PAST MEMBERS
Kwadwo Owusu
Project Title:
Evaluating the antihelmintic activity of extracts, fractions and pure isolates of some ethnomedicinal plants in Ghana
MPhil. Student
Email:
kwusu49@gmail.com
Project Summary
Parasitic worm infection is a significant global health concern. The Wold Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 1.5 billion people worldwide are infected with at least one type of parasitic worm. Preventing and treating these infections is therefore a critical public health priority. Moreover, effective control of worm infestations in livestock is also vital for maintaining animal health and productivity. However, drug resistance and toxicity of the current therapeutics are a growing concern, and therefore, there is an urgent need for new and more effective treatments for remedying helminthiasis. This research work, seeks to explore some ethnomedicinal plants in the Ghanaian flora for a potential lead compound wiith effectiveness and has minimal toxicity issues and thus, can be developed into a possible anthelmintic drug.
Project Title:
Isolation, characterization and structural elucidation of anti-plasmodial compounds from selected Ghanaian plants
PhD candidate
Email:
felixayisi@gmail.com
Project Summary
Drug resistance has been a threat to health workers, patients and researchers alike. The efficacy of most synthetic drugs are more often compromised due to cases of drug resistant pathogens. Ethno- medically most plants have been implicated for the treatment of malaria and related ailments. This project seeks to unearth compounds that can possibly serve as precursors for the development of new anti-malaria drugs from Ghanaian plants used to traditionally treat malaria. This research, when successfully completed will provide a rationale for the development of sustainable conservation strategies to maintain the diversity of flora in Ghana.
Felix Ayisi
Project Title:
Computational exploration of antimicrobial peptide interactions with bacterial membranes: Atomistic molecular dynamics studies on pleurocidin, maximin 1, and de novo peptides
MPhil. Student
Project Summary
As a result of widespread and injudicious drug use, the emergence of drug-resistant microorganisms has been accelerated, posing a serious threat to global public health. The aforementioned issue raises the need for antimicrobial agents that are effective against these antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms. Antimicrobial peptides are a potential class of antimicrobials with a low risk of resistance, and their activity have been related to their ability to selectively disrupt bacterial cell membranes through pore formation. My work seeks to explore the mechanism of action of known antimicrobial peptides against model membranes of microorganisms.
Email:
jehoshaphatmensah@gmail.com
Jehoshaphat Oppong Mensah
Edward Ntim Gasu
Project Title:
Computer-aided Design of Novel Proline-rich Antimicrobial Peptides Inspired by Peptide from Olivancillaria hiatula
Doctoral candidate, PhD Chemistry
Email:
engasu24@gmail.com
Project Summary
Infectious diseases remain a significant threat to the attainment of good health and well-being globally. The rise in resistance of microorganisms to existing antibiotics has led to a drain in the global pharmaceutical pipeline, increasing estimated morbidity and mortality rates. This necessitates the search for novel antimicrobials, resilient with respect to their mechanism of action and least prone to resistance. This work seeks to isolate and characterize peptides from Olivancillaria hiatula, and investigate their anti-microbial, anti-biofilm and quorum sensing inhibition properties in vitro and in silico models.