Dr. Mohamed Elhadidy is currently a professor of Biomedical Sciences at Zewail City of science and technology, Egypt. Dr. Elhadidy holds a DVM degree from Mansoura University in Egypt. He obtained his master’s degree in 2006 in Microbiology from Mansoura University and obtained his PhD (2010) in Microbiology from Virginia Tech University, USA. From 2011-2017, Dr. Elhadidy served as a research scientist at School of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; University of Bristol, UK; and University of Gent and Scientific Institute of Public health in Belgium. In 2018, he also served as a visiting professor at University of Bath, UK.

Dr. Elhadidy research program aims to develop a better understanding of the pathogenesis, ecology, evolutional dynamics, and transmission of bacterial foodborne and zoonotic diseases through the implementation of different population genetics and comparative genomic studies of these bacterial pathogens. His most recent research activities implemented high throughput sequencing technologies and genomic epidemiology tools to gain crucial insights into genetic determinants that play a role in virulence potential, antimicrobial resistance and transmission of different zoonotic bacterial pathogens to human including food-borne pathogens.

Dr. Elhadidy research on the understanding the biology of foodborne and zoonotic pathogens is interdisciplinary and involves the application of a variety of disciplines (including microbiology and microbial genomics, population genetics, molecular biology, genomics, evolution, nano-drug delivery systems, and bioinformatics)

Dr. Elhadidy is a current member of the Global Young Academy (former exclusive committee member and former chair from the selection committee), Young academy of Sciences (EYAS), and National Microbiology Council and a former member of committee, National Academy of Sciences, USA to develop framework of faculty members in MENA region and Egypt who are better able to teach issues related to the responsible conduct of science by combining tenets of active learning pedagogical techniques.

Abdelfattah is an Egyptian physician by training.

I currently work as lecturer of Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University in Ismailia, Egypt. I hold a Master’s and PhD degrees in Rheumatology and Physical Medicine. My main field of specialty is rehabilitation and multidisciplinary management of chronic back pain.

My interest in conducting sound scientific research led me to obtain a diploma in Research Methods from the American University in Cairo in 2015, as well as a diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation in 2017. I am also part of the core faculty for teaching in the Middle East Research Ethics Training Initiative (MERETI) a program directed and funded by the University of Maryland, USA with the aim of improving the knowledge and practice of research ethics in the middle east region. Within the MERETI, I have finished a two-year on-line certificate program in Research Ethics, and currently I am pursuing a Master’s degree in Health Sciences with Ethics concentration from the University of Maryland. I am also part of the team developing curricula for online and on site teaching of Research Ethics.

I have just finished a post doc training in the University of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland, where I was part of a research team conducting serveral studies within the back pain service in the division of Rheumatology. Now I am back in my home institution, where I teach for undergraduate and post graduate students, conduct research and do clinical work.

Fondjo holds a PhD in Chemical Pathology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi, Ghana.

She is a Faculty and a Researcher at the Department of Molecular Medicine of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, KNUST. Dr Fondjo teaches Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology and supervises both undergraduate and graduate (Masters & PhD) students.  She has authored and co-authored over 25 scientific publications in reputable peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research findings at various international conferences.

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.

Dr Fondjo is a fellow of the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholar (UMAPS) and serves as a reviewer for many academic journals. She is a member of the American Association of Clinical Chemists (AACC), Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) and the Convention of Biomedical Research, Ghana (COBReG).

She is a strong advocate for women in STEM education and a member of the African Research Academy for Women (ARAW) Ghana, The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) Ghana.

The primary expertise of El Moutamid is orbital dynamics and celestial mechanics, especially orbital resonances and mechanisms of the capture of satellites and exoplanets into mean motion resonances. Her current research interest is planetary ring dynamics and satellite orbital dynamics and their connections with giant planet interior structure. She completed her Ph.D at Paris Observatory in September 2013 and she is currently a Research Associate at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences.

Her academic training and postdoctoral experience have prepared her to be an effective researcher and instructor. The focus of her Ph.D degree was developing a better understanding of Mean Motion Resonances (MMR) and exploring in detail capture into these commensurabilities.

During her postdoctoral training, she worked on data from the ISS (Imaging Science System) and VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft, and she used these data to learn more about ring and moon dynamics and the interior of Saturn.

A different focus of her work has been on multi-chord stellar occultation of stars by solar system bodies, she participated in many observation campaigns tracking celestial objects that characterized their shape, atmosphere and environment. For example, she was involved in the discovery of the ring system around the Centaur Chariklo (Nature; coauthor).

Her future research goals include investigating observed dynamical architectures of exoplanets and understanding concurrent migration of multiple planets within a disk. She will also study the atmosphere and internal structure of giant planets of the Solar System, and work on rings systems around small bodies. She sees this work as having an ultimate goal of creating a link between what we have learned about the Solar system and exoplanetary systems, including the interior of exoplanets, their dynamical evolution, exomoons and exorings.

Dukhi is a Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council in the Department of Population Health, Health Systems and Innovation.

She has over 12 years of experience in academia, lecturing Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology and Pathophysiology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban University of Technology and Rhodes University. Over the last decade, she has been involved in various academia roles involving curriculum development, undergraduate teaching paradigms, problem-based learning, and integration teaching. In 2015, she completed a PhD in Public Health from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

She is actively involved in research relating to Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health in South Africa and globally. She is an Executive Board of Directors for the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA), as well as a board member for the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, a member of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, and International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE). She has over ten publications relating to her research. She also serves as a reviewer for various national and international journals.

She is also currently working with various international collaborators on research relating obesity, nutrition, food systems, and school health promotion, with a focus on m-Health. In March 2018, she was one of five recipients of the Gro Brundtland Award in Taiwan for outstanding work in the field of public health and sustainable development.

Kebede Deribe is a research scientist based in Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex in the UK. He is an honorary assistant professor in Addis Ababa University, School of public health, Ethiopia. Dr Deribe is trained in public health officer in Ethiopia (Haramaya University) and has Master of Public Health (MPH) from Jimma University Ethiopia. He obtained his PhD in epidemiology from United Kingdom (University of Sussex and University of Brighton).

Over the past 16 years, he has developed extensive experience conducting and leading public health research and programming.  In particular conducting large scale surveys, health program design, implementation and program evaluation.  He has authored and co-authored over 120 scientific papers and book chapters and contributed to the evidence base. His research work has focused on the spatial aspects of diseases. Dr Deribe has been studying the epidemiology of podoconiosis and other neglected tropical diseases. He and his colleagues have mapped the distribution of podoconiosis in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Rwanda with implications for policy and practice in these countries. He is currently working to develop the Global Atlas of Podoconiosis. 

His other interests include studying the spatial epidemiology of diseases, modelling disease burden and effects of interventions.

He has been awarded a Wyeth Pharmaceuticals New Leaders Award (2007), the Scientific Medal of Young Researcher of the Year of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (2011), The Young Researcher of the Year of the Health Officers Association of Ethiopia (2016), the Emerging Leaders Award, Royal Society of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK (2016) and Fellow Executive Programme for Global Health Leadership (2017-2018).  He was awarded a Wellcome Trust training fellowship (2013-2016) and International Intermediate Research Fellowship (2016-2021). Dr Deribe is an academic editor of PLOS ONE an open access journal.

de Souza is a senior research fellow at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana.  He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Ghana in 2003 and his PhD in Biological Sciences from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2011.

His interests are in Lymphatic filariasis (LF), Neglected Tropical Diseases, medical entomology, molecular biology of disease vectors and parasites. Currently, his main research focus involves assessing the transmission of Lymphatic Filariasis, using molecular xenomonitoring methods. He has led studies on LF and has been involved in providing training, diagnostics, monitoring and evaluation support to less developed project countries in Africa including, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Togo.

He has published many articles in international peer-reviewed journals, and has received local and international competitive awards for young scientists, including the Bill and Melinda Gates travel awards by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (United Kingdom) and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (USA), Young Voices in Research for Health 2008 (Global Forum for Health Research, Geneva, October 2008), nomination by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences for the AU-TWAS National Young Scientist Award, participation in the 2012 World Economic Forum Young Scientists Programme in China – sponsored by the Inter-Academy Panel.

Dziedzom serves as a consultant for the Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme in Ghana, helping to develop important study and strategy documents, reviewing and analysing datasets. He also served as a member of the Ghana Trachoma Elimination Committee. Outside national programmes, Dziedzom has been a consultant for a number of international organizations.

He is fluent in English and French.

Danquah is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. She obtained her PhD from The School of Pharmacy, University College London, United Kingdom. Her MPhil. Pharmacology and B. Pharm degrees were obtained from KNUST and she holds a certificate in Pharmacovigilance from the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

She is a Registered Pharmacist, a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). She is a Senior Associate of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the following associations - the British Pharmacological Society (BPS), International Society for Pharmacovigilance (ISOP), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Society for Applied Microbiology (SFAM) and the West African Society for Pharmacology (WASP).

She is a recipient of the Ghana Education Trust Fund PhD Scholarship; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Travel Awards to the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), USA to present her research; the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms Workshop, Birmingham, fee waiver, to present her research; and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) Professional and Linguistic Fellowship Programme (PEPL) for ECOWAS to the University Teaching Hospital, Treichville, Cote D'Ivoire.  She has been a research associate at Birkbeck, University of London and a visiting academic researcher to the University of Nottingham, UK.

Her research area of interest is in Infectious Disease especially Drug Discovery to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance, particularly in Tuberculosis. Her recent research on “Analogues of Disulfides from Allium stipitatum Demonstrate Potent Anti-Tubercular Activities through Drug Efflux Pump and Biofilm Inhibition” published in Nature Scientific Reports January, 2018 has received tremendous media publicity and she was interviewed on BBC Focus on Africa. She is a reviewer for Phytochemistry Letters and Nature Scientific Reports.

She is married with three children and her hobbies are cooking, reading and listening to music.

Chomba is the programme manager for Regreening Africa at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Regreening Africa is an ambitious eight country programme aimed at reversing land degradation in East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Somalia) and West Africa (Ghana, Niger, Mali and Senegal).

Susan holds a PhD in Forest Governance from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and a double MSc. degree in Agriculture development from the Universities of Copenhagen and Bangor University, UK; and a BSc. in Forestry from Moi University, Kenya.

She has over 10 years of research and development experience in NRM policies, climate change policies and local adaptation, democracy and decentralization of natural resources, gender, justice and equity. She has worked in various capacities in East and West Africa, including as an evaluator for development projects funded by EU, IFAD, USAID, among others.

Susan is passionate about applying research to inform development and works towards bridging the gap between the two.  Susan believes research is critical for transforming lives and livelihoods of small holder farmers in Africa; and development interventions are most effective when they are informed by research and vice versa.

She likes reading, gardening and watching football, especially the World Cup,  where she was the football captain in high school.

10 years of progressive professional experience in African Studies with advanced expertise in Slavery and Memory of Slavery, Material Culture, Gender and Ethnicity, Boko Haram and Islamic Terrorism. A key objective of my forthcoming book “Boko Haram and Haman Yaji: Violent Insurgencies, Wealth Creation and Political Voices in the Lake Chad Basin borderlands” is to bring historically and politically contextualized understandings of religion and ideology to bear on public policies promoting political stability and social justice throughout the Lake Chad Basin. I am a consultant on the contemporary political, social and cultural climate in Central Africa, particularly in Cameroon, and have served as an expert for numerous non-governmental organizations.  

I am editing  Daily Life with Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin,  a collection of articles to be published in the top-ranked Canadian Journal of African Studies. My essays appear in Cahiers d’Etudes Africaines, Afrique Contemporaine, Cambridge Archaeological Anthropos, Anthropologica, Journal, Africa Spectrum, Journal of Asian and African Studies, African Studies Review, among others. I held a postdoctoral position at the Centre for African Studies (University of Basel, 2016-2017) and at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (University of Ottawa, 2017-2018). This Year, I am a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Nantes, France. I have won to date fifteen fellowships from different university systems, and two awards including the 2017 Young African Scholar Award from Africa Spectrum in partnership with the Centre for Gender and African Studies at the Free State University (South Africa), and the 2015 Best paper on Central Africa from the Central African Studies Association. I am a Founding-Member of the Cameroon Academy for Young Scientists and have been nominated to be an Affiliate-Member of the African Academy of Science this year.

Awe is the LISA 2020 Outreach and Engagement Ambassador to Africa in the USAID Sponsored Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA) Program of the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.  He holds M.Sc., Ph.D. (Statistics) from the University of Ibadan and MBA (Finance) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He was a visiting scholar and statistical collaborator at the Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, USA and BECCA Lab of the University of Pennsylvania, from September 2013 to September 2014 and the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil (2020/2021). He has presented scientific papers at several international conferences and served as a facilitator for various capacity-building workshops in Nigeria and beyond. He was a training consultant for the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan on their Data Management Course, which had participants from Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana. He is an International Research Fellow at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing, University of Campinas, Brazil.

He is a member of several professional organizations including Nigerian Statistical Association, International Biometric Society, Elected Member of International Statistical Institute (ISI), International Society for Bayesian Analysis, American Statistical Association, World Association of Young Scientists (WAYS), as well as a council member of the International Society for Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS) from 2017-2021. He is also a fellow of the African Scientific Institute (ASI), USA and a country coordinator (Nigeria) in the International Statistical Literacy Program (ISLP) of ISI, Netherlands. He was appointed as a Professor and PhD Advisor at Global Humanistic University, Curacao in June 2020. 

He created the first LISA 2020 Laboratory in Africa in October, 2014 (www.lisa2020.org). Professor Awe has great passion for research capacity strengthening of early career researchers and he believes in identifying the remote problems affecting the society through research and engaging policy makers to solve them. His research interests includes computational statistics, machine learning, econometric time series analysis with applications in medicine and environment.  

Akuffo is a Lecturer at Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2017 at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland; investigating the impact of macular carotenoid and co-antioxidant supplementation on visual function in patients with early age-related macular degeneration. His PhD work was supported by the European Research Council Grant 281096. During his PhD studies, Dr. Akuffo won the following awards: Young Achiever Award, Ghanaian - Irish & Networks Excellence (GINE) Awards 2013; Runner Up, Geraldine Duggan Memorial Award, Retina Conference, Fighting Blindness Ireland 2013; Best Poster, Delegates Choice, Waterford Institute of Technology Research Day 2013; Cochrane Training Courses 2013.

He studied Doctor of Optometry (OD) at KNUST, graduating in 2011. During his studies at KNUST, he was on the Faculty of Biosciences Dean’s Honor’s List on three consecutive occasions for outstanding academic performance.

He has been trained in retinal photograph grading at the Moorfields Eye Hospital Reading Centre, London, UK, and has been certified to grade cataracts using the Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS) III by the Chylack Incorporated.

Dr Akuffo has published over 20 scientific peer-reviewed articles in optometry, ophthalmology and vision science journals (h-index 10; i10-index 10). He has also contributed to several conference proceedings in his research field. He is a Reviewer for scientific journals including Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and British Journal of Ophthalmology. His research interests include age-related eye disease, clinical trials, epidemiology, vision and nutrition.