ACE NCD Universities

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana (UG) hosts the ACE-NCDs Ghana Hub. Established in 1979, NMIMR is a semi-autonomous institute of the University of Ghana and the leading biomedical research facility in Ghana. Working with multidisciplinary partners and collaborators in Ghana, Africa and globally, the institute conducts basic and applied research on a wide range of diseases of public health importance, including chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The ACE-NCDs Ghana Hub is led by Professor Ama de-Graft Aikins, Professor of Social Psychology at UG’s Regional Institute for Population Studies and British Academy Global Professor at University College London’s Institute of Advanced Studies.

Professor Linda Eva Amoah

Professor Amoah specializes in malaria transmission and diagnosis. My laboratory is taking an integrated approach to both evaluate malaria transmission in the field as well as to identify new antimalarial agents that possess transmission blocking activities in addition to the killing of asexual parasites. In addition to producing and evaluating the efficacy of transmission blocking agents, I also have projects in place to evaluate the development of transmission blocking immunity and the production of gametocytes during a natural infection.  I am also interested in metabolic syndrome and am working with a team to provide in-depth knowledge of the most prevalent component of metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected children and adolescents as well as to provide a better mechanistic understanding of mitochondrion-immunity-microbiome interactions to open new avenues of research and accelerate preventive and treatment options for HIV-comorbidities. I am a member of the expert working group on malaria at the Malaria Center for Excellence, the Non-Communicable Diseases Support Center and the Health Professions Education Committee (HPEC) of the College of Health Sciences, all of the University of Ghana.  I am a part-time lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) and faculty at the West Africa Center for Cell Biology of Infections Pathogens (WACCBIP) of the University of Ghana. I also conduct routine molecular surveillance activities for the National Malaria Control Program, Ghana

Selected publications

1. Twumasi, E. B., Akazue, P. I., Kyeremeh, K., Gwira, T. M., Keiser, J., Cho-Ngwa, F., Flint A, Anibea B, Bonsu EY, Amewu RK, Amoah LE, Appiah-Opong R, & Osei-Safo, D. (2020). Antischistosomal, antionchocercal and antitrypanosomal potentials of some Ghanaian traditional medicines and their constituents. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 14(12), e0008919.
2. Menyanu E, Baatiema L, Charlton K, Wilson M, Aikins AD, Russell J., Members of the ARUA-CoE NCDs Towards Population Salt Reduction to Control High Blood Pressure in Ghana: A Policy Direction..Curr Dev Nutr. 2020 May 18;4(Suppl 3):nzaa084. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa084. eCollection 2020 Aug.PMID: 32851200
3. Jibira Y, Cudjoe E, Tei-Maya FM, Ayensu B, Amoah LE. The Effectiveness of Varying Combination Ratios of A. cordifolia and M. indica against Field and Laboratory Strains of P. falciparum In Vitro. J Parasitol Res. 2020 Nov 14;2020:8836771. doi: 10.1155/2020/8836771. eCollection 2020.PMID: 33294217
4. Cudjoe E, Donu D, Okonu RE, Amponsah JA, Amoah LE.J The In Vitro Antiplasmodial Activities of Aqueous Extracts of Selected Ghanaian Herbal Plants. Parasitol Res. 2020 May 20;2020:5041919. doi: 10.1155/2020/5041919. eCollection 2020.PMID: 32518693
5. Prajapati SK, Ayanful-Torgby R, Pava Z, Barbeau MC, Acquah FK, Cudjoe E, Kakaney C, Amponsah JA, Obboh E, Ahmed AE, Abuaku BK, McCarthy JS, Amoah LE, Williamson KC. The transcriptome of circulating sexually committed Plasmodium falciparum ring stage parasites forecasts malaria transmission potential. Nat Commun. 2020 Dec 2;11(1):6159. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19988-z.PMID: 33268801
6. Usui M, Prajapati SK, Ayanful-Torgby R, Acquah FK, Cudjoe E, Kakaney C, Amponsah JA, Obboh EK, Reddy DK, Barbeau MC, Simons LM, Czesny B, Raiciulescu S, Olsen C, Abuaku BK, Amoah LE, Williamson KC Plasmodium falciparum sexual differentiation in malaria patients is associated with host factors and GDV1-dependent genes.. Nat Commun. 2019 May 13;10(1):2140. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10172-6.PMID: 31086187

Dr Richard Amewu

Richard’s research interest is in the development of novel therapeutic agents for neglected diseases. Richard is a synthetic organic chemist with a special interest in drug design, chemical biology and medicinal chemistry of antimalarial, antimycobacterial, and anticancer drugs as well as treatment of other neglected diseases. Richard’s research also focuses on exploring the key pharmacophore in natural products and designing semi-synthetic or purely synthetic analogues that mimic natural products as well as manipulation of undruglike chemical entities with therapeutic properties into druglike compounds. Richard’s research is part of a global drug discovery team consisting of medicinal chemists, computational chemists, natural product chemist structural biochemists and pharmacologists.

Selected publications

1. Amewu RK, Akolgo GA, Asare ME, Abdulai Z, Ablordey AS, Asiedu K (2022) Evaluation of the fluorescent-thin layer chromatography (f-TLC) for the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer disease in Ghana. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0270235. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270235
2. Amewu RK, Amoateng P, Arthur PK, Asare P, Asiamah I, Boamah D, et al. (2022) Drug discovery research in Ghana, challenges, current efforts, and the way forward. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 16(9): e0010645. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010645
3. Amewu, R.K.; Sakyi, P.O.; Osei-Safo, D.; Addae-Mensah, I. Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Heterocyclic Anticancer Compounds with Multiple Biological Targets. Molecules 2021, 26, 7134. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237134
4. Patrick O Sakyi, Richard K Amewu, Robert NOA Devine, Alfred K Bienibuor, Whelton A Miller, Samuel K Kwofie, Unravelling the myth surrounding sterol biosynthesis as plausible target for drug design against leishmaniasis, Journal of Parasitic Diseases, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-021-01390-1
5. Patrick O Sakyi, Richard K Amewu, Robert NOA Devine, Emahi Ismaila, Whelton A Miller, Samuel K Kwofie, The Search for Putative Hits in Combating Leishmaniasis: The Contributions of Natural Products Over the Last  Decade, Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 2021, 11(5):489-544. doi: 10.1007/s13659-021-00311-2
6. Affo Dermane, Kafui Kpegba, Kodjo Eloh, Dorcas Osei-Safo, Richard K. Amewu, Pierluigi Caboni 2020, Differential constituents in roots, stems and leaves of Newbouldia laevis Thunb. screened by LC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS    Results in Chemistry, 2 (2020) 100052 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rechem.2020.100052
7. De Rycker M, Horn D, Aldridge B, Amewu RK, Barry CE 3rd, Buckner FS, Cook S, Ferguson MAJ, Gobeau N, Herrmann J, Herrling P, Hope W, Keiser J, Lafuente-Monasterio MJ, Leeson PD, Leroy D, Manjunatha UH, McCarthy J, Miles TJ, Mizrahi V, Moshynets O, Niles J, Overington JP, Pottage J, Rao SPS, Read KD, Ribeiro I, Silver LL, Southern J, Spangenberg T, Sundar S, Taylor C, Van Voorhis W, White NJ, Wyllie S, Wyatt PG, Gilbert    IH, Setting Our Sights on Infectious Diseases. 2020 ACS Infect Dis. 6, 1, 3-13. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00371.

Professor Regina Appiah-Opong

Professor Regina Appiah-Opong is a Toxicologist and Researcher at the Department of Clinical Pathology. Her research interests include Drug discovery (Anticancer, antimalarial), Drug-drug/drug-herb/drug-food interactions, Antioxidants and Environmental contaminants (Heavy metals, aflatoxins). She has been involved in drug discovery projects, evaluating the efficacy and safety of drug candidates and medicinal plants. She has also conducted studies on environmental contaminants, particularly heavy metals and aflatoxins and antioxidant properties of several medicinal plants. She was a collaborator on the JICA/JST/Nagasaki International University/Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine/NMIMR research project that investigated anti-HIV and anti-trypanosomiasis compounds in Ghanaian medicinal plants. She is also collaborating with the Pharmacology Department of Yale University Medical School on chemical and biological fingerprinting of some Ghanaian medicinal plants. She is a member of a multidisciplinary team that is investigating the efficacy of Ghanaian medicinal plants used by Traditional Medicine Practitioners to manage cancer. She is also a member of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Support Centre for Africa. She has supervised doctoral and postdoctoral research projects in the University of Ghana and other Universities. She has published extensively in her field of study.

Selected publications

1. B.B. N’guessan, A.D. Asiamah, N.K. Arthur, S. Frimpong-Manso, P. Amoateng, S.K. Amponsah, K.E. Kukuia, J.A. Sarkodie, K.F-M. Opuni, I.K. Asiedu-Gyekye, R. Appiah-Opong. (2021) Ethanolic extract of Nymphaea lotus L. (Nymphaeaceae) leaves exhibits in vitro antioxidant, in vivo anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities on Jurkat and MCF-7 cancer cell lines. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies (2021) 21:22 doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-03195-w
2. R. Appiah-Opong, I.K. Asante, D. Osei Safo, I. Tuffour, E. Ofori-Attah, T. Uto, A.K. Nyarko. (2016). Cytotoxic effects of Albizia zygia (DC) J.F. Macbr, a Ghanaian medicinal plant against T-lymphoblast-like leukemia, prostate and breast cancer cell lines. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8(5): 392-396.
3. D. Osei-Safo, G.A. Dziwornu, R. Appiah-Opong, M.A., Chama, I. Tuffour, R. Waibel, R. Amenu, I. Addae-Mensah. (2017) Constituents of the roots of Dichapitalium pallidum and their antiproliferative activity. Molecules. doi: 10.3390/molecules22040532.
4. I. Tuffour, I. Ayi, T.M. Gwira, E. Dumashie, Y. Ashong, R. Appiah-Opong. (2018) Schistosoma egg antigens induce oncogenic alterations in human prostate cells. Analytical Cellular Pathology. doi.org/10.1155/2018/4675380
5. S.K. Amponsah, B.B. N’guessan, M. Akandawen, A. Aning, S.Y. Agboli, E.A. Danso, K. F-M. Opuni, I.J. Asiedu-Gyekye, R. Appiah-Opong. (2020) Effect of Cellgevity supplement on selected rat liver cytochrome P450 enzyme activity and pharmacokinetic parameters of carbamazepine. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, doi.org/10.1155/2020/7956493

Dr Daniel Kojo Arhinful

Daniel Kojo Arhinful is a Senior Research Fellow and former Head (2009-2013) of the Department of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Colege of Health Scineces, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra Ghana. He is a medical anthropologist with a primary research interest in health systems research and key areas of specialization and experience in access to medicines including supply chain and pricing, maternal and child health and social health insurance, infectious and chronic diseases in African populations. He has also led and participated in a number of inter and multi-disciplinary research in non-communicable diseases research with colleagues from Universities in Ghana, Nigeria, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States and Malaysia. His empirical research on NCDs include formative and baseline research on diabetes mellitus in Ghana covering health care infrastructure to knowledge and attitudes and practices in the populations and the challenges and good practices in research, practice and policy of chronic disease burden in African populations. His research has received support from a number of funders including the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO-WOTRO, Economic and Social Research Council, The British Academy, the European Union and DANIDA. He is also involved in the supervision of postgraduate students in nursing and social policy on aspects of the NCD burden in Ghana and served as a member of the technical steering committee on risk factor survey on Non-Communicable Diseases in Ghana.

Selected publications

1. Gelli A, Aurino E, Folson G, Arhinful, D, Adamba C, Osei-Akoto I, Masset E, Watkins K, Fernandes M, Drake L, Alderman H.(2019), A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial., J Nutr. 2019 Aug 1;149(8):1434-1442. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz079. PMID:3110012
2. Alhassan RK, Nketiah-Amponsah E, Arhinful DK. (2016), Design and implementation of community engagement interventions towards healthcare quality improvement in Ghana: a methodological approach. Health Econ Rev. 2016 Dec;6(1):49. Epub 2016 Oct 26. PMID: 27785769
3. Aberese-Ako M, van Dijk H, Gerrits T, Arhinful DK, Agyepong IA. (2014), ‘Your health our concern, our health whose concern?’: perceptions of injustice in organizational relationships and processes and frontline health worker motivation in Ghana. Health Policy Plan. 2014 Sep;29 Suppl 2:ii15-28. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czu068. PMID: 25274637
4. Parmar D, Williams G, Dkhimi F, Ndiaye A, Asante FA, Arhinful DK, Mladovsky P. (2014), Enrolment of older people in social health protection programs in West Africa–does social exclusion play a part? Soc Sci Med. 2014 Oct;119:36-44. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.011. Epub 2014 Aug 13. PMID: 25137646
5. Fenenga CJ, Boahene K, Arhinful D, de Wit TR, Hutter I. (2013), Do prevailing theories sufficiently explain perceptions and health-seeking behavior of Ghanaians? Int J Health Plann Manage. 2014 Jan- Mar;29(1):26-42. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2159. Epub 2013 Jan 10. PMID: 23303726
6. de-Graft Aikins A, Arhinful DK, Pitchforth E, Ogedegbe G, Allotey P, Agyemang C. (2012), Establishing and sustaining research partnerships in Africa: a case study of the UK-Africa Academic Partnership on Chronic Disease. Global Health. 2012 Aug 16;8:29. doi: 10.1186/1744-8603-8-29. PMID: 22897937
7. de-Graft Aikins A, Unwin N, Agyemang C, Allotey P, Campbell C, Arhinful D. (2010), Tackling Africa’s chronic disease burden: from the local to the global. Global Health. 2010 Apr 19;6:5. doi:10.1186/1744-8603-6-5. PMID: 20403167

Professor Richmond Aryeetey

Dr. Richmond Aryeetey is a Professor at the University of Ghana School of Public Health. He has worked in Ghana as a researcher in maternal and child health/nutrition for the past 20 years. His research interests are multidisciplinary and cuts across maternal, infant and child nutrition, community health, Food systems, and health policy analysis. He has expertise in Monitoring and Evaluation, Training, and Facilitation. In the past five years, Prof Aryeetey has evaluated programs for FAO, UNICEF, and GAIN. He has strong competencies in evidence synthesis, implementation research, and evidence-informed decision making in health and nutrition. His previous research has been supported with funding from European Commission, Global Affairs Canada, New York Population Council, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Family, Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Currently, Prof Aryeetey serves on various National Committees including the National Salt Iodization Committee, and the National Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Capacity Building working group. He has several research collaborations across multiple institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, North America, and Europe. He has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and books/book chapters on various subjects spanning diverse research areas. His current research interests comprised: Infant and young child feeding policies and interventions, Community-based interventions for food and nutrition security, Ecological determinants of overweight and nutrition-related NCDs and implementation science in Nutrition.

Selected publications

1. Aberman, N. L., Nisbett, N., Amoafo, A., & Areetey, R. (2022). Assessing the readiness of small cities in Ghana to tackle overweight and obesity. Food Security, 14(2), 381-393.
2. Arday, M., De-Gaulle, V. F., Agyabeng, K., & Aryeetey, R. (2020). “I Did Not Choose to Be Obese”—Experiences of Stigma among Market Women in Kaneshie, Ghana. Open Access Library Journal, 7(5), 1-13.
3. Laar, A., Barnes, A., Aryeetey, R., Tandoh, A., Bash, K., Mensah, K., … & Holdsworth, M. (2020). Implementation of healthy food environment policies to prevent nutrition-related non-communicable diseases in Ghana: national experts’ assessment of government action. Food Policy, 93, 101907.
4. Lartey, A., Marquis, G. S., Aryeetey, R., & Nti, H. (2018). Lipid profile and dyslipidemia among school-age children in urban Ghana. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1-8.
5. Pradeilles, R., Irache, A., Wanjohi, M. N., Holdsworth, M., Laar, A., Zotor, F., … & Griffiths, P. (2021). Urban physical food environments drive dietary behaviours in Ghana and Kenya: A photovoice study. Health & place, 71, 102647.
6. Green, M.A., Pradeilles, R., Laar, A., Osei-Kwasi, H., Bricas, N., Coleman, N., Klomegah, S., Wanjohi, M.N., Tandoh, A., Akparibo, R. and Aryeetey, R.N.O., 2020. Investigating foods and beverages sold and advertised in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Ghana and Kenya: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 10(6), p.e035680.
7. Rousham, E. K., Pradeilles, R., Akparibo, R., Aryeetey, R., Bash, K., Booth, A., … & Holdsworth, M. (2020). Dietary behaviours in the context of nutrition transition: a systematic review and meta-analyses in two African countries. Public health nutrition, 23(11), 1948-1964.
8. Aryeetey, R., Lartey, A., Marquis, G. S., Nti, H., Colecraft, E., & Brown, P. (2017). Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban Ghana. BMC obesity, 4(1), 1-8.

Dr Leonard Baatiema

Dr Leonard Baatiema is a Lecturer at the Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, University of Ghana and a Fogarty Global Health Fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Leonard holds a PhD in Public Health from Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia and an MSc in Health, Community, and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. He has also received training in Health Systems Strengthening from the University of Melbourne, and the World Bank on Health Systems. He is currently enrolled in a certificate program on non-communicable diseases from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. His research areas span health systems strengthening, primary health care, governance, and leadership in healthcare, implementing change in healthcare, knowledge translation, human resource for health, health policy analysis and non-communication diseases. r Baatiema is a Co-Investigator of the CARE Diabetes Project in Ghana – a GCRF/MRC funded project seeking to generate contextual understandings of Type 2 Diabetes in poor communities in urban Ghana. He is part of the team at the African Centre of Excellence on Non-Communicable Diseases Consortium based at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana. He is also an ad hoc reviewer to a number of public health and health policy-based academic journals including Health Policy, Implementation Science, BMJ Global Health, Global Health Action, Global Public Health. He is currently on the Chronicity and Care in African Contexts team as a postdoctoral researcher.

Selected publications

1. Baatiema., L., Sanuade, O., Ganle., K.J., Sumah, A., Baatiema, L., Sumankuuro., L (2020). An ecological approach to understanding stroke experience and access to rehabilitation services in Ghana: a cross-sectional study. Health & Social Care in the Community
2. Menyanu E, Baatiema L, Charlton K, et al. (2020). Towards Population Salt Reduction to Control High Blood Pressure in Ghana: A Policy Direction. Curr Dev Nutr. ;4(Suppl 3):naa084. Published 2020
3. Peer., N., Baatiema., L., & Kengne., P.A. (2021) cardiovascular disease burden in Africa: current challenges and outlook for the future Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy
4. Baatiema, L., de-Graft Aikins, A., Sav, A., Mnatzaganian, G., Chan, C., Somerset, S. (2017). Barriers to evidence-based acute stroke care in Ghana: a qualitative study on the perspectives of stroke care professionals. BMJ Open, 7(4): e015385, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015385
5. Baatiema, L., Otim, M., Mnatzaganian, G., de-Graft Aikins, A., Coombes, J., Somerset, S. (2017). Towards Best Practice in Acute Stroke Care in Ghana: A Survey of Hospital Services.

Dr. Ernestina K. Dankyi

Dr. Ernestina Dankyi is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies. Ernestina Dankyi is a child and youth protection and research specialist whose primary interest is in the rights and welfare of diverse groups of high-risk children and young people. She has expertise in conducting high-quality qualitative research and engaging relevant stakeholders to make use of her research findings and recommendations. She has conducted extensive research on children and youth in migration situations including street-connected children and youth most of whom are both internal and international migrants. Since 2018, she has been working on the mental health experiences of street children and adolescents, most of whom are migrants. She believes that the multi-level care systems within which children grow up play a significant role in their well-being. Therefore, inspired by the ecological systems theory, her current research focuses on the interaction between the macro structures of care and the immediate settings within which children and adolescents find themselves and how these interactions impact their well-being. Her interest in street children and adolescents spans their general well-being and the micro, meso and macro-level structures that are responsible for providing care for them.

Selected Publications

1. Dankyi E, Huang K-Y (2021). Street Children in Ghana’s Golden Triangle Cities: Mental Health Needs and Associated Risks. Child Psychiatry & Human Development.
2. Dankyi, E. (2021). Children living on the street: Current efforts in policy research and practices in Ghana. In F. M. Ssewamala, M. McKay, & O. Sensoy Bahar (Eds.). Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
3. Dako-Gyeke M., Kodom R., Dankyi E., Sulemana A. (2020). Drivers of independent migration among adolescents from selected West African countries. Children and Youth Services Review (117)
4. Oti-Boadi M., Dankyi E., Kwakye-Nuako C. (2020). Stigma and Forgiveness in Ghanaian Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Journal of Autism and Development Disorders https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04366-x
5. Huang K., Bornheimer L., Dankyi, E., de-Graft Aikins A. (2018). Parental wellbeing, parenting and child development in Ghanaian families with young children. Child Psychiatry & Human development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0799-3
6. Mazzucato, V., Dankyi, E., Poeze, M (2017).  Mapping transnational networks of care from a multi-actor and multi-sited perspective. In Children of migrants, intergenerational relations, and the transition to adulthood: Exploring Methodological Issues and Innovations, edited by Bolzmann, Bernardi, le Goff. Springer.
7. Alidu S. Dankyi E. Tsiboe-Darko A. (2016). Ageing policies in Ghana: a review of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty and the National Health Insurance Scheme.    Ghana Studies
8. Poeze M. Dankyi E. Mazzucato V. (2016).  Navigating Transnational Care Relationships: Migrant parents and their children’s caregivers in the origin country. Global Networks. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glob.12135/epdf

Professor Irene Kretchy

Irene Kretchy is an Associate Professor (Social Behavioural) at the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy, and a Fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists. Her research focuses on biopsychosocial approaches to medication use and adherence in chronic physical and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Her research activities have looked at the role of psychosocial factors in response to medication and other treatments, understanding and optimizing medication-related behaviours and the assessment of perceptions and experiences of illness and treatment for chronic conditions from the perspectives of patients, caregivers and policymakers. The research emphasizes psychosocial determinants of medication adherence, economic and psychological burden of caregiving, availability, efficacy, side effects, accessibility, therapeutic monitoring and prescription practices of the medications used in chronic disease management. She has also explored the role of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine in the management of chronic diseases from the perspectives of patients, and health providers, as well as the use of communication tools for health behaviours interventions including medication adherence, blood donation and adverse drug reaction reporting.

Selected publications

1. Kretchy IA, Appiah B, Agyabeng K, Kwarteng EM, Ganyaglo E, Aboagye GO (2021). Psychotropic medicine beliefs, side effects and adherence in schizophrenia: a patient–caregiver dyad perspective. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-021-01264-9
2. Appiah B, Kretchy IA, Yoshikawa A, Asamoah-Akuoko L, France CR (2021). Perceptions of a mobile phone-based approach to promote medication adherence: A cross-sectional application of the technology acceptance model. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, 1: 100005
3. Ocansey PME, Kretchy IA, Aryeetey GC, Agyabeng K,  Nonvignon J (2021). Anxiety, depression, and stress in caregivers of children and adolescents with mental disorders in Ghana and implications for medication adherence. Ghana Medical Journal, 55(3): 173-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gmj.v55i3.1
4. Kretchy IA, Boima V, Agyabeng K, Koduah A, Appiah B (2020). Psycho-behavioural factors associated with medication adherence among out-patients with hypertension in a Ghanaian hospital. PLoS ONE, 15(1):e0227874. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227874
5. Kretchy IA, Osafo J, Agyemang SA, Appiah B, Nonvignon J (2018). Psychological burden and caregiver-reported non-adherence to psychotropic medications among patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research. 1;259:289-94. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres

Professor Ama de-Graft Aikins

Ama de-Graft Aikins is a professor of social psychology and a British Academy Global Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies, University College London. She received her PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), completed postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge and has held teaching and research positions at the LSE, University of Cambridge and University of Ghana.

Ama’s research focuses on representations and experiences of chronic conditions and on the psychosocial and structural drivers of Africa’s chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) burden. She also has a strong interest in arts in health, and the interconnections between the history of psychology in Africa, African Studies and critical theory. Her research applies longitudinal mixed qualitative methods in community settings, and is often embedded in interdisciplinary transnational projects on NCDs.

She is currently principal investigator for the British Academy funded Chronicity and Care in African Contexts project. The project explores how social responses to chronic conditions can shape health communication and chronic care models in continental and diaspora African settings.

Selected publications

1. de-Graft Aikins, A. (2005). Healer-shopping in Africa: new evidence from a rural-urban qualitative study of Ghanaian diabetes experiences. British Medical Journal, 331, 737.
2. de-Graft Aikins, A. (2006). Reframing applied disease stigma research: a multilevel analysis of diabetes stigma in Ghana. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16(6), 426-441.
3. de-Graft Aikins, A., Unwin, N., Agyemang, C. Allotey, P., Campbell, C and Arhinful, D.K. (2010). Tackling Africa’s Chronic Disease Burden: from the local to the global (Editorial). Globalization and Health, 6:5.
4. de-Graft Aikins, A, Boynton, P. and Atanga, L.L. (2010) Developing Effective Chronic Disease Prevention in Africa: insights from Ghana and Cameroon. Globalization and Health, 6:6.
5. de-Graft Aikins A., Arhinful, D.K., Pitchforth, E., Ogedegbe, O., Allotey, P., Agyemang, C. (2012). Establishing and Sustaining Research Partnerships in Africa: a case study of the UK-Africa Academic Partnership on Chronic Disease. Globalization and Health, 8: 29.
6. de-Graft Aikins, A., Kushitor, M., Koram, K., Gyamfi, S., Ogedegbe. G. (2014). Chronic non-communicable diseases and the challenge of universal health coverage. Insights from community-based cardiovascular disease research in urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana. BMC Public Health. 14 (Suppl 2), doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-S2-S3. (IF: 2.08)
7. Agyemang, C., Boatemaa S., Agyemang G., and de-Graft Aikins, A. (2016) Obesity in Africa. In R. Ahima (Ed), Metabolic syndrome: A comprehensive textbook. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland.
8. Nyaaba, G.N., Stronks, K., de-Graft Aikins, A., Kengne, A.P. and Agyemang, C. (2017). Tracing Africa’s progress towards implementing the Non-Communicable Diseases Global action plan 2013–2020: a synthesis of WHO country profile reports. BMC Public Health, 17:297
9. de-Graft Aikins, A., Kushitor, M., Boatemaa, S., Sanuade, O., Asante, P.Y., Sakyi, L., Agyei, F., Koram, K., Ogedegbe, G. (2020) Building cardiovascular disease (CVD) competence in an urban poor Ghanaian community: a social psychology of participation approach. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. 1-22, DOI: 10.1002/casp.2447
10. de-Graft Aikins, A., Sanuade, O., Baatiema, L., Asante, P.Y., Agyei, F., Asah-Ayeh, V., Okai, J.A.O., Osei-Tutu, A., and Koram, K. (2021). COVID-19, chronic conditions and structural poverty: a social psychological assessment of the needs of a vulnerable community in Accra, Ghana. Journal of Social and Political Psychology. 9(2), 577–591, https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.7543

Professor Michael Okyerefo

Michael Okyerefo is a Professor of Sociology specializing in Cultural Sociology and the Sociology of Religion. He aims to advance Global Sociology through biographical analysis, studying religious groups and their transnational networks, migration, health, African Social Thought and conceptual categories, as well as engaging in Critical University Studies. While a Sociologist by training, he also applies anthropological skills, with emphasis on fieldwork in his research, as these are skills he refined during a fully paid Fellowship on Religion and Public Culture at the University of Cambridge from October 2007 to March 2008. He and Professor Abdoulaye Gueye of the University of Ottawa have been engaged in a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) to strengthen an African Diaspora Support to African Universities project. He is also part of a team leading a NIH/FIC funded NYU-UG Research Integrity Training Program to build sustainable research ethics and integrity capacity in Ghana through a joint partnership between the University of Ghana (UG) and NYU. The project has resulted in a Bioethics Program, which awards a master’s degree in Bioethics at UG School of Public Health.

Selected publications

1. Laar AK, Ganle J, Owusu, A, Tenkorang E, Tuakli-Wosornu Y, Soyiri I, Okyerefo M, Senah K (2020). Representing health: an Afrocentric perspective. In: Practicing health geography: The Africa Context. Eds: Prestige Tatenda Makanga, PT. Springer International Publishing. DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-63471-1
2. Laar, A. K., Lartey, M. Y., Ankomah, A., Okyerefo, M.P.K., Ampah, E.A., Letsa, D.P., Nortey, P.A. & Kwara, A. (2018). Food elimination, food substitution, and nutrient supplementation among ARV-exposed HIV-positive persons in southern Ghana. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 37 (26), 1-12.
3. Laar, A.K., Kwara, A., Nortey, P.A., Ankomah, A.K., Okyerefo, M.P.K. & Lartey, M.Y. (2017). Use of Non-Prescription Remedies by Ghanaian Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Persons on Antiretroviral Therapy. Frontiers in Public Health, 5 (115), 1-10.
4. Ankomah, A., Kuumuori Ganle, J., Lartey, M.A., Kwara, A., Nortey, P.A., Okyerefo, M. P. K. & Laar, A.K. (2016). ART access-related barriers faced by HIV-positive persons linked to care in southern Ghana: a mixed method study. BMC Infectious Diseases, 16 (738), 1-12.
5. Okyerefo, M. P. K. & Fiaveh, D.Y. (2016). Prayer and health-seeking beliefs in Ghana: understanding the ‘religious space’ of the urban forest. Health Sociology Review, 1-13.
6. Fiaveh, D. Y., Izugbara, C. O., Okyerefo, M. P. K., Reysoo, F., & Fayorsey, C. K. (2015a). Constructions of masculinity and femininity and sexual risk negotiation practices among women in urban Ghana. Culture, Health & Sexuality: An International Journal for Research, Intervention and Care, 17(5), 650-662.
7. Okyerefo, M. P. K. (2014). “I experience serenity and convenience in the forest” – Achimota Forest turned sacred space to confront the vicissitudes of life. The Journal of the Sociology and Theory of Religion (JSTR), 3. https://revistas.uva.es/index.php/socireli/issue/view/70.
8. Fiaveh, D. Y., Okyerefo, M. P. K., & Fayorsey, C. K. (2011). HIV counseling and testing among men in the University of Ghana: Implications for gender-based HIV and AIDS prevention interventions. Journal of AIDS and HIV Research, 3(5), 90-99.

Professor Dorcas Osei-Safo

My research focus is in the area of natural products chemistry with an aim to discover new/novel compounds mainly from plants that have promising biological activity against infectious diseases including the neglected tropical diseases and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and epilepsy. I also have an interest in the development and application of quality assurance methods for detecting sub-standard and falsified antimalarials and other essential medicines distributed for use in Ghana.

Selected publications

1. Amewu, R.K., Sakyi, P.O., Osei-Safo, D. & Addae-Mensah, I. (2021). Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Heterocyclic Anticancer Compounds with Multiple Biological Targets. Molecules, 26, 7134 doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237134
2. Osei-Safo, D., Dziwornu, G. A., Salgado, A., Sunassee, S. N. & Chama, M. A. (2017). Bi- and bisbibenzyls from the roots of Dichapetalum heudelotii and their antiproliferative activities. Fitoterapia 122, 95–100
3. Osei-Safo, D., Dziwornu, G.A., Appiah-Opong, R., Chama, M.A., Tuffour, I., Waibel, R., Amewu, R. & Addae-Mensah, I. (2017). Constituents of the Roots of Dichapetalum pallidum and Their Anti-Proliferative Activity. Molecules, 22, 532-542
4. Chama, M. A., Dziwornu, G. A., Waibel, R., Osei-Safo, D., Addae-Mensah, I., Otchere, J. & Wilson, M. (2015). Isolation, characterization, and anthelminthic activity of a novel dichapetalin and other constituents of Dichapetalum filicaule. Pharmaceutical Biology, 29: 1-10
5. Osei-Safo, D., Chama, M. A., Addae-Mensah, I., Waibel, R., Asomaning, W. A. & Oppong, I. V. (2008). Dichapetalin M from Dichapetalum madagascariense. Phytochemistry Letters 1, 147-150.

Professor Michael D. Wilson

I am a Professor of Parasitology at the Department of Parasitology, NMIMR, University of Ghana. My research areas of interest include Evolutionary Biology, , Epidemiology and Control of Soil-transmitted helminthiasis and Computer-aided drug design and discovery for chronic diseases. I have over 38 years of experience in diseases prevention and control; including 5 years as a biologist with the research arm of the WHO Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa. I was the Project Leader of an international team of experts that established the feasibility and developed the operational strategy to eliminate onchocerciasis through the eradication of Simulium damnosum vectors, from the Island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea (1999-2003). I was a Programme Manager of the West African Centre for International Parasite Control that provided training and technical advice to managers of national NTDs control programmes in seven West African countries. I managed four disease-specific reference groups (DRGs) of world-renowned experts on Malaria, Dengue and viral Diseases of Public Health Importance, and Chagas disease, Human African Trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis established by WHO/TDR in Geneva (2009-2010). The DRGs reviewed the evidence, identified gaps in knowledge and opportunities, and top-level research priorities that if adopted could significantly influence global health. My research interest focuses on local and global issues regarding sustainable control/elimination of neglected tropical diseases. My passion is training and mentoring young researchers and students from diseases-endemic countries.

Selected publications

1. Hartgers FC, Obeng BB, Yvonne C, Kruize M., Duijvestein M, De Breij1 A, Amoah A, Larbi IA, Van Ree R, Wilson MD, Rodrigues LC, Boakye DA and Yazdanbakhsh M. (2008). Lower expression of TLR2 and SOCS-3 is associated with Schistosoma haematobium infection and with lower risk for allergic reactivity in children living in a rural area in Ghana. PLoS NTD, 2(4): e227
2. Traoré S, Wilson MD, Sima A, Barro T, Diallo A, Aké A, Coulibaly S, Cheke RA, Meyera RRF, Mase J, Mccall PJ, Post RJ, Zouré H. Noma M, Yaméogo L, Sékétéli AV, and Amazigo UV. (2009). The elimination of the onchocerciasis vector from the island of Bioko as a result of larviciding by the WHO African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control. Acta Tropica, 111: 211–218
3. Amoah AS, Obeng BB, May L, Kruize YC, Larbi IA, Kabesch M, Wilson MD, Hartgers FC, Boakye DA and Yazdanbakhsh M (2014). Urban–rural differences in the gene expression profiles of Ghanaian children. Genes and Immunity, 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/gene.2014.21
4. Humphries D, Simms BT, Davey D, Otchere J, Quagraine J, Terryah S, Newton S, Berg E, Harrison LM, Boakye D, Wilson M and Cappello M. (2013). Hookworm infection among school age children in Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana: Nutritional risk factors and response to albendazole treatment. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 89(3): 540–548.
5. Kwofie SK, Broni E, Asiedu SO, Kwarko G.B, Dankwa B, Enninful KS, Tiburu EK and Wilson MD. (2021). Cheminformatics-based identification of potential novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 natural compounds of African 0rigin. Molecules, 26: 406. doi: 10.3390/molecules26020406