Dr. Insa SANE
Dr. Insa SANE holds a doctorate in economics, specializing in economic analysis and econometrics. He is currently a researcher at the Research Laboratory of Economics and Social Sciences at the Université Assane Seck de Ziguinchor in Senegal since 2018. He has 5 years of teaching experience in the academic and professional world. He has also given several papers at international conferences and taken part in international meetings. The author of several scientific publications, Dr Insa SANE's areas of interest are development economics, macroeconomics, and issues relating to education and gender.
Marilyn Asiedu Sefa
Marilyn Asiedu Sefa is currently pursuing a PhD in Sociology at the University of Ghana. Her research interests focus on food security, food safety, food environment, adaptation in agricultural systems, sociology of consumption and consumer behavior, and methods of standardization. She holds an MPhil in Sociology from the University of Ghana, an Erasmus-funded interdisciplinary degree from the University of Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of Cape Coast. Marilyn is an alumnus of YALI-RLC (West Africa) Cohort 40.
She is a Principal Research Technologist at the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Ghana. Marilyn has a strong passion for urban and rural development. Her passion for research also stems from her keen interest in expanding existing knowledge to generate new concepts and insights. Marilyn is a certified knowledge manager for Sustainable Development within the Knowledge for Development Partnerships (K4DP) School of Knowledge Science-Austria, Makerere University Business School-Uganda, and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) CAADPx -P4.
Iliassou Mogmenga
Iliassou Mogmenga is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre Universitaire de Banfora, Université Nazi BONI in Burkina Faso. He is a young researcher who is part of the Food Biotechnology and Human Nutrition (BioANH) research team at the Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LAMBM) of the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Biologiques Appliquées et Nutritionnelles (CRSBAN). Dr MOGMENGA's expertise covers food processing, evaluation of the hygienic and nutritional qualities of formulated foods, and research into new types of food with high nutritional value to help combat multi-deficiency malnutrition. Dr MOGMENGA's current research focuses on probiotics derived from local foods in Burkina Faso and their application to improve food quality.
Loukaïya Zorobouragui
Loukaïya Zorobouragui is currently a doctoral candidate in Animal Genetics and Conservation at the Doctoral School of Agronomic Sciences and Water at the University of Parakou in Benin. She is a research assistant at the Laboratory of Animal Health and Production Ecology (LESPA), Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou. Her thesis project aims to provide a morpho-biometric and genotypic characterization of the Goudali zebus in West Africa, offering valuable insights to address the shortage of animal protein and promote progress towards the sustainable development goal of "Zero Hunger" by 2030.
Loukaïya holds an MSc in Animal Production with a specialization in Animal Genetics and Conservation and a BSc in Animal and Fish Production Sciences and Techniques (Agronomy).
In 2022, she was awarded a scholarship from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Program (MSCFP) in the field of nuclear applications to animals, aimed at providing protein to the population, reducing child malnutrition, and decreasing dairy product imports in her country. She is passionate about agricultural research and eager to tackle the challenges of animal husbandry.
Vida Korleki Nyawornota
Vida Korleki Nyawornota is an assistant lecturer with the Physical Education and Sports Studies Department at the University of Ghana Legon. She is a final year PhD student of the Regional Institute for Population Studies at the University of Ghana. She obtained her MPhil in Health Policy Planning and Management from the School of Public Health at the University of Ghana Legon in 2010 and a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education in 2002 at the University of Education, Winneba. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on the perceived neighbourhood environment and physical activity in Ghana to examine the neighbourhood environment attributes influence on physical activity behaviour of Ghanaians. Findings from the study will help promote and increase physical activity levels towards reducing the high rate of inactivity, sedentary behaviour, and related risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)in Ghana,
Vida is a member of the Active Healthy Kids Ghana (AHKG), a team that published the 2014, 2016, and 2018 Ghana Reports Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. She is an international trainer for the Youth Sport Trust International UK (YSTI UK) and has undertaken youth sport development projects and pedagogical training in Bahrain, Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Paris, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Ghana. She also collaborated with UNICEF, the British Council, and the Ghana Education Service for the youth empowerment training program in Ghana.
Her research interests include children and adolescent physical activity, overweight, the built environment, and active transportation. She is also interested in youth empowerment through sports. She is passionate about developing entrepreneurial and life skills in the youth using the power of sports and physical activity.
Through QES scholar training, Vida hopes to improve her research and teaching skills, acquire new skills in community capacity building and youth empowerment especially females, and be mentored by experts to build her capacity. QES training will also provide her an opportunity to network and collaborate with other researchers from diverse backgrounds.
Jane Appiaduah Odei
Jane Appiaduah Odei is a doctoral student at the University of Ghana, Nutrition and Food Science Department. Her current research is focused on non-communicable diseases among school-aged children in Ghana.
She holds an MPhil student in the same department and worked on factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding of Ghanaian twins where she found that mothers with twins exclusively breastfed far less than mothers with singleton babies. This discovery strengthened her resolve to support and encourage mothers with infants and young children, especially those with twins, to persevere in exclusive breastfeeding despite challenges that may come up. She has interests in maternal, infant, and young child research as well as intervention research to curb non-communicable diseases in children.
Sarah Cooper
Sarah Cooper is a doctoral candidate in public health (specializing in global health) at the Université de Montréal School of Public Health. She holds a Master's degree in Family Medicine (McGill University) and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry (McGill University). Her research interests include maternal health, evaluative research, public policy, structural determinants of health, and mixed methods. More specifically, as part of her doctoral thesis, she is working on a mixed methods project aimed at integrating women's perspectives into the evaluation of the quality of maternal health care, in the hope of assessing the effects of a policy of free health care for women of childbearing age in Burkina Faso. Throughout her doctoral studies at ESPUM, Sarah has been a valued member of Dr Thomas Druetz's research team. This experience allowed her to contribute to various projects in Burkina Faso, Benin, and Haiti, enriching her understanding of global health dynamics. Her doctoral research was funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec Science, the Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program, Hyegia Observatoire, and the RRSPQ.