Dr (Mrs) Cynthia Amaning Danquah, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology, of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, has won the 2020 Africa Oxford Research Development Award (AfOx ReDA) from the University of Oxford.
Dr Danquah received £50,000 to collaborate with Professor Chris Schofield on natural product drug discovery to tackle antibiotic resistance and develop new antibacterial agents to fight resistance in tuberculosis (TB). Antibiotic resistance is described by the World Health Organisation as one of the greatest challenges to infectious diseases, including Tuberculosis. The treatment duration, extensive side effects, and limited drug availability in TB therapies hinders successful treatment.
The AfOx Research Development Award builds on existing AfOx-funded collaborations between researchers in African Institutions and the University of Oxford to address one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aims to generate societal benefits beyond creating knowledge in their area of specialisation. The AfOx ReDA awards are intended to help stimulate larger collaborative projects that will strengthen Africa-Oxford partnerships and make the collaborating partners competitive for future major awards. They are expected to support the formation of equitable partnerships with Oxford and other colleagues.
