KNUST Lecturer Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor & Team Win $1.8 Million From Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• A senior lecturer at KNUST called Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor has made his university very proud
• Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor and his team have won a whopping GH₵17m from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• The money is supposed to be used to support efforts that will lead to drug discovery in Ghana

Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor a senior lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has, together with his team, received $1,896,319.00 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

An official report published by the school indicates that Dr Donkor's team includes a team of scientists from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Department of Chemistry – University of Ghana as well as counterparts from the University of Dundee and the University of Cape Town.

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The funds are meant to be used to improve existing drug discovery capabilities in Ghana in a project that will leverage existing relationships and facilities to further develop human and infrastructure capacity for drug discovery in Ghana, towards the establishment of a drug discovery hub within the sub-region.

The initial focus will be on malaria but once established, the hub will be expanded to other diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19.

Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor holds a PhD in Pharmacology all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in 2011 and 2016 respectively.

He also holds a University Certificate of Advanced Studies from the University of Basel and Novartis Pharma AG, Basel Switzerland as part of the Next Generation Scientist Program in 2014.

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KNUST Student Mathias Charles Yabe Shortlisted To Win $100,000 In Chegg.org Global Student Prize

Meanwhile, Mathias Charles Yabe, a final-year student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi has been selected as one of the top 50 students in the world to win the 2022 Chegg.org Global Student Prize.

In an official publication by Chegg.org on the organization's YouTube channel, Cheggdotorg, it is indicated that Charles merited the honour for being a multi-award-winning internationally recognized social entrepreneur.

Even as a student, he is the co-founder and CEO of AkoFresh, an AgriTech startup that offers smallholder farmers sustainable crop preservation services to reduce post-harvest losses and ensure resilient food systems.

Source: YEN.com.gh