Dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Ghana, Prof. Sandow Mark Yidana has urged the Chemistry department’s faculty to incorporate the culture of publicizing findings, particularly research findings from the refurbished laboratory in order to promote domestic findings and research.
Prof. Yidana was speaking at the opening of the refurbished the Medicinal Chemistry laboratory of the Drug Innovation Group based in the University of Ghana Chemistry Department.
The refurbishment was part of a project dubbed ‘Supporting a Drug Discovery Hub in Ghana’, organized by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), the Department of Chemistry (UG) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) collaboratively, after receiving funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the project.
At the ceremony, Prof. Yidana highlighted the issue of low publicity for research findings, one he believes should be addressed effectively.
“We do a lot of [research], but we do not make them public…this is not one of the things that we can keep to ourselves because, through this refurbished laboratory, we are going to make transformational discoveries in the field of medicinal chemistry so I believe that at every step of the way, we should make our discoveries or findings public.”
He also stressed on maintaining and preserving the laboratory, underscoring its importance in advancing medicinal breakthroughs.
“In order to ensure we derive the best from our use of this refurbished laboratory, maintenance culture must be upheld. I believe that once we are able to set it up, we should be capable of maintaining it. The management of the school will also provide administrative support to ensure that faculty have everything needed to utilize the laboratory effectively.”
Subsequently, some research scientists from the Drug Innovation Group spoke to UniversNews, expressing their views on the refurbished laboratory.
For these scientists, the refurbished lab would give them opportunities to develop Africa in the field of medicine, without having to travel abroad for the top-notch equipment needed for their practice.
“This is a good starting point because this laboratory offers students the opportunity to effectively use this state-of-the-art equipment. It is also time Africa develops solutions to its problems in the field of medicine. Drug discovery is primarily a job for developed countries, and as such, this facility will offer the grounds for training more medicinal chemists in modern drug discovery.”
“Currently, it seems like a lot of people want to move out of the country because of one or two crises we are all going through, but for my fellow chemist, chemistry student or chemistry graduate, this laboratory is going to open so many doors for us, so I urge you to be part of it.”
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Story by: Kuuku Osei-Baidoo | univers.ug.edu.gh
