their contribution to Africa’s strategy for research and development.

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Time Session

0600 Breakfast at hotels

0745 Buses depart from hotelsOptional walking to conference venue

0830 – 0900 Registration

0900 – 0945 Session 1: Welcome Remarks & Setting the Scene | Venue: Main Conference Room

Judy Omumbo, The AAS Kevin Marsh, The AAS Natasha Bevan, Royal Society Tom Kariuki, The AAS Nelson Torto, The AASElly Sabiiti, Vice President for Eastern Africa, The AAS

0945 – 1015

1015 – 1045

Session 2: Opening Keynote Speech - The Africa we want | Venue: Main Conference Room

SpeakerConnie Nshemereirwe, the Global Young Academy

Round table discussions - Participants define the challenges facing Africa where research can make a major contribution. Each table lists in order of priority, posts on a board. Issues analyzed and shared at end of day.

1045 – 1130 Coffee Break & Group Photo

Day 1: Wednesday 25 September 2019

Conference Programme

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Time Session

1130 – 1200

1200 – 1230

1230 – 1300

Session 3: Keynote Speech - Africa in the fourth industrial revolution | Venue: Main Conference Room Moderator: Margareth Tadie, FLAIR Fellow

Speaker:Vukosi Marivate, University of Pretoria

Fellows Panel 3.1 Kwawu Caroline Rosemyya, Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTopic: Computational Chemistry: A Powerful Predictive Tool in Chemical and Materials Research

Assane Gueye, Next Einstein Fellow Topic: An Opportunistic Communication and Computing Infrastructure for End-2-End Support to Agriculture in Rural Africa

Wesley Doorsamy, AAS Affiliate Topic: Exploring the Issue of Skills Development in South Africa in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Question & Answer session with the Keynote speaker & panelists

1300 – 1430 Lunch & Poster Session I Moderator: Sifiso Musa Nkambule & Temitope Sogbanmu Venue: Exhibition Area

1430 – 1530 Session 4: Parallel Sessions

Session 4.1Venue: Main Conference Room

7 Research spotlights followed by a Q&A

Facilitator: Nkatha Kabira, STIAS Iso Lomso Fellow

Session 4.2 Venue: ICRAF Boardroom


Facilitator: Anderson Kehbila, CR4D Grantee

Session 4.3 Venue: Lundgren Auditorium


Facilitator: Veron Ramsuran, FLAIR Fellow

1530 – 1600 Tea/Coffee Break

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Time Session

1600 – 1630

1630 – 1700

1700 – 1730

Session 5: Keynote Speech: The Health Research in Africa – leading towards impact Main Conference Room

Moderator: Christoff Pauw

SpeakerCatherine Kyobutungi, AAS Fellow

Fellows Panel 5.1

Natisha Dukhi, AAS Affiliate Topic: A Pilot Study using a tailored m-Health program to improve outcomes in teenage pregnancy

Archana Bhaw-Luximon, TWAS Young Affiliate Topic: Nanotechnology in Health

Alpha Kabinet Keita, Next Eistein FellowTopic: Large serological and molecular survey of Ebola viruses in a wide diversity of frugivorous and insectivorous bat species in Guinea


1900 – 2100 Dinner at hotels

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Day 2: Thursday 26 September 2019

Time Session

0600 Running groupBreakfast at hotels

0800 Buses depart from hotelsOptional walking to conference venue

0900 – 0930

0930 – 1000

1000 – 1030

Session 6: Keynote Speech - The Future of Land, Water and Environment in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Generation of African Leaders and Scientists

Venue: Main Conference room

Moderator: Esther Kunda, Next Einstein Forum

SpeakerCosmas Ochieng, the African Development Bank

Fellows Panel 6.1 Jessica Thorn, CR4D GranteeTopic: Synergies and tradeoffs of green urban infrastructure for climate adaptation in peri-urban settlements

Oluwaseyi Shorinola, FLAIR Fellow Topic: Does Africa have the (genetic) potential to attain self-sufficiency in wheat production?

Kabiri Stella, CR4D GranteeTopic: Plasma N2: Emissions saving through production of low-cost fertilizers using air as a raw material


1030 – 1100 Coffee Break | Venue: Exhibition Area

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Time Session


Session 7.1


Facilitator: Elieth Eyebiyi, Iso Lomso Fellow

Venue: Main Conference Room

Session 7.2


Facilitator: Frederick Adzitey, TWAS Young Affiliate

Venue: ICRAF Boardroom

Session 7.3


Facilitator: Vidushi S.N. Bhujun, The Global Young Academy

Venue: Lundgren Auditorium

1200 – 1300 Poster Session II Moderator: Venue: Exhibition Area

1300 – 1400 Lunch


Session 8.1


Facilitator: Richard M’bra, CR4D Grantee


Session 8.2


Facilitator: Rachael Taylor, The Royal Society


Session 8.3


Facilitator: Lahcen El-Youssfi, AAS Affiliate


1500 – 1540 Session 9: A dialogue on early career researchers’ professional development Moderator: Thumbi Mwangi

Speaker: Watu Wamae, Africa Oxford Initiative


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Time Session

1540 – 1600 Session 10: Reflections on Connecting MindsIntroduction to the reflective Walkshop & expectations

Moderators: Christoff Pauw & Grace MwauraVenue: Main Conference Room

1600 – 1615 Tea/Coffee Break

Venue: Exhibition Area

1615 – 1800 Session 11: Walking Minds (A Walkshop)Participants walk in small groups (2-4 pax) through Karura Forest reflecting on the two days guided by a set of questions. Feedback will be shared during dinner and on Day 3.

Moderators: Christoff Pauw & Grace Mwaura

Venue: Karura Forest

1900 – 2100 Dinner Reception (African theme)Venue: Trademark HotelFacilitators: Gift Mehlana & Rose Mutiso

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Day 3: 27 September 2019

Time Session0600 Breakfast at hotels

0745 Buses depart from hotels Optional walking to conference venue

0830 – 1100 Session 12: Special Sessions

Session 12.1. The AAS Mentorship MasterclassGrace Mwaura, The AAS


Session 12.2: Science Diplomacy & Science AdviceStanley Maphosa, AssafPhylis Kalele, Assaf


Session 12.3: Strengthening National Young AcademiesKholani Mbhiza, TWASConnie Nshemereirwe, GYA


1100 – 1130 Coffee Break | Venue: Exhibition Area

1130 – 1200 Session 13: Reflections on day one and day two Moderators: Edward Kirumira & Connie Nshemereirwe Venue: Main Conference Room

1200 – 1300 Session 14: Closing CeremonyModerator: Judy Omumbo, The AAS

Closing Keynote Speech: The Future of Africa Funmi Olonisakin, King’s College London

Closing Remarks:Nelson Torto, The AAS


1300 – 1400 Lunch and departures

1400 – 1700 Session 15: Special Sessions

Session 15.1 AAS Affiliates Annual Meeting

AAS Affiliates Only


Session 15.2 FLAIR Session

FLAIR Fellows only


Session 15.3 Open Space


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HostsElly SabiitiThe African Academy of Sciences

Elly is the Vice President for Eastern Africa at the AAS. He obtained his MSc in 1980 from Makerere University (Uganda) and PhD in 1985 from the University of New Brunswick (Canada). He then joined Makerere University and rose through the ranks to become full professor in 1998. His research interests include agricultural sciences, livestock farming and sustainable rangeland management. He has served as member of the Advisory Committee for the Pastoral Information Network Programmes. He has several national, regional and international awards and recognitions and has published 100 articles.

Nelson TortoThe African Academy of Sciences

Nelson is the Executive Director at the AAS. Under his leadership, the goals of the AAS are to promote partnerships, mobilise the African scientific community, lead science advocacy efforts and ensure research findings are incorporated into policymaking. He is a Fellow of The African Academy of Sciences, the Botswana Academy of Sciences and of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). He has a PhD in analytical chemistry from Lund University in Sweden, MSc from the University of Botswana and a BSc (Hons) Chemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in the United Kingdom. He is a recipient of several international awards and has served in various capacities in African and international networks and organizations.

Natasha BevanThe Royal Society, UK

Natasha is the Head of International Grants at the Royal Society, the UK national academy of science. She oversees the direction and delivery of the organisation’s international research funding programmes and partnerships including for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. She has worked on numerous early career researcher programmes over the past 18 years including while working at the British Academy, UK National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Tom KariukiThe African Academy of Sciences

Tom is the Director of Programmes at the AAS. An internationally recognised immunologist, Kariuki leads the Academy’s programmatic activities to accelerate world-class research, foster innovation, and promote scientific leadership on the continent. He oversees the funding of research and development and commercialisation of novel, high-impact STI solutions for the continent. He is cultivating strategic partnerships with academic institutions, governments and industry globally to transform Africa’s future through science-led, knowledge-based economies.

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The Steering Committee

Judy OmumboThe African Academy of Sciences

Judy joined the AAS in May 2018 as Programme Manager for the Affiliates and Postdoctoral programmes. She has over 20 years of experience in epidemiologic research focusing on data-driven decision making for disease control programmes in Africa. She has also consulted extensively and published research on climate, vector-borne diseases, and health and serves on several global and African panels that advise African governments on climate policy. She is a Fellow of the AAS and holds a PhD in Epidemiology and a Master’s in Public Health.

Kevin MarshThe African Academy of Sciences

Kevin is a malariologist who has spent 30 years in Africa conducting research. He was Director of the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, for 25 years until 2014 when he joined the AAS as a senior advisor. He is a Fellow of the AAS, the Academy of Medical Sciences and was awarded the Prince Mahidol prize for medicine in 2010 and the Al Sumait Prize for African Development in 2015.

Grace MwauraThe African Academy of Sciences

Grace is the Fellows and Affiliates Manager whose role includes providing a strategic direction for the linkages between the excellence mandate and the science and thinktank mandates of the AAS. She leads the development, coordination, implementation and monitoring of Fellows and Affiliates initiatives in capacity building, research and innovation, and in policy influencing. She is also the coordinator of the AAS Mentorship Scheme. Grace completed a Geography and Environment PhD from Oxford University.

Obed OgegaThe African Academy of Sciences

Obed joined the AAS in May 2017 as Programme Officer for the Post-doctoral Fellowships Programme. As a climate scientist, Ogega’s work and research interests focus on sustainable development in the phase of global warming and climate change. Out of office, Ogega is an award-winning photographer keen on highlighting environmental challenges and promoting environmental conservation. He holds an MSc in Climate Change Adaptation and is a PhD candidate in the same field.

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Juliette Mutheu-AsegoThe African Academy of Sciences

Juliette is the Head of Communications and PR at the AAS. She leads the development of an engaging and compelling AAS brand in Africa. Juliette holds a Master’s in Science Communication from Imperial College London and an honours and bachelor’s in biomedical sciences from Monash University Australia. She has a background in osteoarthritis and malaria research and is a creative at heart, passionate about development and science communication in Africa.

Eva W. KiraguThe African Academy of Sciences

Eva joined the AAS in November 2018 as Programme Officer of Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR). She has over 10 years’ experience in program management and grants support in various fields including agriculture and population health research. Eva holds certificates in Project Management for Development Professionals (2016), USAID Rules and Regulations for Grants and Cooperative Agreements (2014), MSc in Population Studies (2006) and BSc in Mathematics and Chemistry (2004).

Edward KirumiraStellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)

Edward is a sociologist with expertise in population and international health issues and has extensive experience in Higher Education Institutions building, programme development and impact evaluation in several African countries. Until 2018, he was Principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Makerere University in Uganda. He studied at the universities of Makerere, Exeter, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Copenhagen and Harvard.

Esther KundaThe Next Einstein Forum (NEF)

Esther is the NEF’s Policy, Innovation and Community of Scientists Manager. She manages the development of the NEF policy initiatives and works closely with the NEF Community of Scientists on various programmes including ensuring a successful NEF Africa Science. She also provides support for the Scientific African, the NEF journal. She has experience in product development, business strategy and innovation. Esther holds a M.SC in IT from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Kholani MbhizaTWAS-SAREP Secretariat

Kholani is a Liaison Officer at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) under the International Liaison sub-programme called African Collaborations which facilitate ASSAf’s relations with other academies and organisations in the system of innovation. He also coordinates the activities of TWAS-SAREP and advocates for the inclusion of emerging scientists in policy dialogues. He is an alumnus of the international training workshops on science diplomacy and science advice.

Connie NshemereirweGlobal Young Academy

Connie is an independent science and policy facilitator, acting at the science-policy interface as a trainer, writer and speaker. She is the current Co-Chair of the Global Young Academy, and also a member of the Steering Committee of the Africa Science Leadership Programme based at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Her undergraduate studies were in Civil Engineering, but her current expertise is in higher education quality.

Stanley MaphosaAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)

Stanley is the International and National Liaison Manager of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He leads and oversees Strategic Partnerships, Overseas Collaborations, African Collaborations, Gender in Science Technology and Innovation as well as Young Scientist Liaison. Stanley is TWAS Africa Coordinator. His work covers 43 countries of Africa where he works with fellows and affiliates to advance science, technology and innovation nationally, regionally and globally.

Christoff PauwStellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)

Christoff is the Programme Manager of STIAS, the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, a high-level research institute dedicated to innovative thinking, the production of new knowledge and the nurturing of emerging leaders. Pauw previously worked for the international office and the research office of Stellenbosch University where he supported African academic networking. He obtained a PhD (Theology) at the VU University Amsterdam (2007) and an MA (Philosophy) at Stellenbosch University (2002).

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AAS Fellows (FAAS) Title Name Field Affiliation Prof Zeyaur R. Khan Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and EcologyProf Baldwyn Torto Chemical Sciences icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Prof Sam Kariuki Medical and Health Sciences Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)Prof Fred Otieno Engineering, Technology and Applied

Sciences Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology

Prof Fred Wangatii Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences Founding Fellow, The AASDr Kawango Agot Medical and Health Sciences Impact Research and Development Organisation (IRDO)Prof Catherine Ngila Chemical Sciences Morendat Institute of Oil & Gas

Prof Rosemary Sang Medical and Health Sciences Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)Prof Godwin Kowero Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences African Forest Forum (AFF)

Prof Akintayo Adedoyin Geological, Environmental, Earth and Space Sciences

University of Botswana

Prof Catherine Ngila Chemical Sciences University of Johannesburg Dr Assan Jaye Medical and Health Sciences Medical Research Council, The Gambia Prof Eleanor N. Fish Medical and Health Sciences University of Toronto Dr Nabila Bouatia-Naji Medical and Health Sciences INSERMProf Kevin Marsh Medical and Health Sciences The African Academy of SciencesProf Nelson Torto Chemical Sciences The African Academy of SciencesProf Tom Kariuki Biosciences The African Academy of SciencesDr Judy Omumbo Medical and Health Sciences The African Academy of Sciences

MentorsTitle Name Country AffiliationProf Tony Danso-Appiah Ghana University of GhanaProf Charl Faul United Kingdom University of BristolDr Mulongo Musa Kenya International Research and Development Centre (IDRC)Dr Nellie Myburgh South Africa Wits Health ConsortiumProf Samantha Sampson South Africa Stellenbosch University Prof Samuel Igbatayo Nigeria Afe Babalola University Ms Renata Schaeffer United Kingdom University of Cambridge

Prof Michael Gatari Kenya University of Nairobi

Prof Vish Nene Kenya International Livestock Research Institute

Prof Daniel Masiga Kenya icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

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Connie NshemereirweGlobal Young AcademySpeech title: The Africa we want

(See Steering Committee for Bio)

Vukosi MarivateUniversity of PretoriaSpeech title: Africa in the fourth industrial revolution

Vukosi based at the University of Pretoria is the ABSA Chair of Data Science. A large part of his work over the last few years has been in the intersection of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (due to the abundance of text data and need to extract insights). Vukosi is a founder of the Deep Learning Indaba, the largest Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence workshop on the African continent.

Catherine KyobutungiAfrican Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)/AAS FellowSpeech title: The Health of Africa

Catherine is the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Makerere University, a Master of Science in Community Health and Health Management and a PhD in Epidemiology both from Ruprecht-Karls-University (Germany). At the APHRC, she has spearheaded the development of a research programme on addressing the linkages in the continuum of NCD risk reduction.

Speakers

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Cosmas OchiengAfrican Development BankSpeech Title: The Future of Land, Water and Environment in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Generation of African Leaders and Scientists

Cosmas, a citizen of Kenya, is currently the Director, African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. He is a scholar and practitioner of African development, with a specific focus on natural resource management, agricultural development, green economy, climate change, and science, technology and innovation policy. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies from Oxford University, a master’s in development studies from Cambridge University and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University.

Funmi OlonisakinKing’s College LondonSpeech title: The Future of Africa

Funmi is Vice-Principal International and Professor of Security, Leadership & Development at King’s College London. She has been founding Director of the African Leadership centre (ALC). She is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Group of Experts for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security and a member of the International Advisory Council of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute.

Watu WamaeAfrica Oxford InitiativeSpeech Title: A dialogue on early career researchers’ professional development

Watu (PhD) is a senior social scientist with practical understanding of network coordination and the role of networks in supporting research capabilities in both Africa and Europe. With over 15 years of experience in a wide range of research and policymaking environments, Watu has substantive expertise in the dynamics of structural change in African economies, and a rich understanding of the mechanisms through which research is channelled into decision-making processes. Currently, she is Research Engagement Manager at the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx), University of Oxford.

Phyllis KaleleAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Science Diplomacy and Science Advice Workshop

Phyllis heads the African Collaboration Sub-programme at the Academy of Science of South Africa. She is also the Africa regional coordinator for Gender in Science Innovation Technology and Engineering (GenderInSITE), an international initiative that promotes the role of women in SITE. Phyllis holds a BSc. in Botany and Zoology, MSc. in Environmental Sciences and is currently studying towards a PhD in Science and Technology Studies..

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Grace MwauraThe African Academy of SciencesThe AAS Mentorship Masterclass


Kholani MbhizaAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Strengthening National Young Academies


Stanley MaphosaAcademy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Science Diplomacy and Science Advice Workshop


Rachael TaylorThe Royal Society, UK

Rachael is the Programme Manager for the Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowships Programme at the Royal Society, London. Prior to this role she has worked in research and project management for several organisations, including academic, non-governmental organisations, and research consultancies in West Africa and the UK. She has a background in research in environmental sciences in Africa, particularly focusing on agriculture and adaptation.

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PanellistsPanel 3.1

Caroline Rosemyya KwawuRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral Fellow Title: Computational Chemistry: A Powerful Predictive Tool in Chemical and Materials Research

Caroline is a postdoctoral student under the Leverhulme grant and a staff of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. She holds a PhD in computational materials chemistry. Her current research is focused on finding alternative efficient renewable energy sources. She mainly contributes to designing heterogeneous catalysts for chemical energy conversion to electricity.

Assane GueyeNext Einstein ForumTitle: An opportunistic communication and computing infrastructure for end-2-end support to agriculture in rural Africa

Assane is an Assistant Professor with the University Alioune Diop of Bambey (UADB), Senegal and a Guest Researcher at NIST. He leads the ICT for Development research group at UADB. His research also includes security, resilience, and performance of large-scale systems. Assane is a Fellow of the Next Einstein Forum (class of 2016) and a member of the European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) inaugural Fellow Class.

Wesley DoorsamyAAS Affiliate Title: Exploring the Issue of Skills Development in South Africa in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Wesley completed his MSc in Engineering in one year and his PhD in two years at the University of Witwatersrand, and the postgraduate diploma in education (with distinction). He is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, and a full member of the IEEE and SAIEE. His area of research is in machine learning, pattern recognition and data analytics.

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Panel 5.1 Natisha DukhiAAS AffiliateTitle: A Pilot Study using a tailored m-Health programme to improve outcomes in teenage pregnancy

Natisha is a Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council in the Department of Social Aspects of Public Health. Her niche research areas include Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health, Non-Communicable Diseases, m-Health, Artificial Intelligence in Health and Nutrition. In 2018, she was a recipient of the Gro Brundt-land Award for outstanding work in the field of public health and sustainable development.

Archana Bhaw-LuximonTWAS Young Affiliate AlumniTitle: Nanotechnology in Health

Archana leads the Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Nanotechnology Unit, Center for Biomedical and Biomate-rials Research, University of Mauritius. The main focus of the unit is on the use of biomaterials from land and marine resources to engineer nano-enabled scaffolds for tissue regeneration. The Unit is involved in the com-plete product development pipeline from biomaterials selection to scaffold conception to in vitro/in vivo testing and finally clinical trial.

Alpha Kabinet KeitaNext Einstein ForumTitle: Interdisciplinary collaboration: A strategy to improve the health status of populations through research

Alpha from Guinea holds a degree in Medicine. He obtained his Masters and PhD in Infectious Diseases in France. His PhD focused on the study of the epidemiology of Tropheryma whipplei. Currently, he is a Researcher at the Universities of Conakry and Montpellier at the TransVIHM research unit I. His work focuses on Ebola virus, in a global study in humans and wildlife in Guinea.

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Panel 8.1Jessica ThornClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Synergies and tradeoffs of green urban infrastructure for climate adaptation in peri-urban settlements

Jessica is a Namibian ecologist with a background in human geography and climate adaptation, with 13 years’ experience, travelling to 55 countries. She uses probabilistic social-ecological modelling and participatory scenario analysis to measure impacts of development on land use change. Jessica has been involved in various NSF, NERC, AU, NRF, DFID, CGAIR, IDRC, ESRC, and USAID funded projects. She completed her Post doctorate at Colorado State University and ETH Zurich.

Oluwaseyi ShorinolaFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Does Africa have the (genetic) potential to attain self-sufficiency in wheat production under a changing climate?

Oluwaseyi is a FLAIR Research fellow at the BecA-ILRI Hub, Kenya, where he is working on improving the wheat grown in East Africa for better yield, resistance to diseases and improved nutrient content. Before this, Oluwaseyi did his PhD and Postdoctoral research at the John Innes Centre, UK during which time he focused on finding genes controlling grain quality and root architecture for better nutrient uptake in wheat.

Stella Kabiri-MarialClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Emissions saving through production of low-cost Fertilizers using air as a raw material

Stella is a Senior Research Officer and Programme Leader for Technology Promotion and Outreach at Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development institute (MUZARDI), Uganda. She has a PhD from Wageningen University, an Msc. in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation from the University of Twente, the Netherlands and a BSc. in Agriculture from Makerere University, Uganda. Stella is currently a Post Doc fellow with African Academy of Sciences, CR4D 2019.

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Session 4.1

Abdon AtanganaAAS Affiliate Title: Africa’s contribution to fractional differential and integral operators: Theory, methods and applications

Abdon is a full professor at the University of Free State, Nigeria. He obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics from the University of Free State in 2013. He serves as reviewer of more than 200 international accredited journals. His research interests are methods and applications of partial and ordinary differential equations, fractional differential equations, perturbation methods, asymptotic methods, iterative methods, and groundwater modelling.

Kwadwo Akuffo AAS AffiliateKwadwo completed his Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree in 2011 at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and obtained his PhD in 2017 at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland. He was then appointed as a Lecturer at the Department of Optometry & Visual Science (KNUST) in 2018, and serves as a Supervisor for both undergraduate and doctoral research theses.

Amna Abdalla Mohammed KhalidNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Promising new approach to cancer therapy

Amna is vice-chair of NEF community of Scientist executive committee and NEF ambassador of Sudan. She obtained her PhD degree from Nanotechnology School at Trieste University, Italy. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Physics Department at Georg August University, Germany. Her researches focus on fundamental biophysical studies to better understand the regulation of various molecular motors which are considered good candidates for cancer biomarker and cancer therapies.

Research Spotlights

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Nicholas AmoakoRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTitle: Changing etkabliologies of acute febrile illness: the presence of dengue and Q fever in an era of declin-ing malaria in Ghana

Nicholas is a doctoral student from the University of Ghana and a research fellow at the Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana. He is part of the research team that is investigating alternative molecular mech-anisms for erythrocyte invasion of the Plasmodium parasite. His PhD work focuses on investigating the microbial etiology of acute febrile illness (AFIs) and identification of biomarkers of diseases and development of models to predict fever

Elieth EyebiyiSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: Decolonizing minds and thinking differently informality in African societies

Elieth holds PhDs in Sociology and Anthropology from University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) and in Urban Studies from INRS (Canada). A researcher at LASDEL Benin/Niger and IHA CREPOS Senegal, he has (co) authored several books and articles focusing on governance, development, migration and mobility in Global South. His current research is focused on informality and mobility patterns at borderlands in West Africa and decolonizing issues in higher education by promoting alternating thinking.

Augustino MayaiAfrica Oxford Initiative (AfOx) FellowTitle: Fuel subsidy in South Sudan: Was it helpful?

Augustino is the Director of Research at the Sudd Institute and an Assistant Professor at the University of Juba’s School of Public Service. He holds a PhD in Sociology, with concentrations on demography and development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently studies how state effectiveness affects child health outcomes in South Sudan and Ethiopia. He has written extensively on South Sudan’s current affairs.

Banothile MakhubelaFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Towards cost-effective catalytic processes for the production of biochemicals with fuel properties

Banothile is a Future Leaders African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellow in the Department of Chemical Sciences, Centre for Synthesis and Catalysis at the University of Johannesburg. She completed her PhD at the University of Cape Town in 2012, and her work focuses on catalyst design, synthesis and application in catalytic transformation of bio-based resources (such as (hemi) cellulose) and air pollutant molecules (like CO2, SO2 and NO2) into valuable products.

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Session 4.2

Barbara BurmenThe World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young AffiliateTitle: Data evaluation and CIPHER preparation for an HIV exposed uninfected child cohort collaboration

Barbara, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town, is a medical doctor, epidemiologist and public health specialist with over 15 years’ experience in HIV clinical, programmatic and research fields. Her interests in HIV and TB implementation science and mentorship have earned her international recognition awards. Her current research focuses on standardizing exposure and outcome definitions for children who are ‘HIV exposed and uninfected and ‘HIV unexposed and uninfected’.

Barimalala RondrotianaThe World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young AffiliateTitle: Effects of the topography of Madagascar on Southern African rainfall

Barimalala is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cape Town. She is a grantee of the CR4D Fellowship, focusing on climate resilience development for African islands. Barimalala received her PhD from a joint program between the International center for Theoretical Physics, the University of Trieste and Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a lead author for the IPCC 6th assessment report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science basis.

Beira MeressaAAS Affiliate Title: Phytoparasitic nematodes: a growing concern for agricultural productivity in Ethiopia

Beira is an Assistant Professor in Nematology at the College of Agriculture, Jimma University, Ethiopia. Beira holds a PhD in Agricultural Science (Nematology) from Bonn University, Germany; a joint MSc in Phytonem-atology from Gent University (Belgium), Evora University (Portugal), Jean University (Spain) and Bielefeld Uni-versity (Germany). He has an interest in teaching and research on the application of classical and molecular biology for the development of nematode management strategy.

Binyam MendisuGlobal Young Academy (GYA) memberTitle: The Role and contribution of scientific evidence and advice to transform a country at a crossroad: The case of Ethiopia

Binyam works as a program officer at UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) and as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Addis Ababa University. He is a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA), NEF ambassador, Secretary of the Ethiopian Young Academy of Sciences (EtYAS), 2019 INGSA Research Associate and a steering committee member and one of the facilitators of the African Science Leadership Program (ASLP).

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Cecil King’onduFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: End-to-end and side-by-side alignment of short octahedral molecular sieve (oms-2) nanorods into long microyarn superarchitectures and highly flexible membranes

Cecil holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Connecticut. His research focus on nanomaterials for energy storage/conversion and heterogeneous catalysis. He has made unique and seminal contribution to the field of nanomaterials and has published in several prestigious journals including Nature Communica-tions and Journal of American Chemical Society. Further, he has supervised a number of graduate students and won several international research grants including FLAIR grant.

Claudia GastrowSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: The Moral economy of materiality: demolition, property, and urban belonging in Luanda, Angola

Claudia is a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Johan-nesburg. Her work investigates political belonging, land, housing, financialisation, privatisation, state power and urbanism in southern and central Africa, with a focus on Angola and South Africa. She is an Iso Lomso fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies.

Dalia SaadThe World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young AffiliateTitle: Sustainable water management, “does gender matter?”

Dalia is a trained Environmental Chemist (PhD in Environmental Chemistry-Wits University, SA) with special interest in integrating sociological and gender dimensions into water research. She is a Visiting Researcher at the School of Chemistry, Wits University, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Gender Studies, UNISA, and a Visiting Scientist at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka.

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Session 4.3

Dorit HockmanFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Exploring the gene regulatory dynamics of the maturing human brain

Dorit did her undergraduate and MSc at the University of Cape Town (UCT). For her PhD at the University of Cambridge she explored the evolution and development of vertebrate hypoxia-sensitive cells. In 2013, Dorit joined Trinity College (Oxford) to perform research into neural crest evolution. Dorit is now a lecturer at UCT, where she explores gene regulation during human brain maturation, supported by a FLAIR Fellowship.

Elizabeth Von-KitiRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTitle: Effective treatment of inorganic pollutants from mine effluents using zeolitic materials synthesized from bauxite and kaolin

Elizabeth is an early career scientist with the Materials and Manufacturing Division of the CSIR-IIR Ghana having graduated with a PhD in Materials Science in 2016. Her research interest is in the synthesis and characterization of microporous materials for waste remediation and treatment of wastewater and currently a postdoc fellow on the Leverhulme Royal Society Africa. She has passion for mainstreaming gender issues in STEM.

Webster GumindogaNational Young Academy memberTitle: Managing floods related disasters in Southern Africa. Lessons after Cyclone Idai

Webster is a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe’s Civil Engineering Department. With the application of GIS and Remote Sensing, Webster’s research interests are in the areas of spatial and quantitative hydrology, water balance assessment and monitoring, climate and landuse impact assessment on water availability, flood modelling and risk assessment. Webster has over 35 scientific publications in the areas of water resources management.

Sifiso Musa NkambuleNext Einstein Forum (NEF) AmbassadorTitle: Studies of molecular collisions relevant for atmospheric surfaces

Sifiso is a Senior Lecturer in the department of Physics at the Uiveristy of Eswatini. He obtained His PhD degree in 2016 at Stockholm University in Sweden. His research interests are in the area of Molecular Physics. The main research focus is Molecular Collisions relevant to understanding planetary atmospheres. This is essential in understanding global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion

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Dyllon RandallFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: How recycling human urine can revolutionize sanitation

Dyllon trained as a Chemical Engineer, he currently leads a team that is looking at novel ways to recover value from wastewaters. Last year his team grew the World’s first bio brick from human urine. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Water Quality Engineering at the University of Cape Town and is passionate about the environment, sustainable sanitation processes and making a positive difference to Society.

Eniola BoluwaduroAfrica Oxford Initiative (AfOx) FellowTitle: Child and maternal mortality: public policy, medical infrastructure and cultural discourse in Southwestern Nigerian hospitals

Eniola is a Lecturer in the Department of English, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun state, Nigeria. She received a PhD in English Linguistics from the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Her research areas include medical conversation analysis, discourse analysis and pragmatics. In her PhD research, she has focused on interactional activities and (non) adherence in Doctor/Patient Interactions in Nigerian HIV Clinics. Her latest publication has appeared in Discourse and Communication.

Gift MehlanaFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Closing the loop on the carbon cycle

Gift is a FLAIR Research fellow at Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. His research focuses on the design and preparation of porous materials for carbon dioxide capture and conversion.

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Session 9.1

Harriet MpairweAAS AffiliateTitle: Asthma: Most common non-communicable chronic disease among children

Harriet is a clinician and epidemiologist based at the MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit. She has seven years’ post-doctoral research experience in conducting epidemiology studies, investigating why the risk of asthma (and allergies) is on the increase among children in urban areas of developing countries. Harriet has recently completed her Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship and is an affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences.

Ian Nyasha MutamiriNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: A machine-learning and big data approach to credit risk modelling for the microfinance industry

Ian is a seasoned Engineer (Electrical, ICT) and experienced data analyst with a keen interest in the appli-cation of machine learning in credit risk management for the micro-finance industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, as well as a Master of Philosophy degree in Engineering (ICT, mobile technologies). He is also the cofounder of the Purple Future Trust, whose aim is to help poor communities escape poverty through STEM education.

Ibrahim ZakariGlobal Young Academy (GYA) memberTitle: Reducing women and under-five children exposure to household air pollution in Niamey

Ibrahim has over 10 years of experience in e-commerce, government, and academia. He holds a PhD in Statistics from Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco and Lille 1 University, France, where he focused on high-dimensional penalized quantile regression. Ibrahim invented Tabtakey, a computer keyboard inte-grating a mathematical algorithm for searching dates in the Gregorian calendar. He is the inaugural Next Einstein Forum’s Ambassador in Niger.

Jahashi Saidi NzalawaheRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTitle: Development of an integrated community-based intervention for control of taenia multiceps coenuro-sis in small ruminants in Tanzania

Jahashi is a lecturer in Veterinary Parasitology under the Department of Veterinary Microbiology Parasitol-ogy and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. My research interest is on epidemiology of parasites of Veterinary and Medical importance that include trematodes (Fasciola, Paramphistomes, Schistosoma), cestodes (Taenia and Echinococcus) and ticks and vector borne disease of domesticated ruminants, dogs and cats.

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John GanleSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: When the “mad wo/man” becomes the bearer of truth: disability, power and protection against sexual and reproductive violence in Ghana

John is a lecturer at the School of Public Health, University of Ghana. He is a STIAS Iso Lomso Fellow (Stellenbosch University), Radcliff/Hardy Fellow (Harvard University), and a member of the Global Young Academy. He obtained his PhD (Public Health) from University of Oxford. His broad research interests are in women’s reproductive health, maternal and child health, healthcare equity, gender and health, and popula-tion and health in low-income settings.

Emile Rugamika ChimusaTWAS Young AffiliateTitle: Tantalizing dilemma in genetics risk from genome-wide association studies

Emile is a mathematical population geneticist. He is senior lecturer, leads a research group at University of Cape Town, with focus on unlocking large-scale genomics data in healthcare through computational/statistical methods to understand the genetics and environment architecture of genetic diseases. His group has interest in methodologies and developing tools to understand patterns of variation within and between species to address fundamental questions in biology, anthropology and genomics medicine.

Lenine LiebenbergFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) FellowTitle: Impact of semen on the immune environment of the female genital tract

Lenine, (PhD) is a scientist at the CAPRISA Mucosal Immunology Laboratory. Her combined training in medical virology, microbiology, genetics, and immunology contribute to the success of her research fo-cused on advancing the understanding of genital health and, specifically, the role of genital inflammation in enhancing HIV acquisition. Her HIV/STI prevention research is ultimately aimed at improving genital health and promoting the overall survival of young women.

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Session 9.2

Madaka TumboClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: The nexus approach to water–energy–food: an option for adaptation to climate change

Madaka has more than fifteen years of experience in research and consulting in water resources assess-ments and management, Environmental Assessments hydrological modeling, climate change impact assessments and adaptation. For the past five years, she has been coordinating the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) funded by the International Development Research Centre IDRC-Canada (www.accfp.org). Currently, she is the Co-Lead for the Africa Climate Leadership Program (www.africlp.or.ke).

Maha Emad Ibrahim AbdelfattahAAS AffiliateTitle: Electrophysiological outcome of ultra-sound guided caudal epidural steroid injection in chronic radicular low back pain

Maha obtained her PhD in 2016 from Suez Canal University in Ismailia, Egypt, then became Lecturer of Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation at the Suez Canal University. She then had a one-year Post-doc stay at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, where she worked in the multidisciplinary back pain service. Her research interest includes low back pain, specifically the applications of the biopsychosocial model in diagnosis and treatment.

Mai TolbaAAS Affiliate Title: Cancer immunotherapy, a new light of hope for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer

Mai is a Cancer Research Scientist and an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Egypt. She is also an affiliate member of the African Academy of Sciences. She is a former winner of Fulbright scholar award and the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Levant and Egypt regional Fellowship. Her research focus is studying the mechanisms of resistance of hormone-respon-sive cancers to therapy.

Malebogo NgoepeSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: The intersection of mechanics and chemistry in biomedical problems

Malebogo is a mechanical engineer based at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on the inter-action between mechanics and biochemistry in the human body. Her current projects examine blood clotting in disease, behaviour of curly human scalp hair and development of injectable heart attack therapies.

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Pelly Masixolise MalebeNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Identification and Analysis of DNA Markers in Tea

Pelly is a Biotechnology PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria. Pelly graduated with a BSc in Human Genetics and a master’s in biotechnology. Her current research focuses on identifying and developing molec-ular markers for drought tolerance and yield in the tea plant. The potential outputs of this research are robust molecular markers that can be used in a selection process in order to improve the yield of tea produced by the global tea industry.

Kouassi Richard M’Bra Climate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Impact of climate variability on the transmission risk of malaria in northern Côte d’Ivoire

Richard is a Lecturer-Researcher at the University of Korhogo (Côte d’Ivoire) and associated researcher at Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS). He obtained his PhD in Hydrogeology from University of Félix Houphouët Boigny (Côte d’Ivoire), in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). His main interests are climate change; water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); vectors borne diseases and Geographical Information System (GIS).

Molibeli TaeleThe World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young AffiliateTitle: Data security and privacy in the era of fourth industrial revolution

Molibeli is a Professor of Applied Physics at the National University of Lesotho. He obtained his M.Sc. in Semi-conductor Devices (1994) and a PhD in Physics (2000) from University of Lancaster, UK. His research exper-tise includes semiconductor materials, photovoltaics and sustainable energy development. He has published more than 30 scientific journal articles on semiconductor materials, sustainable energy development. He has made over 30 contributed and invited presentations at international conferences.

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Session 9.3

Mona Abdel-MottalebGlobal Young Academy (GYA) memberTitle: Bacterial lipopolysaccharides, could they be a cure for cancer with the aid of nanotechnology?

Mona is an Associate Professor at Ain Shams University in Cairo. Her major area of expertise is the use of nanotechnology for enhanced dermal and transdermal drug delivery. She is a member of various scientific societies and has received various scientific awards including the international publications award from Ain Shams University (2009-2016) and the Egyptian State Encouragement Prize in Medical Sciences from the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology of Egypt (2018).

Justine NzweundjiNational Young Academy memberTitle: Synergistic impacts of using medicinal plants for health, fighting climate change and economic development

Justine’s research is to develop a sustainable method of exploitation and propagation of species, while conserving agro-ecological biodiversity. He is a 2011 UNESCO-L’Oréal fellow for his PhD research in USA and in 2017, a TWAS-DFG Fellow for postdoctoral in Germany. She is also the President of the Cameroon Academy of Young Scientists and member of the Steering committee of the Africa-Chapter of INGSA.

Wilfred OdadiFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) FellowTitle: Enhancing livestock-wildlife coexistence in African savannahs

Wilfred is a lecturer in the Department of Natural Resources, Egerton University, Kenya, and a Future Leaders – Africa Independent Research (FLAIR) fellow. He has extensive research experience in live-stock-wildlife interactions and sustainable grazing management in savannas. His research largely focuses on exploring the complex and dynamic ecological interactions between livestock and wildlife, and grazing strategies and their impacts on the environment, wildlife, livestock and pastoral livelihoods.

Zohra ZarroukAAS Affiliate Title: Essential oils from Artemisia herba alba and artemisia campestris plants are promising candidates as anti-Leishmania medicinal products

Zohra is a Research Scientist at the Molecular Epidemiology and Experimental Pathology Laboratory (LEMPA) of the Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT) and a lecturer of Biochemistry at Institut Supérieur des Sci-ences Biologiques Appliquées, Université de Tunis ElManar. She received a PhD in biochemistry from the Université de Tunis El-Manar in 2010, where she focused on structural and biological characterization of novel natural molecules on angiogenesis and leishmaniasis.

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David Olusoga OgboluRoyal Society Newton International FellowTitle: A one health approach intervention to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Nigeria

David is a Fellow of Medical Laboratory Science Council, Nigeria and a PhD degree holder in Medical Microbiology, a Lecturer and Researcher at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria. He re-ceived British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, BSAC research award and Royal Society Newton International Fellowship at University of Birmingham, UK. His research focuses on the use of genomics to elucidate mechanisms of antibiotic resistance amongst West African isolates.

Olushina Olawale AweAAS Affiliate Title: Bayesian methods for change-points detection in climatic and environmental time series (CO₂ and greenhouse gas emissions)

Oushina is an Assistant Professor of Applied Statistics and Coordinator of Anchor University Center for Interdisciplinary Statistical Science and Data Analysis, Anchor University Lagos, Nigeria. He holds M.Sc., Ph.D. (Statistics) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria where he was a lecturer for almost a decade. His research interests include Time Series Analysis, Biostatistics and Computational Statistics with applications to environmental variables.

Ouedraogo AbdrahamaneNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Preparedness of non-affected West-African countries to the Ebola epidemic: The case of Burkina Faso

Ouedraogo (PGCert Public Health, MPH) is affiliated to Burkina Faso Public Health Association as researcher and contributor in health systems, non-communicable diseases and reproductive health. He is founder and coordinator of Mahidol Public Health Association active in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and leads the national chapter of the Global Young Professional Chronic Diseases Network. Abdrahamane is recipient of the Unesco-Merck Emerging Research Talent Award in 2015 in Geneva.

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Session 10.1

Christiana Mojisola Owoseni AAS AffiliateTitle: Rapid monitoring of microbial contamination in drinking water in Nigeria using low-cost paper – based device

Christiana is an environmental microbiologist with research interests in rapid diagnostic techniques in detecting microbial contaminants in water, antimicrobial resistance studies and microbial related infectious diseases. She is currently implementing collaborative research projects on rapid low-cost sensors for monitoring drinking wa-ter quality in Nigeria funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and using ICT-enabled weather information system to monitor water resources in Agricultural sector sponsored by GCRF, UK.

Priscilla ManteAAS Affiliate Title: Can NRENs help the case of the African Academic Returnee?

Priscilla holds a PhD in Pharmacology and is a Senior Lecturer at KNUST, Ghana. She trained as Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan Medical School, USA. Priscilla investigates natural products for activity against drug-resistant epilepsy by establishing molecular biomarkers. Mante is an International Rising Talent Awardee 2019, an OWSD Early Career Fellow 2019 and an Affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences 2019-2024. She has 23 publications.

Emmanuel Proven-AdzriRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTitle: Probing models of periodic methanol masers

Emmanuel is a postdoctoral fellow with the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory under the Ghana Space Sci-ence and Technology Institute jointly with the University of Leeds, UK. He has just completed a PhD in Physics from the University of Ghana. His PhD studies focused on methanol masers. His research interests include applications of high-performance computing, big data, machine learning, methanol masers, star formation.

Rabab El-SherifNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Nano-porous silicon for solar energy conversion

Rabab is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Faculty of Science, Cairo University. His research interests are electrochemistry including fuel cells and solar cells, corrosion and corrosion protection. He is a recipient of many scientific prizes, is an Ambassador of Egypt in NEF (Next Einstein Forum) and is a Fellow of the National Defence College in Egypt. He is the ex-chair of EYAS (Egyptian Young Academy of Sciences).

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Martin RonoFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) FellowTitle: Adaptation of plasmodium falciparum to its transmission environment

Martin is a molecular biologist with a PhD from the University of Strasbourg, France. Upon completion of doc-toral studies, he joined KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme as a postdoc to investigate gene expres-sion in clinical isolates of Plasmodium parasites. He recently received a FLAIR fellowship to further his work malaria on parasite adaptation to host immunity and identify potential targets for disease intervention.

Rose MutisoNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Improving development outcomes through public engagement with science authors & affiliations

Rose is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Mawazo Institute, which supports the next generation of female scholars and thought leaders in East Africa and promotes public engagement with research. She is also the Research Director of the Energy for Growth Hub, focusing on power sector issues in Africa. She is a Materials Scientist by training with research experience in the fields of nanotechnology and polymer physics.

Rudo NgaraRoyal Society Newton Advanced FellowTitle: Sorghum as a model system in plant stress biology: lessons learnt from drought response studies

Rudo completed her PhD and postdoctoral studies from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. She is a lecturer at the University of the Free State-Qwaqwa Campus, South Africa and currently holds a Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship with Durham University, United Kingdom. Her research revolves around understanding the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress adaptation in plants. She is currently supervising one PhD and three Masters students.

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Session 10.2

Moses SamjeAAS AffiliateTitle: Responses of four nematode species to plant-derived extracts from Cameroon

Moses is a biochemist by training and a lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bamenda, Cameroon. His research interest is in the discovery and development of drugs and control tools against neglected tropical diseases with a focus on onchocerciasis. Currently, he is studying the mode of action of anthelmintic drugs that targets ion channels receptors.

Hudaa NeetooThe World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young AffiliateTitle: Fungal Diseases in Strategic Crops of Mauritius

Hudaa is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius. Her research interests lie mainly in the area of microbiological food safety. As a budding researcher from Mauritius, a small island developing state, Hudaa feels it is important to leverage on existing networks and forge new regional and international collaborations to tackle globally important and complex issues such as climate change and food safety.

Tana JosephRoyal Society Newton International FellowTitle: High energy binaries with radio data in South Africa – Rise of the SKA

Tana is a Royal Society Newton International Fellow in astronomy at the University of Manchester. She obtained her PhD from the University of Southampton in 2013. In 2017/2018, she was a Fulbright African Visiting Scholar at Texas Tech University in the US. Her research centres on the formation and evolution of black holes and neutron star. She is also active in diversity and inclusion initiatives in STEM.

Tientcheu LeopoldFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellow Title: Interrogating Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex host immune responses to inform host-di-rected therapeutics development in West Africa

Tientcheu is a Senior Research Fellow at the MRC Unit, The Gambia at LSHTM, investigating human host immunological markers that can be targeted by immunomodulatory drugs as an adjunctive therapy to shorten the antibiotic TB treatment. He was a visiting postdoctoral scientist at CIDRI-Africa University of Cape Town 2016 and 2017. He completed a PhD in Immunology at the LSHTM in 2013 and a master’s in molecular biology, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon in 2007.

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Christina Thobakgale-Tshabalala AAS AffiliateTitle: Profiling Innate Immune Responses in HIV-Infected Black-South Africans

Christina is a Senior Researcher, based at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. She currently leads studies aimed at understanding innate immunological factors associated with spontaneous HIV control. Through her efforts of building a team of junior scientists and her affili-ation with the African Academy of Science, she hopes to become an instrumental member of society, using all her skills to bring about constructive change to benefit others.

Elijah I. NepRoyal Society - Newton International FellowTitle: Development of highly water-soluble/swellable starch derivatives from Plectranthus esculentus tubers for pharmaceutical application

Uchechukwu Enyim Vincent Royal Society Newton International Fellow Title: Impact or impact factor: Emerging issues in African universities’ policies

Uchechukwu is a full Professor of Physics at Redeemer’s University, Nigeria where he is also the Director of Educational Services and Training. He won the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fel-lowship in 2018 and was one of the three African recipients of the Newton International Fellowship in 2009. In 2009 he was awarded the African Mathematics Union–Young African Mathematician Medal for his original contributions in Nonlinear Dynamics.

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Session 10.3

Yousuf Hassan Bakhit National Young Academy member Title: Effect of music and personal space on emotion and electroencephalogram recorded brain activity

Yousuf is:the Academic secretary of Sudan Academy of Young Scientists (SAYS) – Phd Student: Department of Molecular Neurobiology. Klinik Und Poliklinik für Neurologie. UKB. Germany – Founder and Head of Sudan Neuro-science Projects (SNPs), University of Khartoum, Sudan – Founder and Head of Khartoum Oral Biology Research Unit ( KOBRU). University of Khartoum, Sudan.

Yusuf Azeez OlanrewajuAAS AffiliateTitle: Evaluation of siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) leaves as modifier of rumen fermentation in West African dwarf bucks

Yusuf is a registered professional natural scientist specialised in livestock production systems. His research interest includes sustainable livestock production to curb food insecurity; alternative feeding in ruminant animal in the face of recent climatic changes, mitigation of methane production in ruminants. He has served as a postdoctoral fellow at North West University, Mafikeng, South Africa. He is a lecturer at the Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Ezekiel Mugendi Njeru Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellow Title: Optimising the role of beneficial soil microorganisms to increase crop production and resilience in smallholder farms.

Ezekiel holds a PhD from Sant’ Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy. He is currently a Lecturer at Ken-yatta University, Kenya and The Future Leaders – African Independent Researchers (FLAIR) Fellow. His research is focused on harnessing beneficial rhizospheric microorganisms to promote crop production and resilience in small-holder farms. He has authored over twenty research articles in this area and won several international research grants.

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Linda Ahenkorah FondjoAAS AffiliateTitle: Altered bioavailability of nitric oxide and L-Arginine is associated with preeclampsia in Ghanaian women

Linda holds a PhD in Chemical Pathology from KNUST, Ghana. She is a Senior Lecturer at the department of Mo-lecular Medicine, KNUST. Her research interests focus on the identification of biomarkers for non-communicable diseases and reproductive health conditions notably; preeclampsia, breast cancer, as well as vitamin D deficiency and its interplay between non-communicable diseases. She has authored over 30 scientific publications.

Francis WamonjeFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) FellowTitle: Insect zombies, plant booby traps and virus mercenaries

Francis speciality is in plant molecular virology. He is interested in the use of molecular biology, metagenomics, genomics, insect bio-assays and chemical ecology to disrupt insect transmission of plant viruses. His current research aims to use insect-infecting viruses to invent the next generation of biorational insect pest control tools and technologies.

Olga KupikaClimate Research for Development (CR4D) Fellow Title: Impact of Climate Change on water resources and riparian ecosystems in the South-Eastern Lowveld, Zim-babwe

Olga is a Senior Lecturer and a CR4D Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Chinhoyi University of Technology’s School of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Zimbabwe. Her research interests are in climate change adaptation, biodiver-sity conservation, local communities and sustainable livelihoods, ethnobiology, plant ecology and social ecology. Kupika has published widely in her area of interest with more than 15 journal articles, several conference presenta-tions, book chapters and technical reports.

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PostersPoster presentations will run for three days covering all range of posters and disciplines and encouraging further networking and collaboration. Poster presenters must liaise with the conference volunteers to ensure their posters are set up by 1.00 PM on 25 September and set down by 1.00 PM of 27 September.

Abdesalem BadreNext Einstein Forum (NEF) FellowTitle: Global State of Young Scientists in Africa

Stephen Adeniyi AdefeghaAAS AffiliateTitle: Functional foods and nutraceuticals as dietary intervention in degenerative/ chronic diseases; novel perspectives for health promotion and disease prevention

Abdesalem is a social scientist and Fulbright scholar. His research focuses on policy development in the fields of a) higher education, b) migration & mobility and gender & development, especially within Africa and the EU-Southern Mediterranean cooperation. Badre is permanent professor at Mohammed V University of Rabat. He is an editor for “Social Sciences and Policy (SOC)” section of Scientific African Journal. Badre is a member of a various of international organizations.

Stephen is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure. He obtained BSc, MSc., and PhD degrees in Biochemistry. He had a postdoctoral training at the Department of Biochemical Toxicology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil (2015 – 2016) and currently a visiting scholar at the same department (2019 -2020). He has authored over 100 articles in referred journals.

Achille Ephrem AssogbadjoTWAS Young AffiliateTitle: Orphan crops in agroforestry: an approach for sustainable agriculture and circumventing environmental challenges in Africa

Adeniyi Francis FagmamigbeAAS AffiliateTitle: Hierarchical modelling of factors affecting severe acute malnutrition among under five children in 51 Low- and Medium-Income countries

Achille is an agronomist, PhD holder in Applied Biological Sciences and Full Professor of Forestry. I have been awarded more than 30 individual and collaborative research grants. To-date, I have (co)authored at total of 162 scientific articles in peer review journals, 26 books and/or book chapters; 11 proceedings and 14 technical reports. I won 11 international prizes and have graduated, >100 MSc., 8 PhD students and hosted 4 post-doc.

Adeniyi is a Senior Researcher of Biostatistics at the University of Ibadan haven obtained a PhD in Biostatistics, MSc in Medical Statistics, and a First Class Honours degree in Statistics. He has both practical research and teaching experience in Medical Statistics, Pure Statistics, Epidemiology, and Demography. He is a fellow of Consortium for Research and Advanced Training in Africa and an Affiliate of African Academy of Sciences with over 80 publications in reputed journals.

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Adewale AdewuyiAAS AffiliateTitle: Challenges and prospects of renewable energy in Nigeria: A case of bioethanol and biodiesel production

Anderson KehbilaClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: The entrepreneur’s innovation strategy: Towards an integrated road mapping process to enacting transformational socio-technical change

Adewale holds a PhD in Industrial Chemistry from University of Ibadan. Over the years, his research activities have been on the industrial applications of biomass, which cuts across major applications in wastewater treatment, environment, medicine and food. Presently, he lectures and do research at Redeemer’s University, Nigeria. His dream is to play active role in building Science and Technology in Africa.

Anderson is a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute Africa. He has 14 years of professional experience in energy, carbon and strategic management. He holds a PhD in Environment and Natural Resources Management from the Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany. His research interests lie with quantitative modeling and empirical analyses of low-carbon transitions, conceptual modeling, decision-making processes, systems analysis, and the interplay between technology, innovation strategy and entrepreneurship.

Anita EtaleFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Nanotechnology for water treatment: An interdisciplinary approach

Armand KablanGlobal Young Academy (GYA)Title: Mapping urban residents’ vulnerability to heat in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Anita is a researcher at the Global Change Institute, Wits University where she leads an interdisciplinary research group on focusing on both the development of nanomaterial-enhanced treatment membranes and understanding the public perceptions of nanotechnology in the water domain. She is a recipient of grants from the Royal Society, the International Science Council, Volkswagen Foundation and the Swiss Excellence Fellowship.

Armand is a Lecturer at the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Côte d’Ivoire) with a PhD in Environmental Science and a master’s in Climate Change and Human Security. He is member of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), and the Global Young Academy (GYA). He is the lead of the National Academy of Young Scientists of Côte d’Ivoire. His research interests include disaster risk management, and climate change.

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Asanterabi Ngoyai LowassaClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: The impact of gender inequality on climate change adaptation and livelihoods of marginalized communities around protected areas in Tanzania.

Klotoe Bernadin National Young Academy representative Title: Involvement of young Beninese researchers in the valorization of traditional recipes based on medicinal plants: first fruits of future phytomedicaments

Asanterabi is a social research scientist at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute. She completed her PhD at University of Dar es Salaam in 2018 on Institutional Framework of Illegal Bushmeat Hunting around Serengeti National Park, funded by the EU. Lowassa’s area of interest focuses on Gender relations and Human-Environmental Interactions. Currently, she is an AAS postdoc research on gender mainstreaming strategy for adaptation to climate change-related challenges to improve livelihoods and conservation goals.

Klotoe is from Benin and holds a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology. He has been a lecturer-researcher at the Ecole Normale Supérieure since 2013. He is also a researcher at Research Unit in Microbiology and Pharmacology of Natural Substances of the University of Abomey-Calavi. His research focuses on the valorization of medicinal plants from Benin. He has 30+ scientific publications and he has participated at several national and international scientific meeting.

Asamoah Kusi KwadwoAAS AffiliateTitle: The search for a broadly effective multi-epitope malaria vaccine candidate

Debra ShepherdSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: Social identity and stigma in education contexts

Asamoah completed his PhD at Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands and returned to Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in February 2012 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He also has B.Sc. (2000) and M.Phil. (2005) degrees, both in biochemistry, from the University of Ghana, Legon, and is currently a senior Research Fellow in Immunology with NMIMR.

Debra is a lecturer and researcher in the Economics Department at Stellenbosch University where she has been employed since 2013. She completed her doctorate in Development Economics in 2016 jointly with Vrije University (Amsterdam) and Stellenbosch University under the NRF-VU Desmond Tutu Doctoral Scholarship program. Her research interests include applied microeconometrics, analysis of large survey data, inequality, stereotypes and social cohesion.

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Fortune Akomian Azihou AAS AffiliateTitle: Ebola outbreaks, wildlife and habitat conservation: a psychological model

Benjamin KumwendaAESA-RISE Title: Genomic and Transcriptome analysis of a sub-lineage of multi-drug resistant non-typhoidal S. Typhimurium ST313 that recently emerged in Blantyre, Malawi

Fortune is an agronomist engineer and forester and Senior Lecturer at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. His expertise includes agriculture, vegetation science, climate change, ecological modelling, Geographic Information Systems, emerging zoonotic diseases and biodiversity conservation.

Benjamin is a Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics and Head of the Biomedical Sciences department College of Medicine, University of Malawi. He graduated with a PhD in Bioinformatics from University of Pretoria in April 2014. He has been a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with H3ABioNet and the MRC African Research Excellence Fund (AREF). His research interests are in the pathogenesis of Salmonella and understanding drug resistance mechanisms in human pathogens.

Cyril Osereme Ehi-EromoseleAAS AffiliateTitle: Improving the structural and electrochemical properties of Li-ion Battery using a Layered Lithium-rich oxide Core-shell Cathode

James Peter EgonyuNational Young Academy representativeTitle: icipe’s strategy to promote insect consumption for combating malnutrition and poverty in Africa

Cyril is an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow and presently a Visiting Research Fellow at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His research concerns the production of new materials for energy storage, such as Li-ion batteries, and the elucidation of the processes involved in energy storage. He is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a Lecturer at Covenant University.

James is an icipe scientist in the Insect for Food and Feed programme. He served as a Lecturer at Makerere University, a Research Officer at the National Coffee Research Institute (Uganda) and Agricultural Inspector in the Uganda government. He holds BSc (Agriculture) and MSc (Crop Science) from Makerere University, and PhD (Agricultural Entomology) from University of Nairobi. He won ARPPIS doctoral, DAAD postdoctoral and Iso Lomso fellowships.

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El Youssfi LahcenAAS AffiliateTitle: Integrated water resource management and ethics in Africa

Fandohan Adande BelarmainAAS AffiliateTitle: Vulnerability of rural communities to climate change in the Gambia: influence of methodological approaches on assessment outcomes

As Assistant Professor at Khenifra School of Technology, Sultane Moulay Slimane University, Lahcen leads the Environmental Engineering and Agrobiotech Department and the rural territories development training program. His research is focused on the development of application of bio-ecological, technical and economic principles for sustainable agro-ecosystems management. Lahcen is affiliate of the AAS and Member of the GYA and involved in many other international networks. He is also working for developing social entrepreneurship.

Fandohan is Associate Professor of Forestry at the National University of Agriculture, Benin Republic. His scientific interest covers Predictive Biogeography, Conservation, and Ethno-ecology of Agroforestry Fruit Tree Species indigenous to Africa. He is a climate change and Forestry specialist with interest in Ecosystem Based Adaptation. His scientific activities have yielded so far thirty-three (33) scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals with ISI web of science ranked impact factor.

Frederick AdziteyTWAS Young AffiliateTitle: Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from lamb carcass in Ghana by whole genome sequencing

Fru Cho JeromeAAS AffiliateTitle: Effects of Deforestation on Avian malaria and helminth Parasites Co-infections in Recaptured Birds from the Talangaye Tropical Rainforest, Cameroon

Frederick is a Lecturer with the Department of Veterinary Science, University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana. He holds a BSc in Agriculture Technology, MSc in Meat Science and Technology and PhD in Food Safety. His scientific research covers a broad range of topics including foodborne infectious, food safety, antimicrobial resistance and molecular characterization of pathogens. He is currently a member of TWAS Young Affiliate and Ghana Young Academy.

Fru is a Senior Instructor in the University of Buea. He has a background in Microbiology and Medical Laboratory Sciences, with experience in immunoparasitology and molecular biology. Through his PhD research work, he published the first molecular evidence of P. vivax infection in asymptomatic subjects in Cameroon. He’s published additional papers and developed skills in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, which are now exploited through teaching and research.

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Idohou Alix Frank RodrigueAAS AffiliateTitle: Land use and land cover dynamics and challenges for sustainable management of the Mono transboundary biosphere reserve between Togo and Benin, West Africa

Jesse GitakaAAS Affiliate Title: A microfluidic device for rapid detection of group b streptococcus in urine samples based on ifast and atp bioluminescence assay

Idohou has a PhD in field of biological conservation and domestication of neglected and underutilized species from the University of Abomey-Calavi. His research yielded some 30 scientific papers in high standard journals among which Environmental letters, Land use Policy, and Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, and he took part to more than 30 international conferences and workshops across the world. He is also a recipient of several awards.

Jesse is a Kenyan board registered medical doctor trained at University of Nairobi, a holder of Masters of Tropical Medicine and PhD in Medical Science from Nagasaki University, Japan. His experience spans clinical practice and trials, molecular biology and epidemiology of malaria, field-based research, lecturing and implementation science. Currently, he is a Principal Investigator in 8 studies. He is an affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences and a Next Einstein Fellow.

Zakaria OuhazRoyal Society Newton International FellowTitle: The role of Thalamic Inputs in the Postnatal Development of the Prefrontal Cortex: Insights to Schizophrenia

Idowu Mutiu KazeemAAS Affiliate Title: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition and treatment of type 2 diabetes: The role of fruits and vegetables

Zakaria earned a Bachelor of Science from University of Ibn Zohr in Morocco and a Master of Science (with Honors) and his PhD from University of Cadi Ayyad in Morocco. Ouhaz is a Royal Society International Newton Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Ouhaz is interested in understanding how different brain regions contribute to cognitive processes.

Idowu is a Senior Lecturer in Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria. He specialises in antidiabetic drug discovery, with the aim of searching for safe, effective and affordable antidiabetic agents from natural sources. He has published over forty articles in reputable journals. He is a member of the Nigerian Young Academy (NYA), affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences (The AAS) and Fellow of Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP).

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Kingsley BaduAAS AffiliateTitle: Plasmodium falciparum secreted ookinete protein: a marker of infectious bites and transmission intensity

Makhamisa SenekaneNational Young AcademyTitle: The role of topology in quantum communication

Kingsley specializes in studying the transmission of vector-borne infectious pathogens. His current studies focus on developing infectious bite markers as proxies for measuring transmission intensity and identifying hotspots so that national control programs can deploy tailor-made interventions to yield optimal benefits. He is a recipient of the prestigious Africa Research Excellence Fellowship (AREF) 2015, African German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES) 2016 Awards, etc.

Makhamisa is a lecturer in the Department of Physics and Electronics, National University of Lesotho. He has obtained his B.Eng in Electronics Engineering from the National University of Lesotho, his MSc.Eng in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, and his PhD in Physics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is a lifetime member of Golden Key International Honour Society.

Michael Baah Mensah Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral FellowTitle: Synthesis of CdS and PbS nanoparticles by the thermal decomposition of ethylxanthate complexes in castor oil using the heat-up technique

Mohamed ElhadidyAAS AffiliateTitle: One health in practice: Clonal population structure and source attribution analysis of clinical campylobacter infection from environmental sources

Michael is a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He holds a PhD degree in Physical Chemistry and his research focus on nanomaterial synthesis and application. He currently has a grant to research into decontamination of mercury polluted water and agricultural soils using nanotechnology.

Mohamed is currently an associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at Zewail City for Science and Technology, Egypt. He holds a DVM degree from Mansoura University, Egypt. He obtained his PhD (2010) in Microbiology from Virginia Tech University, USA. From 2011-2017, he served as a research scientist at School of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; University of Bristol, UK; University of Gent and Scientific Institute of Public health in Belgium.

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Marthe MontchoClimate Research for Development (CR4D) Title: Correlates of bushmeat hunting in Bobo-Dioulasso: a country wide biological prospection and sustainable conservation implication in Burkina Faso

Nkatha KabiraSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: Wanjiku and the wig: Kenya’s legal transformation dance

Marthe is a researcher at Animal Science Research Laboratory of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic). Her research interests are pastoralism, livestock systems, dairy production, meat science and climate change. She obtained her PhD (2018) through Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) Fellowship. Thesis topic was introducing a new approach based on multi-nutrient block technology for cattle feeding in the dry season in Benin.

Nkatha is a poet, author and lecturer at the School of Law, University of Nairobi. She is also an Iso Lomso Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, South Africa, a Fellow at the Intercontinental Academia (ICA), and a postdoctoral fellow at the Ife Institute for Advanced Studies, Nigeria. She completed her doctoral degree at Harvard Law School (HLS) in May 2015 and has professional and research experience in several areas.

Ernest Izchukwu NwankwoSTIAS Iso Lomso FellowTitle: New media and the socio-economic impact of popular entertainment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Isoken H. IgbinosaAAS Affiliate Title: Exploring harvested rainwater as a sustainable alternative source of water supply

Ernest teaches theatre at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria. He has published essays, stage plays and prose; like the Igbo-language translation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart titled Ihe Aghasaa (2007). He is a recipient of the African Humanities Program (AHP) Fellowship, Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Studies (STIAS) Iso Lomso Fellowship, and Georg Foerster Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. His present research is African stand-up comedy.

Isoken is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria. Her research nich encompases molecular microbiology, water & wastewater quality, Applied & environmental microbiology, microbial Ecology. She has published over 40 research articles in reputable international high impact peer-reviewed journals with over 815 citations and h-index: 13. She is the Vice-President, Nigerian Young Academy, Fellow Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP).

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Andrew Eloka-EbokaAAS AffiliateTitle: Bio-energy research insights and sugarcane bagasse energy potential in South Africa

Oridupa AyotundeAAS AffiliateTitle: Antihypertensive effect and ameliora-tion of oxidative damage by Lagenaria brevi-flora Roberty and Xanthosoma sagittifolium Exell in experimentally-induced hypertension of Wistar rats

Andrew has a bachelor and master’s degree in chemical and Mechanical Engineering and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has been involved in several successful research projects at institutional, national and international levels. He is an NRF rated researcher in South Africa and currently the lead scientist/lecturer representing Mangosuthu University of Technology in the UK-SA USDP programme. He has several grants, research fellowships and awards.

Oridupa obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (2004) from the University of Ibadan. She obtained her MSc in Veterinary Pharmacology (2007) and PhD in Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology (2013) from the same institution. She won the Olatunde Agbato award for the best student in Small Animal Medicine (2002/2003 Session). She is a member of several professional and academic bodies including Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association.

Olumuyiwa AdegunClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Addressing socio-environmental problems through informal settlement upgrading in African cities

Paterne GahunguNational Young AcademyTitle: Optimizing malaria control strategies using mathematical modeling tools

Olumuyiwa is a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure. Nigeria and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Climate Research for Development (CR4D) Programme. In 2016, he earned a PhD at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Wits. He has been Visiting Scholar at Canada Centre for Architecture, Montreal and Guest Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.

Currently based at the Institute of Mathematics and Physical Sciences in Benin, Paterne is doing research in the area of mathematical modeling of infectious diseases with an interest on malaria. He is work seeks to understand the transmission dynamics of diseases and optimising the control interventions. He is a Next Einstein Forum ambassador for Burundi since 2017 and is a founding member of Burundi Council of Young Scientists.

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Eleni YitbarekClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Intergenerational Education Mobility in Africa: Has Progress Been Inclusive?

Ali Mohamed Elhassan Ali Abdalla National Young Academy representativeTitle: Detection and estimation of anti –amoebic activities of Prunus Mahaleb l. (white mahlab) & Monechma Ciliatum (black mahlab) in comparison with metronidazole

Eleni is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on applied research in poverty dynamics, the socioeconomic effect of shocks (such as climate change) and social mobility in Africa. Eleni was a World Bank and European Investment Bank (Global Development Network) fellow. She earned a master’s degree in public policy and a doctorate in economics from Maastricht University, Netherlands.

Ali is a Sudanese pharmacist with three master’s degree in Molecular Medicine, MBA and Pharmaceutics. He has published more than eight papers in both local and international journals in the areas of extraction and formulation of plants and plant food supplement. He has demonstrated expertise in the areas of molecular medicine focusing on drug discovery, drugs resistance (demonstrated the anti-malarial 2 plant extract (natural product).

Raharimalala Fara NantenainaSTIAS Iso Lomso Fellows Title: Public health issue by Insecticide resistance in insect vectors in Indian Ocean. How to face?

Sameer HameerAAS AffiliateTitle: GIS Modeling of Renewable Energy Resource Potential in Kenya

Raharimalala is a Research Assistant at the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar. Her current research objective is to assess insecticide resistance in insect vectors (mosquitoes and fleas), as well as the different mechanisms responsible for their establishment in Madagascar. She works closely with other countries in the Western Indian Ocean (Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion Island and Seychelles) to update the state of knowledge on the extent of insecticide resistance.

Associate Professor in electrical power and aerospace engineering at Technical University of Kenya.

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Hussein AbkalloRoyal Society Newton International FellowTitle: Genetic validation of the function of PfEMP1 in Plasmodium falciparum rosette formation

Sogbanmu Temitope OlawunmiAAS Affiliate Title: Printing Press Effluents: Toxicological Evaluations in the African Sharptooth Catfish and Treatment Efficacy Using a Prototype Effluent Treatment Unit

Hussein is a Royal Society Newton International Fellowship alumnus employing the cutting-edge gene editing technology, CRISPR/Cas9, and Synthetic biology with the aim of answering basic biological questions and accelerating research and development of vaccines.

Sogbanmu is a Lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria with a PhD in Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Management. Her research focus is on the risk assessment and management of organic pollutants in various environmental media using classic and emerging ecotoxicology tools. This is with a view to develop and provide targeted environmental management advice to regulators/policymakers as well as innovative products for the treatment of wastewaters.

Thumbi MwangiAAS AffiliateTitle: The Future of Health for Africa: eliminating rabies - an exemplar One-Health neglected tropical disease

Vidushi NeergheenNext Einstein Forum (NEF) Title: The potential of African indigenous food for the prevention of non-communicable diseases

Thumbi is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Paul G Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases. He leads a research group that uses quantitative epidemiological skills to provide evidence to guide policies on prevention and control of zoonotic diseases, and animal interventions that improve public health in the East Africa region.

Vidushi is an associate professor since April 2019 in the Department of Health Sciences and Centre for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research at the University of Mauritius. She graduated with a PhD in Biosciences in 2008. Her research interest focuses on the cancer preventive effects of functional food and medicinal plants. She believes that there is a dire need to recognise and advocate this approach to reduce the burden of several types of cancers.

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Vitalis Chioh AnyeAAS AffiliateTitle: Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Materials for Photovoltaic and Light Emitting Device Applications

Egya Ndede YankeyRoyal Society Leverhulme Trust Africa Postdoctoral Fellow Title: In-field DNA diagnosis of a devastating disease of coconut in Ghana

Vitalis holds a BSc in Physics from the University of Buea, Cameroon (2004), an MSc (2011) and a PhD (2015) in Materials Science and Engineering from African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Nigeria. He has grown his career through teaching and research at Nile University, Nigeria in the faculty of engineering. He is currently teaching and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students in the departments of civil and electrical-electronics engineering.

Egya is a senior research scientist with the Oil Palm Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana. He obtained his PhD in Plant Science from the University of Nottingham, UK in 2012. His research is broadly focused on the management of phytoplasma diseases of coconut and the development of molecular markers. He is currently undertaking a one-year Leverhulme-Royal Society Africa Award-Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Balla Diop NgomFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Novel green biosynthesis of vanadium pentoxide by the extraction of the white hibiscussabdariffa leaves as electrode material for supercapacitor applications

Kanyiva MuindiFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Addressing Household Air Pollution in Rural Households in Kenya

Balla is a nanomaterial’s scientist, originally from West African Country of Senegal. He holds two PhDs in Physics at University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Sénégal and University of the Western Cape (UWC), Cape Town, South Africa. As a result of these distinguished academic achievements, Balla has gained some 10 years of in-depth knowledge and experience in the multi-disciplinary field of Nanosciences, with a specific focus on Quantum Photonics, Energy and NanoFabrication.

Kanyiva is an Associate Research Scientist and a FLAIR Research Fellow at the African Population and Health Research Center. She has over ten years’ research experience on urbanization issues. Kanyiva is passionate about air quality, lay perceptions of exposure to air pollution and the effects of this exposure on health. Her current work is seeking to address household air pollution in Kenyan rural households through the introduction of ethanol cookstoves.

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Margreth TadieFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Recycling of gold mine tailings as a sustainable approach to mining

Marique AucampFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: The physico-chemical characterization of pea and rice protein powders

Margreth’s research focuses on developing an understanding of chemical and physical properties of minerals. This understanding enables the development of the necessary chemistry to extract metals from complex rock matrices and metal elements from complex textures. The objective of my research is to use this knowledge for environmental remediation of mine waste and efficient extraction of metals from minerals.

Marique, B.Pharm, M.Sc, PhD, a senior lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, University of Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, focusing on pharmaceutical solid-state chemistry and improved drug delivery through supramolecular modifications of drugs and excipients. Currently she is an NRF (South African National Research Foundation) Y2-rated scientist and holds a prestigious Royal Society / African Academy of Sciences FLAIR Fellowship (2019 – 2021).

Veron RamsuranFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Effect of DNA methylation on HIV disease

Wade PetersenFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: A Radical Cyclisation - Dimerisation Methodology to Access 3,3’-Bisoxindoles From Acyclic Precursors.

Veron completed his PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Post-Doc at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. He is a Senior Lecturer within the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a FLAIR Research fellow. He is also a Guest Researcher at the NIH; Group Leader at KRISP; and Associate Scientist at CAPRISA. His research focuses on the role human genes play on HIV disease progression

Wade obtained his PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of Cape Town (2015 – PI: Professor Roger Hunter) and thereafter spent two years as an NRF Independent Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of York (PI: Professor Richard Taylor). He is currently appointed as a lecturer at the University of Cape Town where his research involves developing catalytic methods for the synthesis of complex biologically important molecules.

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Zebib Yenus NuruFuture Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR)Title: Nanopatterning of Cr thin films using low energy ion beam for selective solar absorber application

Elie Antoine Padonou AAS Affiliate Title: Role of termites in the restoration of soils and plant diversity on Bowé in West Africa

Zebib has been working in the field of nanocoating’s for solar energy applications for 9 yrs. Her research expertise includes synthesis, characterization and applications of selective solar absorbers. She received her PhD degree in physics from University of the Western Cape, South Africa in 2014. She has published more than 50 high impact scientific papers in peer-review journals and is a reviewer for numerous scientific journals.

Elie is affiliated to “Université Nationale d’Agriculture” in Benin. His research interest is to combat land degradation and desertification. He has published 26 scientific papers and participated in several scientific conferences. He was selected as expert for IPBES Target 3: land degradation and restoration. He got many grants and fellowship. He is involved as research assistant in international projects including TreeFood, QUALITREE, and UNDESERT.

Dimphna EzikanyiClimate Research for Development (CR4D)Title: Allergenic potential of oreodoxa oleracea jacq pollen protein in albino mice

Daisy Chioma EbeniroGlobal Young Academy (GYA) Member Title: Global governance, polycentric governance and its implications on irregular migration in Nigeria

Dimphna obtained BSc (2001), MSc (2007), PGDE (2008) from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She obtained her PhD from University of Lagos. She is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Applied Biology, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. She is a Botanist specialized in Aeropalynology. She is currently researching on “impact of climate variability on aeroallergens and allergic diseases; implication on public health and adaptation.”

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This walkshop session will help the delegates discover and commit to connections that facilitate their contribution to Africa’s development agenda. As you walk through the Karura Forest trails (http://www.friendsofkarura.org/), you will have conversations of what it will take to connect African emerging scientists and explore possible ways through which the conference participants can remain connected upon returning to their home countries. The walkshop will also be an opportunity to reflect on the past two days and draw some suggestions for future initiatives to support Africa’s top scientists. We anticipate that the connections made during this session (with nature and with people) will have a lifetime implication on your career and life in general. Feedback on this session will be provided on the last day of the conference.

This will be a simple walk and will not require prior preparation. Participants are however reminded to bring comfortable walking shoes and clothes. In addition, participants who may require special assistance may notify the conference organizers in advance.

Walking Minds

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The AAS emphasises the well-being of scientists and allocates time for morning/evening exercise where possible within the premises of the conference venue. Transport to/from the conference venue and hotels will be provided. Both hotels have a gym and a swimming pool for use by the residents. If you wish to take longer runs/walks through Karura Forest, the forest entry fees are KES 100 for Kenyans, KES 200 for Residents, and KES 600 for other nationalities/non-residents. In addition, the ICRAF conference facility has spacious green spaces and cafes in case a participant needs to breathe fresh air in between sessions.

Well-being at Connecting Minds

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Connecting Minds GatewayThe AAS has setup a gateway on the AAS Open Research where all conference abstracts, posters and papers will be published. To minimise conference printing, all participants are encouraged to submit and visit the Gateway to access their peers’ scientific work. If you have not done so yet, kindly submit your conference contribution via this link: https://aasopenresearch.org/gateways/connectingmindsafrica/for-authors/publish-

your-research

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The AAS Rising Research Leaders in Numbers

1

2

9

10

11

412

20

21

13

14

16

17

19

18

15

5

3

6

7

8

1 South Africa 442 Nigeria 433 Kenya 384 Ghana 345 Tanzania 166 Ethiopia 147 Uganda 138 Egypt 119 Cameroon 710 Benin 511 Zimbabwe 512 Cote d’Ivoire 313 Senegal 314 Tunisia 315 Botswana 216 Morocco 217 DRC 118 Gambia 119 Malawi 120 Mali 121 Sierra Leone 122 Zambia 1

22

Total number of Postdoctoral fellows present per country

60

Regional representation

West Africa

91East Africa

81Southern Africa

53North Africa

16Central Africa

8

61

Area of expertise and the total number of Postdoctoral fellows

11Agricultural & Nutritional

Sciences

1Applied

Chemistry

1Biochemistry

15 Biosciences

7 Chemical Sciences

3 Chemistry

2Child health

117 Climate Science

2Cultural Sciences,

Humanities & Social Sciences

2 Diabetes,

maternal and child health

2 Earth Sciences

2 Ecological

Science (including soils and

agriculture)

11 Engineering

Technology & Applied Sciences

1 Environmental

Physical Sciences

3 Genetics (excl.

population genetics)

3 Geological,

Environmental, Earth & Space

Sciences

2Health and

Human Sciences

2 Immunology

3 Infectious diseases

2 Malaria

4 Materials Science

2 Mathematical

Sciences

40 Medical & Health

Sciences

3Microbiology

(except medical microbiology)

1 Molecular Cell

Biology

2Neurosciences

5Physical Sciences

1Physiology

1Sickle cell disease

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The African Academy of Sciences

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit pan African organisation. The AAS’s vision is to see transformed lives on the African continent through science. Our tripartite mandate is recognising excellence through AAS’ highly prestigious fellowship and award schemes, providing advisory and think tank functions for shaping Africa’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) strategies and policies and implementing key Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) programmes addressing Africa’s developmental challenges through the agenda setting and funding platform Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in science in Africa (AESA). AESA is an initiative of the AAS and the African Union Development Agency (formerly the NEPAD Agency).

The Royal Society

The Royal Society is the independent scientific academy of the UK and the Commonwealth. It is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

The Society’s flagship fellowship programmes support outstanding researchers in the UK and internationally from the early stages of their science careers. Its GCRF funded programmes draw on this approach to create a high quality research base by supporting talented researchers who are contributing to research excellence in global challenge areas relevant to development. Its programmes also promote research collaborations between low and middle income countries and UK researchers.

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund which forms part of the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. GCRF supports cutting-edge research and innovation that addresses the global issues faced by developing countries.

It focuses on funding challenge-led disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and networks; strengthening capability for research, innovation and knowledge exchange; and providing an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research or on-the-ground need.

Partners

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Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study

The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) is a high-level research institute dedicated to innovative thinking, the production of new knowledge and the nurturing of emerging leaders. Along with its regular research fellowships, STIAS has established the Iso Lomso early career research fellowship programme to nurture a new generation of African scholars who will provide the intellectual leadership needed for future development.

TWAS Young Affiliates

The TWAS Young Affiliates are early-career scientists/researchers below the age of 40 from developing countries with at least 10 international publications who have demonstrated potential for a high-impact careers. These affiliates serve for a five-year period and are part of the TWAS Young Affiliates Network.

Next Einstein Forum

The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Community of Scientists encompasses both NEF Fellows and Ambassadors. It is a growing community expected to create a unified African scientific identity, the existence of which would inspire young people to pursue science and technology fields and drive Africa’s socio-economic transformation.

Global Young Academy

The Global Young Academy comprises 200 early-career scientists from all 6 continents, selected on the basis of their scientific excellence and commitment to service. Our mission is to give a voice to young scientists worldwide and enable them to lead international, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational dialogue in global decision making.

Steering Committee

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Notes

74

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