The Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and the West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) were privileged to host  Prof. Dr. James Adjaye from the Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldolf, Germany on August 21, 2017.
Prof. Dr. James Adjaye delivering a lecture
Prof. Dr. James Adjaye,  a group leader for the Molecular Embryology and Aging Group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (Berlin) and the Director at the Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine (ISRM),  Faculty of Medicine at the Heinrich-Heine-University, Dà¼sseldorf  was the keynote speaker at  the departments' seminar series organised every week  for graduate students. Leading scientists are also invited to speak to students throughout the year.
Prof. Dr. James Adjaye interacting with audience

The seminar aims at gathering faculty and students for mutual discussions and presentations of their research projects. This build networks which encourage the creation of future joint research projects and the establishment of fruitful social relations.

Students present for seminar

Prof. Dr. James Adjaye  spoke on the topic “Human induced pluripotent stem cells as cellular models for studying gastrulation and applications in regenerative medicine”. He was enthused to share his research project which uses a systems biology approach to investigate the etiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which comprises a broad spectrum of disease states ranging from manageable stress as in simple steatosis to excessive stress, as in steatohepatitis. He also discussed related issues such as  Cells which can generate other cells/cell types and divide infinitely which is called  self-renewal.  On the basis of their origin they can be either  embryonic, fetal  (cord blood) or  adult stem cells.

He added that his research also aims to  redirect liver cells and reintroduce them into the patient's body to correct defects in the liver. In an interview , he expressed the need for the scientific community to be flexible and try to find different appraoches to solving problems. He added that the importance of his research to public health is to help tackle liver diseases and find new approaches in liver transplant which will no longer need liver donors.

Question and answering time

Faculty members, students, and staff  were given the opportunity to ask questions, which was an engaging session.

From left: Dr Patrick Arthur,  Prof. Dr. James Adjaye and Dr Samuel Kwofie in a pose