Department of Medical Microbiology Holds Two Maiden Training Workshops

The Department of Medical Microbiology under the University of Ghana Medical School has held two maiden training workshops with funding support from the Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health, USA. 

The two workshops, which targeted West African nationals, had participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Benin, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Prof. David Warren, a Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine facilitates a session on AMR Research Methodology at the RECABAW workshop.

The first workshop took place during the period April 22-26, 2024 and focused on Antimicrobial Resistance, covering key related topics in Genomics, Epidemiology, Research Methodology and Quality Assurance of Laboratory Data. This workshop also provided training in systematic reviews and scientific writing to the participants. 

The second workshop, which took place from May 6-10, 2024, focused on Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics, which provided participants with hands-on training in core areas of the subject.

Facilitators for the workshops were experts from the University of Ghana, Washington University School of Medicine (USA), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK), Sanger Institute (UK) and Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria).,

Dr. Jolynne Mokaya, a Senior Bioinformatician and Training Lead of the GPS and JUNO projects at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK, facilitates a session on Bioinformatics at the DS-ZOOFOOD Workshop.
Dr. Jolynne Mokaya, a Senior Bioinformatician and Training Lead of the GPS and JUNO projects at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK, facilitates a session on Bioinformatics at the DS-ZOOFOOD Workshop.

The workshops are part of two major research training programmes funded by the FIC and led by the University of Ghana. These include the Research and Capacity Building in Antimicrobial Resistance in West Africa (RECABAW) Training Programme (D43TW012487), and the Application of Data Science to Build Research Capacity in Zoonoses and Foodborne Infections (DS-ZOOFOOD) Training Programme (UE5TW012566). 

Some participants from Ghana, Senegal, Benin and Burkina Faso with Dr Jolynne Mokaya (Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK) during a break period at DS-ZOOFOOD workshop.
Some participants from Ghana, Senegal, Benin and Burkina Faso with Dr Jolynne Mokaya (Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK) during a break period at DS-ZOOFOOD workshop.

The Principal Investigator/Programme Director of the two research training programmes, Professor Eric Sampane-Donkor, described the maiden workshops as a huge success. He mentioned that the two training programmes will run workshops every year for the next couple of years to help address some of the crucial needs in infectious diseases in West Africa by bringing high level experts from various institutions to the University of Ghana.

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