Dr Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare
Country (Nationality)
Ghana
Grantee Title
West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP)
Grantee Description
Dr Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare leads the programme, which supports African researchers conducting genetics research, without requiring them to leave the continent.
Outstanding geneticists from across West Africa will be brought together to address the underlying causes of both communicable and non-communicable diseases in African populations, in a project led by researchers at the University of Ghana.
The programme - which will be supported by local, regional and international partners - aims to improve the understanding of disease mechanisms for both communicable and non-communicable diseases by training research leaders in the fields of pathogen biology and human genetics.
The programme is led by Dr Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare, who returned to his native Ghana after a career in the USA with the aim of establishing his own lab to continue his research activities.
The £5.3 million project will expand the established training programme led by the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP). The new award will build on a World Bank grant to support the training of Master’s and PhD students, and will enable the addition of a much-needed postdoctoral programme.
Expanding training to include a postdoctoral programme will help WACCBIP attract highly skilled new PhD graduates, as well as providing opportunities for retaining current PhD students.
In addition to the postdoctoral programmes in pathogen biology and human genetics, PhD trainees will be supported in study visits to partner labs in the UK or USA, a mentoring scheme will be established and short courses in research ethics will be run.