The West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) has hosted scientists from the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), the University of Oxford, and Oxford Brookes University for the fourth WACCBIP-ASCB-Oxford workshop, held from January 14 to January 25.

The two-week workshop was designed to equip 15 first-year PhD students and 24 first-year MPhil students with advanced knowledge in cell biology, immunology, genetic manipulation of common pathogens, and to develop professional tools.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prof. Gordon Awandare, Director of WACCBIP, welcomed collaborators, who, according to him, have been devoted to the training and mentorship of young scientists. He said the objective of the workshop was to provide all the participants a platform to share experiences and devise a strategy for strengthening their knowledge of scientific research.

Prof. Gordon Awandare, Director of WACCBIP

“It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to the 2019 WACCBIP-ASCB-Oxford Oxford Brooks Cell Molecular Biology workshop. This is an annual workshop that is usually targeted at our first-year master's and PhD students to bring all the students to the same level, so that, as they move towards formulating their research ideas, everybody is exposed to the wide range of research methods that are available.” Prof. Awandare said. “We also look for them to be exposed to the faculty”“both local and international”“who have the required expertise in their areas of research and can help them develop their proposals and design their experiments,”

He was confident that this year's workshop would impact participants' knowledge and skills in some of the areas they may have had less training in. He encouraged them to take advantage of the expertise available and bridge the gaps in knowledge.

“All of you came from different backgrounds, some people had very little [knowledge] in molecular biology [with] a lot of biochemistry, but this is where we try to level everybody up. You all know yourselves, you all know your capabilities and you know your substance. So, this is the week you fill your gaps.” Prof. Awandare said. “If you know you are lacking in an area, over the next two weeks, you are going to have some of the best molecular biologists in the world coming here to teach you and interact with you. So, it gives you the opportunity to ask all those questions about the areas you don't understand that part of transcription that has always been a mystery to you.”

Dr. Lydia Mosi, Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology (BCMB), encouraged students to show full commitment towards learning and tapping into the deep pool of knowledge available to them over the two-week period. She recalled her experience as a beneficiary of the workshop and encouraged participants to fully commit so they derive the maximum best from the workshop.

Dr. Lydia Mosi, Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology (BCMB)

“This workshop is very dear to my heart because, many years ago, I was taking this workshop fresh out of a PhD programme and, even though I had already finished my PhD, I learnt a ton of things because everyone comes with a new perspective,” Dr. Mosi said. “You now have additional faculty with much more experience coming in with more intuitive ways of explaining complex things in cell biology and molecular biology. So, just as I took advantage of the programme, I hope that you would also take advantage in the same way.”

Prof. Keith Gull

Prof. Keith Gull, Chair of the WACCBIP International Advisory Board, and professor at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford, said the workshop was one of the major WACCBIP initiatives that he was particularly proud of contributing to. He said that the graduate programmes at WACCBIP had become highly competitive since they were first introduced, attracting some of the best students from across Africa. He congratulated participants for their admission into the WACCBIP programmes, highlighting the rigour of the selection process that led to their admission.

“I've been coming here for many years and I have survived five heads of department, which is an important thing to learn in your career as a scientist ”“ how to survive change in an institution. The programme has grown [over that period] to become a very important platform for training young scientists and it just keeps getting better and better every year,” Prof. Gull said. “I look forward, as I always do, to a great week. I have been told already that you are the best set of students so far. The last set were very good indeed. So, we are looking for some really great things from you guys.”

The first part of the workshop covered the molecular and cell biology of malaria parasites, with specific lessons in the immunology of malaria, drug & vaccine design, scientific communication skills, modern light & confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry. Participants also took part in practical sessions, learning how to apply various techniques in microscopy to enhance their research work. The second part of the workshop covered other common pathogens, employing a mix of expert lectures and laboratory sessions provide basic and advanced knowledge in topics relating to trypanosomes, viruses, helminths, and fungi.

Dr. Samuel Dean in a journal club discussion with some participants

Participants were guided on developing and using diagnostic toolkits, designing PCR approaches, and preparing successful grant applications, among a broad range of other professional and scientific skills. There were also guest lectures from prominent researchers and personalities in both academia and industry.

Participants also took part in journal club discussions of selected research papers and completed hands-on laboratory sessions, after which they synthesized the knowledge gathered over the two-week period in group presentations.

Participants undertaking hands-on lab session

Aside from WACCBIP faculty, lectures were facilitated by faculty from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. Participating members of faculty included Prof. Lars Hviid of the University of Copenhagen; Prof. Joy Power of the University of Colorado; and Prof. Kirk Deitsch of Cornell University. Guest lecturers included Prof. Luisa Figueiredo of the University of Lisbon, Prof. Ron Dzikowski of the Hebrew University, Prof. Christoph Tang  of the  Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford, and Dr. Joseph Awuni, Deputy Director at the Ghana Veterinary Services Department & Head of the Accra Veterinary Laboratory. Other facilitators were from BCMB, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the College of Health Sciences.

In his closing remarks, Prof. Gordon Awandare congratulated the facilitators and speakers, who he said had done well to lay out the pieces needed to equip participants with the needed skills. He encouraged participants to apply what they learned in the workshop for their future research.

Participants receive their certificate after the workshop

Dr. Amy Barker praised the quality of students WACCBIP attracts. She explained that she had been impressed by the enthusiasm with which they approached questions surrounding their research projects. She also commended the Centre for the quality of its research and learning environment.

“It has been really interesting; there is a whole different viewpoint on the organisms that we work on out here,” Dr. Barker said. “In the UK everyone wants to do cancer because everybody knows somebody who has been affected by cancer; whereas, here, there is a much wider range of things the students are interested in and is also really nice to talk with young people getting into science. The facilities in here are very good. This room is probably better than anything I have ever lectured students in before.”