These seventeen 2^nd round finalists represent 15 universities from 12 countries worldwide. We are excited to announce that the following universities will be moving to the next round:

• Pwani University College: School for Pure & Applied Sciences  (Kenya)
• Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences: Biochemistry (Tanzania)
• University of Technology: Natural & Applied Sciences (Jamaica)
• Fiji National University: Chemistry, Biology, Physics & Food Science (Fiji)
• University of The Philippines, Diliman: Chemistry (Philippines)
• Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology: Medical Laboratory Sciences (Kenya)
• Makerere University: Health Sciences (Uganda)
• University of Jos: Microbiology (Nigeria)
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: Biochemistry , Biotechnology, Food Science and Technology  (Ghana)
• University of Lome: Physiology & Pharmacology of Natural Substances (Togo)
• Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães: Virology (Brazil)
• Kenya Polytechnic University College: Biomedical & Laboratory Science and Technology (Kenya)
• University of Yaounde: Biochemistry (Cameroon)
• University of The Philippines, Diliman: Biology (Philippines)
• University of West Indies: Chemistry (Jamaica)
• University of Sciences, Techniques and Technology: Chemistry(Mali)
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi: Centre for Collaborative Research In Tropical Medicine (Ghana)

From an initial pool of 65 applications from 51 universities in 26 countries, these universities demonstrated a track record of accomplishments in such areas as research capacity and sustainability, research execution, and institutional support for research with a focus on local impact, identifying themselves as great potential partners where our equipment will make the greatest impact and contribution to science in the developing world!

We are excited and grateful for the positive responses from these diverse universities for applying for this opportunity. Thank you again to all of our partners, donors, colleagues, friends and families for spreading the good word to our contacts around the globe! None of this would have been possible without your help!

Stay up to date with the 2012 Equipment Transfer Program application process and get the latest news on our other programs by visiting our website at www.seedinglabs.org and follow us on twitter @seedinglabs

Each morning marked an eager time for us, as we began to guess which country would be the next to apply. During the steady in-flow of applications, we began to receive applications from a wide-range of countries including: Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, Yemen, Iraq, The Philippines, and Fiji.

Over the next 2 weeks, this pool of applicants will be reviewed by our panel of scientists. We are confident that this process will successfully identify great partnering universities for Seeding Labs, increase the social impact of our program, and help talented scientists everywhere conduct life-changing research.

The success of this first round would not have been possible without the help from all of our colleagues, donors, partners, friends and supporters. Thank you to all of those who reached out to their contacts and colleagues across the globe to spread the news about this opportunity!

Be sure to stay up to date with Seeding Labs by visiting our website at www.seedinglabs.org

Think back to the last time you received a postcard in the mail.

Not long after Seeding Labs’ debut on NPR’s “All Things Considered” on October 26, we began to receive an outpour of encouraging postcards from individuals across the US. This unique and personal form of appreciation from well-wishers had us anxiously waiting the mail delivery each day.

Each postcard, endorsed with only a first name of the sender and stamped with “Postcard Underground”, adds to the intriguing concept of this supportive group of people. Hearing from this elusive and mysterious group of supporters energizes all of us at Seeding Labs to achieve our mission of helping talented scientists in the developing world to do life-changing research.

An endless amount of thanks and appreciation to our anonymous supporters and believers of Seeding Labs! It is your encouragement and support that makes our worldwide efforts worth all of the hard work. 

To read about/listen to Seeding Labs’ story on NPR, click on the following link:http://www.npr.org/2011/10/26/141666558/used-lab-equipment-finds-a-second-home-overseas

Congratulations to Dr. Almoustapha Maiga for the addition to his family!

Donated Laptop Given to Rita Dickson, Seeding Labs Fellow,

After Being Stolen During Travel

BOSTON, MA (AUGUST 5, 2011) – Rita Dickson had just begun the long journey to spend nine weeks in the U.S. as part of the Seeding Labs Fellows Program when her laptop was stolen while en route from Ghana to Boston, Massachusetts.  Having lost access to files containing research data, information, and software, she anxiously awaited arriving in a city known for its leading laboratories and research facilities.

The Seeding Labs Fellows program brings qualified scientists from the developing world to the United States to conduct life-changing research.  Equipment and other materials are necessary to carry out effective research, to track data, and to communicate with colleagues.  Without access to a laptop, Rita faced a series of challenges such as the inability to download software essential to her research and the difficulty of continuing her work once back in Ghana. She expressed unsettling concerns regarding her stolen laptop, explaining the difficulty to “begin the academic year without access to equipment necessary for teaching and research.”

Upon receiving news about Rita’s situation, EquipNet, a leading provider of asset management services and solutions, recognized the difficulty of performing research without having the proper materials.  In direct response, EquipNet immediately donated a laptop to Rita, which enabled her to continue her research here in Boston.  During the Seeding Labs “Science and Development in Africa” Symposium last Thursday, Matt Smith of EquipNet presented the laptop to Fellow researcher, Ibok Oduro, on Rita’s behalf.  At the event, he and colleague Dennis Higgins reiterated that they were happy to donate the laptop and react to the request so promptly.  Rita expressed immense appreciation, saying she is “extremely grateful to Matt Smith and EquipNet for this kind gesture.”  Now Rita may return to Ghana and continue her extensive researching using the equipment provided by a local, philanthropic provider.

About EquipNet

EquipNet Inc. is the world’s leading provider of proactive asset management services and solutions for large and small corporations in the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, and consumer packaged goods industries.  Our vision is to “revolutionize the way companies manage their surplus assets” through long-term partnerships.  Our success derives from having passionate employees and a creative work environment dedicated to providing solutions and services satisfying to our customers.

About Seeding Labs

Seeding Labs is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting scientific research all over the globe.  Our vision is to promote a truly global scientific community by helping scientists in the developing world conduct life-changing research by providing them with the resources they need but don’t have access to, including lab equipment and professional training.  Through our programs, scientists and post-docs are able to cross borders and collaborate with key influencers in their fields and acquire new skills needed to be scientific leaders.  Since 2003, Seeding Labs has rescued over 75,000 pounds and $1 million in equipment, has provided hands-on scientific education to over 4,000 students in 17 countries, and has witnessed 125 articles, 1 patent, and 1 medical diagnostic being developed by labs in partnership with Seeing Labs.

Contact Information

Nina Dudnik

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Seeding Labs

281 Summer St. 5^th Fl

Boston MA, 02210

nina@seedinglabs.org

I have always liked science and research since my high school days because of the fascinating and interesting nature of science. And hence becoming a fellow will enhance my scientific skills, experience, knowledge and opportunity to achieve my aims in research and teaching and also assist me to contribute my quota in the search for bioactive compounds from natural products especially medicinal plants since about 70-80% of the people in Africa and other developing countries depend on medicinal plants and/or traditional herbal practitioners for their health needs.

 At the Venture Cafe welcome reception

I want to be a Fellow so that I can participate in laboratory training and non-laboratory based workshops with staff from Seeding Labs, Novartis and other research institutions in the Boston area. This fellowship will also give me the opportunity to take part in the intensive project development and grant-writing work, presentations, data analysis, lab safety and teaching programs in the fellowship. I will also have the opportunity to interact with other scientists from other sister universities and research institutions from both developed and developing countries and attend scientific seminars and science-related workshops. I believe the knowledge, skills and experience that would be gained in the course of this fellowship would be put at the disposal of or imparted to both graduate and undergraduate students of Pharmacy and Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana through practical demonstrations, laboratory works, supervision of research work and mentorship.

I will impart the skills and experience that will be acquired through the fellowship to both graduates and undergraduates through my supervision and mentorship so that these graduates will be more marketable, innovative and research-oriented persons and also contribute to the development of Ghana and Africa in general.

With the limited facilities/equipment and absence of the state of art laboratories in my university, I can link up and connect to other scientists/researchers for possible collaborations on research areas/topic through this fellowship. This sort of collaboration, partnership and networking of scientists in Africa and those from the developed countries will go a long way to facilitate research and subsequent human and physical development of Africa.

I do enjoy watching soccer and other sports and I also like visiting interesting places such as museums, historic places etc at my leisure times. 

 Dr. Christian Agyare

2011 Fellows: Almoustapha Maiga, Bassirou Diarra, and Drissa Samake at the event

After an informative presentation on how science and technology can address global problems and an insightful Q&A session, the guests were able to talk with some of the speakers and the 2011 Seeding Labs Fellows. Many walked away with the desire to volunteer and to help continue the Ambassador program and the Fellows program. It was a very rewarding night!

Drissa Samake of Mali and Ray Voegborlo of Ghana talking with a guest
at the Science and Development in Africa Symposium
On Friday the Fellows split up to visit different labs at Harvard and Tufts. At the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the Fellows toured the Fortune Lab and the Wirth Lab. Both groups said it was a very helpful experience, and one Fellow said that they “really identified with our goals.” Many of the Fellows will stay in touch with the professors and researchers working in the labs at HSPH. Other Fellows went to the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. The tour was led by Paul Fuss and the Fellows talked with Sarah Booth, the Associate Director and professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. This was especially helpful for Ibok Oduro, who is researching nutrition, food sciences, and aging back in Ghana.

This upcoming week, the Fellows are looking forward to watching the Cape Cod League All Star game on Friday at Fenway Park.

Keep checking our blog to hear from our 2011 Seeding Labs Fellows!

“I realised then that I was ready to address the issue of what I wanted to be in the future.  I wanted to be a medical doctor”

Growing up as a young girl was always going to be a challenge due to several factors including cultural gender stereo-typing in the choice of career, family responsibilities, even  in the choice of play toys, education and so on. It was not strange then to hear words like ‘Akosua what kind of job do you want to do when you grow up’? -‘A girl sells garden eggs not gun powder’ to wit, don’t bother doing anything deemed to be in a man’s domain since one is unlikely to get anywhere with it.

In education, parents tended to pressurise girls to take subjects that will give them time to assist in family chores at home. I was no exception; being the 10^th of 11 children and unfortunately for me the youngest of the girls. My responsibilities which were clearly defined by the time I turned 9 were many since my elder sisters were all grownups and most of them settled in jobs and marriages. I was the errand girl of the house; helping mum look after her grand children while my brothers had all the time in the world for their books, games and time to engage in other activities. Besides, I played nanny to my big sister when she was having her children and changed schools as often as she moved homes. Thus distracted, I kept repeating my class any time I was taken to another region to help look after my sisters’ new born babies. Indeed, I hold the family record of having attended primary schools in all the regions of Ghana. End results? I spent more than necessary years in  basic school until I finally got rescued by my primary class 4 teacher- Mr Mensah (now deceased), he stopped at nothing to convince my mum to ensure that I had time for my books since to him I could go places given the slightest push. That indeed was the turning point. I realised then that I was ready to address the issue of what I wanted to be in future. I wanted to be a medical doctor –as most kids in a Ghanaian primary school always said, anyway. Thankfully, my mum resolved that I’d had enough of the moving around. A new phase in my life began, I did read anything I could lay hands on, including most of the story books in the British Council library in Kumasi which fortunately was close to our residence and accessible on foot after school and on Saturdays.

Now to the choice of a career; I hated to see people going through pain especially the sick and I always wanted to do something to help out. I developed special interest in kids, probably stemming from my ‘childhood profession’ of looking after babies and did whatever was possible to soothe their pains especially the sick ones. I witnessed my father, auntie and grandma apply herbal remedies to treat ailments of common occurrence and was really fascinated to see how quickly relief was obtained. Going down memory lane, I think that is when my interest in pharmacy and for that matter medicinal plant research was conceived. I found myself choosing to read pharmacy at the university instead of medicine. Right after the first degree, through the national service period when I served as a Teaching Assistant and also as a Demonstrator for Pharmacy students in my home university (KNUST, Kumasi) and also at King’s College, London, as well for my PhD, my preoccupation has been to collate information on indigenous medicinal plants and scientifically validate their folkloric claims for the treatment of various diseases. For my Masters and PhD degrees, I researched some plants employed in the treatment of wounds and infections among the Ashanti ethnic group in Ghana. There has been no turning back since then. The last few years have seen a continuation of my research into Ghanaian medicinal plants for their antipediculosidal, anthelminthic and anti-inflammatory properties

I have sought for and welcomed every opportunity to learn more advanced research and development techniques. For me, becoming a 2011 Seeding Labs Fellow is a fantastic opportunity which would afford me the privilege to upgrade my skills in the use of the state of the art equipment vital to natural product research to make me a better scientist equipped to train younger scientists in the approaches to drug discovery from natural sources.

The challenges in my institution are similar to those faced by others in Africa; lack of expertise in key research areas, training opportunities, equipments to conduct research is indeed glaringly disturbing. I look forward to this Fellowship program as a platform to assist me in acquiring enough knowledge to hopefully, afford me and my colleagues , the necessary exposure  to attract some donations of essential  equipments such as  plate readers, IR, UV, NMR  and GC-MS, that would greatly assist our  research and training  in our institution and other sister universities in Ghana. Science and Technology determines the global distribution of wealth and power and poverty reduction. Africa faces enormous problems of shortages of food, health care, essential and affordable medicines, literacy, energy, security, water supply, sanitation, and many other issues pertaining to development. Africa must be seen to be rising up to the challenge of supporting more appropriate researches which would lead to the alleviation of these problems. I would like to witness an all hands on deck approach to science and technology in Africa with significant inputs from women for the advancement of society.

I am very passionate about post graduate training in natural product research and deeply committed to contributing my quota in bringing research at my institution to the highest possible standards. To this end, I look forward to the day when our laboratories would be sufficiently equipped to , for example, conduct our own analysis on pure isolates without them being lost in the postal systems when mailed to collaborating laboratories overseas for analysis.

Life outside the lab? My research skills are always neatly transferred from the university Lab to my home Lab, my kitchen! I love to spend time cooking traditional dishes with my girls, Akosua, Abena, Akua and Afia, to share with friends and hang out with my girls and my soul mate –Nana, the dogs-Roxy, Miijo, Biggie and Bailey Knight King I. I always look forward to these moments when we share a hymn, pray and read the Bible together and of course, the pursuit of my other passion; motivating young girls to make a career in science.

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