Building an Army of researchers
It is estimated that by 2050, 1 in 4 people will be African, up from 1 in 13 people back in the 60s (The World Bank). Not only is Africa’s population rising, but the median age of the continent also currently stands at 19 years of age. This population shift offers the world a great opportunity to benefit from well-trained human capital and talent who, specific to research, can (and already have) continued to contribute to the global body of knowledge. This recently included the scientific breakthrough and discovery of COVID variant, #Omicron, by well-trained teams of African researchers in laboratories in Botswana and South Africa amongst other discoveries and progress.
To help us connect the dots in #Episode3 of #ConnectingTheDotsPodcast is Professor Sam Kinyanjui an award-winning #Immunologist with an ‘Army General’ approach that attracts, trains, and deploys in the hundreds African scientific talent to fight local and global health challenges. Kinyanjui has had a distinguished career with 20 years of malaria research and over a decade heading the successful Training and Capacity Building portfolio at the KEMRI - Wellcome Trust Research Programme where he provides scientific and strategic guidance. He is passionate about developing the capacity for health research in Africa and has overseen the training of hundreds of #Masters and #PhD African researchers since 2008.
Kinyanjui’s jovial fast-paced eloquence is reminiscent of skilled, passionate teachers who make biology, physics, or chemistry classes captivating and exciting drawing real-life applications to what are seemingly distant ‘unrelatable’ textbook concepts.
Kinyanjui’s expertise and portfolio of work is vast as it is deep. As host, try as I might to draw him away from science, and the jury ruled; science is in his DNA - figuratively and literally. His connection of dots was nothing short of flawless. He speaks to a purpose in the pursuit of the health sciences, to luck and opportunities that drove him to want to make a difference, and his career highs and the lows.
In this podcast, Kinyanjui makes clear that training an army of African researchers is logical and obligatory to fight health challenges that know no borders. Humanity against disease. In his tone is a prominence to champion the training of Africa’s young, vibrant, energized human capital, who through leadership and mentorship transform into an intellectual resource driving knowledge powered economies.
Happy listening! Don’t forget to like and share #ConnectingTheDotsPodcast https://lnkd.in/dm6dHygB
An Industrial Chemist//Organic Chemist//project manager//Researcher//Volunteer// ICCP Participants 2024// Excelerate Alumnus// Realtor at Affable Homes MACS, MSCSN, MRSC, MIYCN, PTDF SCHOLAR
2moWhen iwhen is the International youth biomedical symposium in Ogbomoso? Helix Biogen Institute