Four Ghanaian women among 20 scientists to receive international research grant

The four are part of the second cohort of the OWSD Early Career fellowship programme.

The four Ghanaian women are Dr Mavis Owureku-Asare, Dr Mercy Badu, Dr Edem Mahu and Dr Priscilla Kolibea Mante.

Dr Mercy Badu Pulse Ghana

Dr Mercy Badu is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Dr Edem Mahu Pulse Ghana

Dr Edem Mahu is a Senior Research Scientist at the Department of Marine and Fisheries Science at the University of Ghana.

Dr Priscilla Kolibea Mante Pulse Ghana

Dr Priscilla Kolibea Mante is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology at KNUST.

Dr Mavis Owureku-Asare Pulse Ghana

Dr Mavis Owureku-Asare is the Centre Manager for the Radiation Technology Centre at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

These selected scientists will receive up to $50,000 to lead research projects at their home institutes and to build up research groups that will attract international visitors.

Funding for the fellowship is provided by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The Early Career fellows were selected from a highly competitive pool of candidates based on the strength of their research proposals and their proven scientific excellence as well as leadership skills.

They come from 14 countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and include a computer scientist from Tanzania building an app to help farmers diagnose poultry diseases through deep learning technology, a biologist from Laos trying to catalog and preserve the diversity of reptiles and amphibians in her country, and a biologist from Guatemala harnessing the natural detoxification properties of aquatic plants to filter harmful contaminants from lakes.