The School of Biological Sciences launched research teams and bi-monthly faculty seminars at the Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana, on Wednesday July 21, 2021.
In his address, the Dean of the School, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, who conceived the idea, expressed appreciation to members of faculty and guests present. According to him, the programme is aimed at creating a platform to enhance research collaborations among faculty and departments in the School. He noted that the process of achieving this objective started with the reorganisation of the faculty research areas and the updating of the research column on the School’s website. The research interests were grouped under the following four (4) broad areas with team leaders from the various departments:
· Biodiversity, Ecology, Environment and Conservation
· Infection and Immunity
· Nutrition, Health and Non-communicable diseases
· Food, Medicinal Plants, Natural Products and Bio-transformation
The Dean further urged faculty members to make the programme successful.
Prof. Alex Asase of the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology and Dr. Maame Yaakwaah Blay Adjei of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science delivered presentations.
In his presentation, Prof. Asase indicated that research collaboration varies across institutions, fields, sectors and countries and changes over time as well. He disclosed some guiding principles for ensuring effective collaborations, including commitment to a shared goal, mutual respect, effective communication, and consensus building in decision-making.
On her part, Dr. Maame Yaakwaah Blay Adjei highlighted her research interests and explained that her task was to showcase the capacity of the laboratory’s Sensory Evaluation to support research collaborations. She indicated existing collaborations through the Dairy Research Improvement and Innovation Consortium (DRIINC) and potential areas for collaboration.
Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Director of the Centre for African Wetlands, advised faculty members to support this laudable initiative in order to realize the objectives of the programme.
Present at the launch of the programme was Prof. Francis Kofi Ewusie Nunoo, Head of the Department of Marine and Fisheries; Dr. Ebenezer
Owusu, Head of the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology; Mr. Emmanuel D. Godwyll, and some staff and guests
