TAP Magazine Issue 15 by Tap Magazine

SALOMEY AFUA ADDO AIMS Ghana Alumni 2018/2019 Human Resource Executive Assistant at Niche Cocoa Industry Limited

Rebranding Africa. One Story at a Time.

SALOMEY AFUA ADDO AIMS Ghana Alumni 2018/2019 Human Resource Executive Assistant at Niche Cocoa Industry Limited

M O SE S M U TA BA RU KA editor-in-chief

WINNIE MILLS country coordinator

PAU L K I D E R O photographer / creative consultant

IGNACIO HENNIGS creative consultant

WA M B U I K A M A U - O N G ’ W E N Y staf f writer, content coordinator

ENOCK OYOO head post-ptoduction

NATA SHA N TAG A R A Contributing writer

AHISHAKIYE ELIE Art & Design

N om M U R TE w a n SA da

D R R FR A O SU M L SU IM D AN A N

ED L M A AL L H F A U A G O H E M AP EN ST S U O OM M FR

M U AK D RIN IN R . E G D W B R Y LL IT IC K O H S N FR R A O N M D A LL

N FO N IF O D O N ER ED AM FR C IL M W RO F

G NG N TI OU R A MY ST HE T

…

JU A G A N ND PA G A IP U IL H M P RO

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15 Cover art by Komi Olaf www.komiolaf.com

At TAP, we are not new to science and the stories of those involved in science in Africa. In fact, even before COVID-19 was a thing, in 2018, we partnered with The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) to produce “Wajenzi ‘’. A documentary on science in Africa, a first of its kind in recent times and our first ever documentary where we dug out interesting facts such as the fact that Mathematics was invented and first intentionally practiced in Africa. Since then, we’ve wanted to do more, we’ve wanted to continue to tell and amplify the stories of Africa’s men and women in science and this milestone issue 15 pays homage to Africans in science. MOSES

MUTABARUKA

Editor-in-Chief TAP Magazine

DEAR TAP FAM, In 2018, while working on a new issue of TAP, I asked myself this one and simple question: How many African scientists could I name off the top of my head? I quickly realized I could only name just one. Today, let me begin by passing on this same question to you, how many African scientists do you know? And did you know that Africa only has 198 researchers per million people. This is in comparison to 4,500 per million in the UK and the US and the global average of 1,150. African scientists have been a rarity, however, the numbers have been slowly rising as we begin to realize the urgency of generating scientific knowledge on the continent. Never has science been more important than now. When we welcomed 2020, no one thought a pandemic was on the horizon. No one thought the world would be looking at more than 220 million cases of COVID-19 and over 4.5 million deaths as a result of the virus. These are truly strange times we find ourselves in. Despite it all, the continent many thought would be hit hardest remains resilient. Africa has managed to ride the COVID-19 waves and we are still here, fighting, adjusting and maneuvering through this pandemic as much as we can.

We have put together a list of ten African scientists who have made strides in their fields of expertise and who you should make a point of reading about and sharing their work with your friends and family; and especially with young people around you who are interested in Science. From the scientist who invented bricks from urine to one of the few women scientists leading their own science labs today. While the statistics around science and Africa can often be dark and discouraging, our hope with this issue is that we can debunk the myth that STEM cannot thrive in Africa because it is indeed thriving albeit not with the support it should be accorded. We hope to encourage those yearning to join the field by showing them that their older “brothers and sisters” have already paved the way for them, that parents can foster the love of science in the younger generations and that Africans in STEM can ‘build their own tables’ here on the continent rather than waiting to be invited to tables in the western world. We may have a vaccine but we are not out of the woods yet with this pandemic, so wash hands, wear a mask, keep social distance where possible and get vaccinated if you can. Talking about vaccines, Paul Mensah, a Ghanaian chemical engineer who led a team of scientists, engineers and technicians to develop Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is also featured in this issue. Thank you and Keep well

DR SARA SULIMAN FROM SUDAN

r Sara Suliman is an immunobiologist, researcher and co-inventor of the Risk 4 invention, Born in Khartoum to Sudanese clinician parents, her family relocated to Saudi Arabia for work opportunities during her formative years. She eventually moved to Canada to pursue her undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph. Although research wasn’t a path she initially wanted to pursue, a course in immunology during her undergraduate studies sparked her interest and she was hooked. She soon found out though that getting research experience as an international student was going to be a major challenge. She would nonetheless keep pushing and she eventually got an opportunity to do research in fish pathogens and volunteered in an HIV lab. She obtained an honours Bsc in Biomedical science and continued her graduate studies at the University of Guelph to further pursue her interest in research. She further obtained a PhD in Immunology and a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. The latter was due to her interest in immunology as a discipline and infectious disease. In a conversation for TAP MAG Issue 15, Dr Suliman mentioned that she considered leaving science multiple times due to a combination of lack of support from mentors, the challenges of being in the field of STEM where not many people looked like her. In addition, infectious disease was underfunded at the time. Nonetheless, she persevered through the obstacles during her graduate studies, obtaining multiple awards and prizes and her career is still soaring to this day.

fter Canada, Dr Suliman moved to Cape Town, South Africa as an infectious disease scientist and conducted research in T-cells as part of her postdoctoral fellowship in 2012. She credits her experience as a researcher in South Africa, where she had better mentors as a catalyst that settled her interest in Public Health. In 2016, while attending a conference in Australia, she connected with a professor who was involved in T-cell research and had just received funding. She subsequently attended a dinner with the same professor during the conference and the dinner turned out to be an interview for a research opportunity in Boston, Massachusetts. Given that her family was in North America, she accepted the research opportunity in Boston at the Harvard Medical School (Brigham and Women’s Hospital). She is currently an instructor in medicine (Immunology) at Harvard Medical School. And is also currently working on the impact of the slow vaccine rollout for covid in Sudan.

r Suliman is still passionate about TB research and will be running her research lab in the fall of 2021, as part of her new upcoming role as Assistant Professor at the Division of Experimental Medicine, University of California San Francisco. She is also passionate about mentoring young Africans in science and those who have an interest in science given her challenging journey in the field as a minority who experienced unsupportive mentors along the way. In addition, she hopes to contribute to the decolonization of global health through her lab as it will be a place to “train African scientists, collaborations and skills exchange. Dr Suliman is hopeful about developing the next generation of African scientists that assert themselves, are conscious of not just public health but also politics, and can fiercely drive the STEM agenda on the Continent.

Below is a Quick (and a very fun and interesting) Q&A with Sara Suliman for this particular issue. Please introduce yourself and give us your backstory

Tell us about your move from Saudi to Canada?

t was a big culture shock! It was made easy by the fact that we had two uncles there but it was a massive culture shock nonetheless. I went from not even being in mixed spaces with men to sitting with them in lecture halls and they’d say things like “Good morning” and I’d be like, what do I do now? Are we getting married or something!!! Laughs… it took me a while to adapt to that as a normal situation.

y name is Sarah Suliman and my story begins in Sudan. I’m Sudanese but my grandmother is Ethiopian. I was born in Khartoum, very close to the Nile and when I was two my family moved to Saudi Arabia. Both of my parents were clinicians and the opportunities were better there at Tell us about schooling in Canada the time. I grew up in Saudi Arabia and looking back it’s so interesting. I hen I started my undergrad hear it’s different now but it was a very I was quite young, I was 16 conservative country when I was growing going on 17. I was very young up. just because I started school very early and no one kicked me out. It seems like What did you want to do growing an advantage but this meant most of my up? peers were two/three years older than me, mature and fluent in English and I rowing up in Saudi, STEM was was this kid who carried a dictionary in not a career path one thought her hands everywhere. about let alone for a woman, but I had the privilege of growing up with two What were some of the challenges working parents and the idea of working that you faced then? in a medical profession was not foreign to me, in fact my early aspirations were to didn’t have the opportunity then be a medical doctor. I have two siblings; to work in a lab because I was an an older brother and younger sister. international student and those days They both chose to go into computer these opportunities were funded by the engineering so I was the only hope for Canadian government and would always a doctor in the family. But in the lab is go to Canadian students first . When I where I found myself so my application started my graduate program I was 20 to medical school was half-hearted and going on 21 and the PhD process really my family knew it.. humbled me. By the time I was completing I was actually considering leaving science altogether. I was disheartened by then and I thought this lab stuff wasn’t for me; imposter syndrome was real. Obviously I didn’t give up and my interest in infectious diseases made me apply to many labs.

How did your interest in Immunology come about?

every benefit I get as a scientist there has to be some sort of skill exchange.

took a course in immunology during my fourth year of university and I Would you ever consider starting was blown away. I was completely a mentorship center for African fascinated but unfortunately Guelph was scientists? not a big center for immunology as that was the only class taught there. I guess am conscious, though, of taking because I was also interested in cancer on mentorship as a main thing treatment (Immunotherapy) that also because women of colour do get grew my interest. this disproportionately and I don’t want it to take away from the things that What made you move back to are key for my job. Having said that, the continent to do work in South mentorship is important so I have to Africa find the right balance between my work and mentorship. I want to contribute to wanted to do work in infectious the growth of a generation of African diseases and being East African scientists while still contributing to myself and having malaria myself Science. many times growing up I wanted to do something in that area, tuberculosis and What are you most hopeful about malaria. I applied to all infectious diseases in science and Africa in Canada but of course they’re in general? so underfunded because these are not problems that Canada his is a time where faces although now with there are enough Covid everyone wants to be an Sara’s that can infectious disease scientist. At drive the agenda and the same time, I didn’t have any drive it very fiercely. Not connections to scientists on the just good scientists but continent so I had to go online people who are conscious and luckily the first search I about politics, conscious made a position that seemed about the colonial history perfectly tailored to me came that led us to where we up. are, and conscious about international relations. I What should we expect think that consciousness from the Sara Suliman is really contributing to lab? the Building of STEM in Africa. This is mostly ne black voice is not what I am excited enough. It’s very about. That said, the important for me to investment still needs decolonise global health and work at a national level what that means to me. My lab because we can’t let our will definitely be a place for livelihoods be dependent training African scientists. For on international organisations.

MOUSTAPHA CISSE FROM SENEGAL

oustapha Cisse is an AI Research Scientist and head of the Google AI Center in Accra (Ghana), Google’s first AI lab in Africa. He is also a professor of Machine Learning at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), where he is the founder and director of the African Master’s in Machine Intelligence (AMMI). He holds a PhD in Machine Learning from Pierre et Marie Curie University in France. He was previously a Research Scientist at Facebook AI. His interest in AI started during an algorithmic course during his university studies. Now, his work focuses on foundational machine learning and its applications to solving complex societal challenges while focusing on fairness, transparency, and reliability. As an advocate for talent development among African youth, Dr Cissé founded the African Masters of Machine Intelligence, a year-long graduate program that provides state-of-the-art training in machine learning and related technologies to African students. He’s also held active roles in Data Science in Africa and is a co-founder of Black in AI.

LEON MUTESA FROM RWANDA

eon is a Medical Geneticist, pioneer, and professor at the University of Rwanda. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Rwanda in 2003 and subsequently obtained his PhD in 2009 at the university of LiegeBelgium, where he also completed his post-doctoral fellowship. His research interest has focused on genetics and dysmorphology. He is currently coordinating the Rwandan Task Force for COVID-19 laboratory testing where his team developed an innovative Covid-19 pool testing technique that enables multiple people to have their samples tested together without the need for single tests to accurately determine individual results that come up positive. Dr. Mutesa also pioneered a reference centre for medical genetics in Rwanda, which is the only one in the East African Region. He has been an important advocate for health insurance coverage for genetic examination for patients in Rwanda and as a result, most health insurance companies cover the karyotype exam, a test to see whether the number of someone’s chromosome number is normal and other cytogenetic and molecular tests.

IBRAHIM CISSE FROM NIGER

brahim is a Biophysicist and an Associate Professor of Physics and Biology at MIT. He has a BS in Physics from North Carolina Central University and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He developed single-molecule and superresolution approaches to study protein clustering, bimolecular condensation in transcription, and other processes in living cells. Ibrahim Cissé grew up the son of a lawyer in Niger, daydreaming about living a life in America, based on what he knew of the country from films and television. He recalls that, as a child, seeing movies like Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor provided him with his first visuals of a professor and scientist in the United States. Ibrahim is extremely accomplished and has received The 2020 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, the Everett Moor Baker Award for Excellence in Undergrad Teaching, (2019), Next Einstein Forum, Fellow (2019), Science News (SN10) Scientist To Watch (2018), Biomedical Scholar, PEW Charitable Trust (2017) and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2014).

Making Bricks from Urine with Dr. Dyllon Randall Interview by Moses Mutabaruka article by Anne Kamau-Ong’weny

frica is a continent with not only resources but brilliant minds too. Our continents recent accomplishments in the field of science include the world’s first heart transplant in South Africa in 1967, a biomedical “smart jacket” to diagnose pneumonia quickly and accurately by Ugandan engineer Brian Turyabagye, a device to detect explosives and cancer cells by Nigerian inventor, Osh Agabi, and many more. Our focus today is a bio-brick that is grown from … urine. Who could have imagined growing a brick, let alone from urine? Well, Dyllon Randall did. Currently, Dr Randall is an Associate Professor in Water Engineering and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. Dr Randall is experienced in the field of industrial crystallization, resource recovery from “waste” waters, and urine treatment.

is love for chemistry was cultivated by his high-school chemistry teacher and chemistry has been a part of his life and career

since then. After working on sanitation for developing countries and a urine treatment project in Switzerland for two years, he came back home to South Africa because he was convinced by Africa’s potential to deliver on its promise. He took up a senior lecturing position at the University of Cape Town in 2017 and it was here that he was able to work on his signature project, the urine bio-brick.

The successful creation of these bricks is a godsend for the environment because (Bio-Bricks) they are created in moulds at room temperature, a far cry from regular bricks that are kiln-fired at temperatures around 1,400°C producing vast quantities of carbon dioxide.

Liquid gold?

hile most of us don’t think twice about urine, Dr Randall assures us that the versatility The science of it all explained of urine makes it liquid gold. From this seemingly simple liquid, you can create Ever wondered how seashells are different types of fertilizer, recover water, made? Well, the beautiful shells you and even extract key components for jet find washed up ashore are made from fuel! calcium carbonate. This gives shells their characteristic hardness, strength, and “The beauty of research is you toughness. Inspired by the mechanical never know where it’s going to properties of shells, Dr Randall and his lead “- Dr. Dyllon Randall team used a similar process to create the bio-brick. It all begins by breaking ot only do you never know where down urea found in human urine into research is going to lead, you ammonia and carbonate ions using never know when inspiration special bacteria. The carbonate ions then will strike. This was the case with another combine with calcium ions to also form great project led by Dr Randall and his calcium carbonate. team - the waterless fertilizer-producing urinal. With this, the team could essentially cement sand particles together into any This interesting project was borne shape. Next, the team combined the out of one of South Africa’s critical aggregate and bacteria, pumped urine environmental crises - the Cape Town solution through a brick mould, and in 4 drought, with the city’s storage reservoirs to 6 days they had a solid brick. below 20 per cent at the peak of the That, ladies and gentlemen, is how the drought, Dr Randall and his team had an first bio-brick grown from urine came to extremely limited water supply. However, be. necessity is the mother of invention and they needed an easy system to collect urine but that also used no water. The fertilizer-producing urinal was born. It collects urine in a removable container from which fertilizer is produced. Through this project, they now had a source of urine that is treated on-site and can be transformed into many useful products.

s Dr Randall and his team were working on perfecting the biobrick, they were approached by the mining company AngloGold Ashanti to see if his team could grow bio-bricks from their mining waste. At the same time, the company is funding a (University of Western Australia in collaboration with Chemical Engineering at UCT) project that will use the same biological process to suppress dust formation in mine tailings. This is because, during windy days, toxic dust gets blown into neighboring communities and can create severe health issues. The idea with this project is to explore whether it is possible to cement the dust and create a crust, preventing the dust from reaching the community. A couple of facts.

been significantly cut.

While researchers like Dr Randall are facing the brunt of this problem right now, the long-term repercussions of stifled scientific research will be felt by everyone on the continent in the years to come. Where we desperately need science, but we have a lack of funding and drive to fund these kinds of projects. With reduced funding, research that would have borne fruit in the near future has been pushed back and ideas stalled.

“That’s the sad state of affairs at the moment. Where we desperately need science, we have a lack of funding.”

ith our conversation ending, frica contributes about 1% of the and with all this talk about global research output. urine, we’re thinking Dr The PhD holders and researcher numbers in Africa in comparison to Randall should officially go by “The Pee the rest of the world are dismal; 100 per Guy” … million, while other continents have On a serious note, though, like the thousands. foundations that this platform was TAP was interested to know - what can we founded on, Dr Randall sees the as Africans do to increase the numbers in immense potential of Africa. With a research? How can we get more problem focus on education, social awareness, and implementation of sustainable, and solvers? environmentally friendly solutions, His answer, simply put, we must invest Africa’s future is bright. in science. In Research, lack of funding is a significant challenge on the continent. “To the young people, never give up For many countries in Africa, research is and never underestimate the value of not a priority. It is always the last to be education,” says Dr Randall as his parting considered for funding and the first to be shot. considered during budget cuts. This has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where funding in research has

Quick Q&A with Dr. Randall When you first introduced the “bio-brick” what was the reception like from your peers in science/research and from everyone else?

hen people meet me or my students, they will say things like,” Oh you’re the pee guy” or “the urine brick guy”, it’s all good fun. Sharing our work in the media allowed our current collaboration with AngloGold Ashanti and now we have a 2-year funded project in place as a result.

Why is it called a bio brick?

e call it a bio-brick because it is unlike other conventional bricks. The bio-brick is grown using bacteria and a process called Microbial Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP).

How did the Cape Town drought affect you and your research?

aving lived through it for two years, I still think about saving water despite the drought being over. I am very wary of taking long showers or watering the garden and whatnot. It’s now entrenched in me. As for my research work, the Cape Town drought was a blessing in disguise. It allowed us to come up with the waterless fertilizer inducing urinal. We needed a way to collect urine in a container without the use of water. Were it not for the drought, there would not have been a necessity for that. What is the sanitation economy?

t is an entire concept focused on creating an economy based on sanitation. Who’s to say we can’t focus on other types of wastewaters though? If we were to approach a more circular concept where we recycle and reuse, we would definitely get value from these “waste” streams.

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PAUL MENSAH FROM GHANA

aul is a Chemical Engineer and Vice president at Pfizer Global Research and Development Global Biologics, Bioprocess R&D. ditor.visualStudioCode); In 2020, Paul Mensah led a team of scientists, engineers and technicians to develop Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Mensah was responsible for developing and manufacturing the vaccine’s DNA starting material and the messenger RNA ext); drug substance that ultimately becomes the vaccine which is 95% effective against the coronavirus.

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“One black voice is not enough. It’s very health. My lab will definitely be a place f benefit I get as a scientist, there has to African Scientis

y important for me to decolonise global for training African scientists. For every be some sort of skill exchange with an st”. Sara Suliman

INNOVATING FOR HEALTHCARE Interview by Moses Mutabaruka article by Anne Kamau-Ong’weny

PHILIPPA NGAJU FROM UGANDA

here’s been plenty of recent press about the lack of women involved in STEM, short for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math”. Well, Philippa Ngaju is one of these women and she’s already making significant headway in STEM in Africa. We had the privilege of speaking to her about the work she’s been doing in her native Uganda. An electrical engineer by training and the head of the instrumentation division at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI). Philippa’s work focuses on the design of medical devices that are appropriate and affordable for low resource contexts. Under her leadership, her team at UIRI has developed awardwinning medical devices that include a diagnostic tool for pneumonia, an Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion set and a portable infant warmer. Philippa’s love for the sciences made a career in STEM a no-brainer. Electrical Engineering, however, was influenced by her older brother who pursued chemical engineering.

fter spending most of her childhood in Zambia where her dad worked as an engineer, her family moved back to Uganda at 14 and she soon after left for Canada for grade 12 and university studies. Philippa made the decision to come back home to Uganda after graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering. “There’s no place like home. I thought there are a lot of opportunities to improve things here as opposed to being in a high resource setting where you are possibly invisible yet there’s so much more you can do back home and contribute”, explains Philippa. From working in the telecommunications industry at MTN testing pre-designed systems to setting up an Instrumentation Unit from scratch at UIRI, Philippa is truly a trailblazer. A few years ago, and seeing the many struggles that our people go through while seeking healthcare, Phillipa and her team thought of issues that they could address in the sector using their knowledge. Infusion seemed to really stand out as administering fluids and medication to patients was a big challenge for the hospitals; the donated tools were insufficient and not sustainable in the Uganda setting.

Looking at how to safely regulate fluids to patients, especially small children where any slight deviation in the amount of fluid being administered can lead to serious consequences, led to the birth of the Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion (ECGF) Set Project. OTHER MEDICAL DEVICES BY UIRI

ther than the ECGF, UIRI has other medical devices in development, including a diagnostic device for pneumonia and an infant warmer. The infant warmer device is an open source device. This means Phillipa and her team freely share the design so that anyone who has the materials and is able to produce it can go ahead and do so. Philippa is also part of UBORA, a movement that is working towards creating open access and freely sharing designs in an effort to try and improve health equity. At the moment, not everyone is able to access quality healthcare due to barriers like monopolies as a result of patents that drive the cost of medical devices up. In a nutshell, UBORA is a platform for open source co-design that will allow medical devices to be freely accessed and contribute to better health outcomes.

“We are the best people to innovate for ourselves because we understand our situation the best”

SO WHAT IS THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A MEDICAL DEVICE INNOVATOR?

eeing her device administering intravenous fluids to patients is nothing short of fulfilling. Helping those living below the poverty line who would normally not access quality healthcare fuels her desire to continue with this work. Case in point, during one of the clinical trials they conducted, there was a Congolese refugee. She was expectant and at the same time had a toddler who was enrolled in one of the studies for intravenous therapy. In the middle of the night, she went into labour and was transferred to the labour ward where she delivered her baby. In the morning, she rushes back to find her sick toddler still receiving her therapy. Such people would probably never imagine receiving quality therapeutic treatment.

What You Need To Know About Intravenous Therapy Intravenous therapy is used in several aspects of clinical care. From the most recent COVID-19 virus where patients need IV therapy to ICU patients, heart patients, infectious diseases patients, emergency care for casualty victims, blood transfusions, severe malaria, acute pneumonia to cancer patients going through chemotherapy; all these require intravenous therapy. Intravenous therapy needs to be controlled carefully to ensure patient safety. A few years ago, a study known as FEAST study (Fluid Expansion as Supportive Therapy) was rolled out across East Africa to hundreds of children. They were assessing if it is ok to infuse fluid bolus to African children who are in shock as is the WHO standard. They found that it was causing more deaths because most African children, by the time they were going to hospital, were underweight, malnourished or anaemic and they had to stop the study. As much as the objective was different, it showed that almost 10% of children come to the hospital requiring intravenous therapy, Philippa presumes it’s a lot higher than the 10%.

here are very few infusion pumps and controllers in our hospitals. During the study in Infectious Diseases trials, Philippa was based in a big hospital in Kampala known as Chirudu, she did not see even one infusion pump. Furthermore, there are so many delays in accessing healthcare that need to be addressed in our hospitals. From the right devices to proper labs, we need to do better. Even as she plans to pursue her PhD in Canada later this year, Philippa remains firm in her commitment to come back home immediately after as there is still so much innovation for healthcare to be done here.

o how does Phillipa do all this and balance being a loving mother and wife, a typical day in the life of Philippa starts at home. An early riser, before COVID-19, she would be up by 5:30 AM to prepare her two kids for school, out of the house and to school drop off by 7:15 AM. Office activities follow thereafter. They include meetings for design projects, talking to collaborators, writing grant proposals, writing papers, data analysis, mentoring undergraduates, talking at workshops or conferences; all in different configurations depending on the day. After work hours, she picks up parenting again. Just a glimpse of a day in the life of a lady in STEM.

PROFESSOR FRED MCBAGOUNLURI FROM GHANA

rofessor Fred is an engineer that focuses on specialty medical devices in healthcare. He was born in Accra and relocated to the US where he completed his university studies. He has a doctorate degree in materials engineering from the University of Daytona, as well as, an MBA from the Massachusett Institute of Technology (MIT).

part from receiving awards including the New Jersey State Healthcare Business (NJBiz) Innovator Hero Award (2008) and having over forty patents and patent applications in his name, the professor has authored nine books, including three novels. To top it all off, he was a finalist of the 2009 NASA astronauts. Currently, he is the provost and president at Academic City College in Ghana. Prior to that, he was the founding dean of the Engineering Department at Ashesi University in Ghana. Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch that illuminates the world. Louis Pasteur A toast to these ten African scientists and every other African scientist who has put in the work to discover, formulate, invent, teach and solve problems that plague humanity.

WILFRED NDIFFON FROM CAMEROON

Wilfred Ndiffon is a Theoretical Biologist with a research focus on ilfred Ndiffon is a Theoreticalthe immune system. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Biologist with research focusMorgan State University and then spent one and a half years doing on the immune system.independent research on RNA folding dynamics and other topics while He obtained a Bachelor’s degree indeveloping commercial software as a hobby. He later attended PrinceBiology from Morgan State Universityton University and studied theoretical biology with American ecologist and then spent one and a half yearsSimon Levin, graduating with a masters and PhD degree. His work has doing independent research on RNAbeen elucidating the organizing principles of T-cell repertoires in health folding dynamics and other topicsand disease, with the ultimate goal of developing new approaches (inwhile developing commercial softwarecluding diagnostics) to controlling various communicable and non-comas a hobby. He later attended Princetonmunicable diseases. He applies mathematical thinking and modelling University and studied theoreticalto discover mechanistic insights about diverse phenomena relevant to biology with American ecologist Simonadaptive immunity. Levin, graduating with a masters and PhD degree. Currently, he is a Professor of Theoretical Biology at The African Instiis work has been elucidating thetute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and the AIMS Network’s Reorganizing principles of T-cellsearch Director. He recently served as an adviser to the World Health repertoires in health and disease,Organisation’s Immunization and Vaccines related Implementation with the ultimate goal of developing newResearch Advisory Committee approaches (including diagnostics) to controlling various communicable and non-communicable diseases. He applies mathematical thinking and modelling to discover mechanistic insights about diverse phenomena relevant to adaptive immunity. Wilfred is responsible for developing the algorithm for pool testing in Rwanda using complex mathematical models. He is also responsible for many biological advancements and discoveries such as the solution to the 70-year old immunological problem about the original antigenic sin.

urrently, he is a Professor of Theoretical Biology at The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and the AIMS Network’s Research Director. He recently served as an adviser to the World Health Organisation’s Immunization and Vaccines related Implementation Research Advisory Committee.

MOUHAMED MOUSTAPHAFALL FROM SENEGAL

fter following the Diploma program at the International Center for Theoretical physics (ICTP) in 2005, Fall defended his PhD in 2009 at the Institute for

Advanced Studies (ISAS/SISSA) in Italy. He then became an assistant lecturer at the Université Catholique de LouvainLa-Neuve in Belgium from 2009-2010, after which he became a Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, followed by a postdoctoral position at the Università Degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. Currently he is a Mathematician and Chair in Mathematics and its Applications at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Senegal, Fall’s work has directly impacted his country. He created a mathematical application that helps calculate a sustainable rate at which fishermen in Senegal can fish the local waters without affecting future fish populations. His research has earned him many international recognition. In particular, Moustapha was an invited speaker at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio. Fall hopes to understand the interplay between nonlocal geometry and relativistic quantum mechanisms. He wants to make mathematics accessible to both the educated and illiterate in Africa by demonstrating the practical applicability of mathematics and the benefits of optimization.

DAILY FLIGHTS TO LAMU

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“To the young people, never give up and never underestimate the value of education”. Dr Dyllon Randall

STARTING THEM YOUNG…

ids are curious by nature, always asking questions like “ Why is the sky blue?” and “How far away is the sun?”. Such questions are proof that these young minds are primed for learning and not just any kind of learning, but learning that is play-based and hands-on. Learning STEM through play allows kids to experiment with simple scientific processes such as cause-andeffect. The young Engineers program has stepped into these big shoes to nurture the curious nature of young minds. Young Engineers is a supplemental education program that teaches kids around the globe about STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, in a fun and playful way. With lots of building blocks and a whole lot of heart, they are using today’s child play to create tomorrow’s reality. The

organization was incorporated in 2017 in Kenya. They’ve now partnered with over 50 schools to provide engaging STEMdriven extracurricular activities. They make learning the four concepts and life skills a matter of excitement and personal expression using specially designed programs, activities and workshops for children, teenagers and even adults. The results have been spectacular with the children participating in young engineers’ activities showing better scholastic results and a better understanding and practical application of mechanics, software engineering, robotics and electronics. The 5 programs currently in place at Young Engineers are: Big Builders program for ages 4-6 years The brick challenge for ages 7-11 years Gali Technic for ages 11-12 years Robo Bricks for ages 12-14 years Robotic -13-15 years STEM is not boring and it is not for the chosen few. STEM is for everyone! Starting them young means interest is piqued and harnessed. Who knows, the next big scientific discovery of the century may be in the mind of a 4-year-old currently building blocks. Find out if this program is in your city/ country and get those young one’s enrolled.