Partnering University

History of UCC 

RATIONALE 

Ghana is a developing country that is faced with the challenge of providing quality healthcare for her populace. This has made quality healthcare available to only a small section of the population. In Ghana and the rest of the world, there are diseases or clinical conditions such as cancer and HIV-AIDS where available drugs have severe harmful side effects which limit their therapeutic benefits. Again, the menace of infectious diseases, drug resistance, emerging and re-emerging diseases have served as a strong motivation for the discovery of lead candidates and development of new drugs. 

A UNDP report published in 2007 indicates that the inadequate number of health facilities coupled with the few numbers of trained personnel at healthcare facilities has resulted in many Ghanaians resorting to a combination of traditional and orthodox medicines for treating diseases. According to the report, an estimated 80% of the Ghanaian population relies on herbal preparations for primary healthcare. Currently, there is a proliferation of herbal medicines on the Ghanaian market (both rural and urban markets) purported to treat various diseases, but efficacies and the toxicities of some these drugs have not been investigated. There is therefore the need to identify the active principles in these herbal products, develop them into new drugs and also determine their toxicities. 

The Department of Biomedical Sciences runs the MPhil/PhD programme in Drug Discovery and Development, which is one of the themes in Biomedical Sciences, following the current influx of medications (both herbal and allopathic) on the Ghanaian market. It is of relevance to Ghana that more investigations are conducted to ascertain the toxicity of these drugs as well as to discover new drugs with improved efficacy and less side effects. This programme is not run in any institution in Ghana. 

Aim: 

The main aim of the programme is to produce high calibre graduates with knowledge and skills to discover, synthesise new drugs, and assess the toxicological profile of new and existing drugs. 

Objectives  

The specific objectives are to equip students with: 

1. the knowledge and skills required for the discovery and development of novel chemical and biological entities into drugs. 

2. relevant skills to initiate and conduct research in the fields of drug discovery and development. 

3. fundamental competencies in various aspects of drug discovery and development to function effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team. 

4. entrepreneurial skills in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.  

OUTCOMES 

Prospective graduates can look forward to thrilling careers in research and development in the pharmaceutical industries, research institutions, academic institutions, policy-making and regulatory agencies and in education. 

MPHIL INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 

RATIONALE 

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Cape Coast, is not oblivious of the challenges infectious diseases present globally. While developed countries are concerned about re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases, developing countries like Ghana are rather concerned with battling HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, etc. Our ability to deal with the current burden of infectious diseases and also curtail the re-emergence and emergence of new infections heavily hinge on having a critical mass of knowledgeable and highly skilled biomedical and medical scientists in the field of infection and immunity. However, such calibre of human resource is currently ominously lacking in the West African sub-Region.  

The majority of existing postgraduate programmes had focused only on medical microbiology and a handful deal with immunology. Thus, graduates of these programmes may have deficiencies that make it difficult for them to develop into research leaders and accomplished academics in the vital area of infection and immunity. In response to this lack of adequate numbers of well-trained scientists in the area of infection and immunity, the MPhil programme was designed to equip candidates with the knowledge and skills needed for a career in teaching and research in medical microbiology and immunology. Thus, the curriculum for this programme expertly couples microbiology and immunology to present students with a holistic view of infectious diseases and immunity against pathogenic microbes. 

PURPOSE 

Aim: 

The main goal of the Infection and Immunity programme is to provide students with the knowledge and technical skills needed for successful careers in infectious diseases research.    

Objectives: 

The specific objectives are to: 

1. Provide students with sound theoretical, conceptual and technical knowledge base in medical microbiology and immunology. 

2. Stimulate student to leverage their knowledge and skills to better understand and/or address the challenges of infectious diseases. 

3. Provide students with a sound basis for a prospective terminal degree (PhD) in infection and immunity.        

OUTCOMES 

The MPhil programme is designed to equip candidates with the knowledge and skills needed for a career in teaching and research in medical microbiology and immunology. Therefore, exciting career opportunities for prospective students include working in research institutions (fundamental research) as laboratory managers, researchers in hospitals, in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, policy-making organisations in science and healthcare, and in education. 

University of Cape Coast  

Partnering for Health Professional Training in African Universities (P4PHT-II) 

Institutional Details:

Acronym: UCC

Country: Ghana

Website: https://www.ucc.edu.gh

Contact Person of UCC:                         

Name:  Prof. Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah

Telephone Number:+233244527387

Email:  dobiri-yeboah@ucc.edu.gh/dric@ucc.edu.gh

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Makerere University is the largest university in Uganda and one of the highest rated universities in sub-Saharan Africa, ranking 8^th overall in Africa. The core activities of the University are Training, Research and Community Outreach. The University’s vision is: “To be a thought leader of knowledge generation for societal transformation and development”; and its mission is: “To provide transformative and innovative teaching, learning, research and services responsive to dynamic national and global needs”. It was first established as a technical school in 1922.  Over the years it has undergone many changes, rescently in 2011 Makerere University transformed into a collegiate system with 10 colleges. Each college is comprised of 2 or more schools of which the department is the smallest administrative unit. The institution boasts of over 4000 staff members, 1500 of them being academic staff,and twenty six percent of whom are female. The University currently has over 40,000 students admitted to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, nearly 10% of these are international students. The University is now gearing to become a majorly research led institution with more postgraduate than undergraduate admissions in the years to come. The university collaborates with several universities around the world, including being a member of the Association of African Universities and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM)

The College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) is one of the colleges of Makerere University whose mission is to improve the health of the people of Uganda through innovative teaching, research and provision of services responsive to societal needs. The college comprises four schools namely; School of Health Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health and School of Medicine. The schools offer diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate courses covering a broad range of disciplines and specialties. MakCHS has competent scientists to manage the project. Currently the college is supervising 36 PhD students and 215 Masters students solely and in collaboration with other Institutions of higher learning both locally and internationally.

Our role as a partner will entail: coordination and management of student and staff mobility within the node. This will include hosting two academic programmes proposed in the project, documentation and reporting on the project activities and outcomes to overall coordinator of the project, and to promote project activities for purposes of enhancing visibility

https://www.mak.ac.ug/