News and Events

Discover the latest developments and upcoming events of the Collaborative.

News & Events

Photo of Ellis Owusu-Dabo

, PhD

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Photo of Papa Salif

, MD

Head of Health Initiatives, Mastercard Foundation

Mastercard Foundation

Photo of Gwen Burrows

Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact

University of Toronto, Office of the Vice-President International

Photo of David Palmer

Vice President, Advancement

University of Toronto

Photo of Princess Ruhama Acheampong

, PhD

Liaison Officer, Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Photo of Charles Lagat

, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics Coordinator, UNESCO Chair on Enterprise Management and Sustainability

Moi University

Photo of Diane Uyoga

, PhD

Assistant Professor, School of Businsess, Department of Marketing and Logistics

Moi University

Photo of Solange Rosa

, PhD

Director, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

University of Cape Town

Photo of Klaus Von Pressentin

, PhD

Associate Professor and Head of Division of Family Medicine Deputy Head, Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care (FaCE) Faculty of Health Sciences

University of Cape Town

Photo of Anteneh Belete

, PhD

Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics School of Pharmacy

Addis Ababa University

Profile

Ellis Owusu-Dabo, PhD

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Dr. Ellis Owusu-Dabo is a Consultant Public Health Physician, Teacher and Researcher.

As a Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health, his area of expertise is in Medical Epidemiology and applied public health technologies. As a teacher, he has trained undergraduate and postgraduate 2 students, as well as mentored young faculty at both local and international levels.

Ellis is a demonstrable astute university administrator and a research project management consultant. He is highly driven in his research interest area, mainly non-communicable diseases in low-income country settings. He also has considerable interest in population genomics of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Ellis has secured and managed multimillion United States dollar research grants from principal granting institutions such as the European Union, National Institutes of Health (NIH), The World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) as well as many bilateral organisations. He serves on several boards at both local and international levels, and has a massive network of individuals and organisations he works with. Dr Owusu-Dabo has published over 250 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. As Perelman International Scholar of the University of Pensylvannia School of Medicine, his passion is in building capacities of next generation scientists and health systems to help solve Africa’s health problems through scientific research collaborations.

Profile

Papa Salif, MD

Head of Health Initiatives, Mastercard Foundation

Mastercard Foundation

Papa Salif joined the Mastercard Foundation in September 2021 as Head of Health Initiatives with a focus on Health Employment, Health Entrepreneurship and Health Ecosystems.

He is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine University of Dakar (Senegal) and Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases (2002-2012). Then, Papa Salif joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, in 2012 as Senior Program Officer in Global Health HIV/AIDS supporting resource-limited settings in Africa in collaboration with key stakeholders, government, academic institutions, and communities. On January 3, 2017, Papa Salif joined Gilead Sciences (US Biopharmaceutical Company), as Vice President for Access Operations & Emerging Markets, Africa/Geneva, supporting HIV, Viral Hepatitis B/C and Capacity building programs for African countries.

Papa Salif trained as a physician at the University of Dakar and received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1987. He completed his training with a Master of Sciences at the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp in Belgium in 1992 and in Nagasaki University Japan in 1993.

Profile

Gwen Burrows

Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact

University of Toronto

Gwen Burrows is Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact at the University of Toronto.

The Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement and Impact (AVP IEI) collaborates with colleagues across the university and internationally to advance the University of Toronto’s global excellence and impact in research, its translation, and in teaching and learning. The Assistant Vice-President leads and executes the University’s integrated international strategy across multiple dimensions, with a particular focus on region-specific engagement strategies and the development of partnerships to maximize global impact.

Gwen was Executive Director in the Office of the Vice President International for five years before becoming AVP IEI and in that role, supported the creation and implementation of the University’s first international strategic plan, and led the development of key international partnerships in a number of regions around the world. Gwen came to the University from The Hospital for Sick Children, where she held a number of leadership positions, including Executive Director, Public Affairs and Child Health Advocacy. As Director, Strategic Projects for the SickKids Research Institute from 2006-2013, amongst other accomplishments Gwen co-led a successful $227 million Canada Foundation for Innovation grant proposal and its implementation to support the vision guiding the development of the Peter Gilligan Centre for Research and Learning. Gwen holds a Master’s in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins and a BA from McGill University.

Profile

David Palmer

Vice President, Advancement

University of Toronto

Since 2007, David has served as Vice-President, Advancement for the University of Toronto.  Under David’s leadership, U of T launched Boundless which concluded in 2018 as the largest campaign in Canadian history with $2.64 billion raised.   

David is a Senior Fellow of Massey College, a Council for Advancement and Support of Education Laureate and former trustee, an executive committee member of the National Council of Foundation Executives, and a director of the Earth Rangers Foundation. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in musicology from Princeton University and began his career as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at Western University, his undergraduate alma mater.

From 1999 to 2007, David served as President and Executive Director of the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Governors. From 1993 to 1999, David led a ground-breaking campaign for the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University, ushering in a new era in professional-faculty fundraising in Canada.

David was recognized in 2011 with the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In 2016 he was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.

Profile

Princess Ruhama Acheampong, PhD

Liaison Officer, Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Princess Ruhama Acheampong (PhD) is an international scholar and Lecturer at the School of Public Health of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. Princess has a wealth of experience in community mobilization, project coordination and project implementation. 

As a researcher, Princess has worked extensively in the areas of mHealth, malaria, epidemiology, maternal and child health, public health, nutrition, health promotion and gender. Princess has expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research.

Princess has coordinated several exchange programs and is highly interested in collaborative research. She serves as the Liaison Officer for the Health Collaborative, KNUST.

Profile

Charles Lagat, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics Coordinator, UNESCO Chair on Enterprise Management and Sustainability

Moi University

Professor Charles Lagat is an Associate Professor in the School of Business & Economics, Moi University, Kenya since 2002.

He has previously served as the Director for Directorate of International Programmes, Linkages & Alumni as Head of Marketing Department and as coordinator of different projects at Moi University. Charles had over 6 years industry experience in marketing and sales prior to joining the University. He has had international experience as a visiting scholar at Oklahoma State University USA, Netherlands and as visiting Professor in Donghua University, China. Charles has been actively involved in research in fields of management sciences, entrepreneurship, marketing and logistics. He has published papers in refereed journals and presented in international conferences, workshops and seminars. He is a Member of the Association of International Universities serving as an Ambassador for the African region, a Full Member of the Kenya Institute of Management and the Marketing Society of Kenya.

Profile

Diane Uyoga, PhD

Assistant Professor, School of Businsess, Department of Marketing and Logistics

Moi University

Diane Uyoga is an Assistant Professor at Moi University, Department of Marketing and Logistics.

She has previously served as the head of department of Aviation Management and Operations. She has extensive training and teaching experience in both quantitative and qualitative research designs and has published on quantitative research approaches in Kenya. She has served in the university at the capacity of knowledge integration and transfer in the fields of research, marketing, management and aviation. She has actively participated in curriculum development for undergraduate and master’s levels of education in Kenya. She has been a team member for committees that write and appraise proposals for grants for the university. Currently she represents the department in issues that affect Gender, Equity and Research Development at Moi University. Diane, born in Kenya, has contributed to the community through mentorship of girls in the local community. She also participates in preservation of culture of local communities within the North Rift Region.

Profile

Solange Rosa, PhD

Director, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

University of Cape Town

Solange is the Director of Bertha Centre, where she has been involved since 2016.

She also serves as Associate Faculty and Adviser with the Allan Gray Centre for Values-based Leadership, and teaches on Executive Education and MBA programs at the UCT Graduate School of Business and the UCT School of Economics.

Holding a Doctorate in Constitutional Law from the University of Stellenbosch and a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Cape Town, Solange’s areas of expertise and research interest include Public Policy, Policy Research and Analysis, Strategy Development, Public Law, Public Sector Innovation and Leadership, Socio-economic Development, Youth Development, Poverty Reduction, Social Justice, Human Rights, Social Innovation and Social Impact.

Prior to her current role, Solange was working as an Independent Public Policy and Strategy Consultant for four years, with clients ranging from international organizations and national and provincial government departments to academic institutions, non-government organizations and philanthropic foundations. This included the likes of the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Department of Economic Development and International Labor Organization, and the CiTi and Western Cape Department of Economic Development.

Prior to that, Solange also worked for the Western Cape government for 10 years as the head of the Policy and Strategy Unit in the Department of the Premier. This well-published individual has appeared in a number of academic books, journals and working papers, as well as government publications. She has served as chairperson and director for a number of non-profit organizations and is on the Westerford High School Governing Body.

Profile

Klaus Von Pressentin, PhD

Associate Professor and Head of Division of Family Medicine Deputy Head, Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care (FaCE) Faculty of Health Sciences

University of Cape Town

Associate Professor Klaus Von Pressentin is an academic, primary care researcher, and clinician-educator based in Cape Town, South Africa. He is the head of the Division of Family Medicine and the deputy head of the Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care (FaCE) in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Cape Town.

His research focuses on primary care service strengthening (including chronic conditions and palliative care in primary care), human resources for health, as well as health professions education. He teaches primary care research methods, leadership development, clinical governance, evidence-based practice, and consultation skills. His current volunteer activities include serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Family Practice Journal, serving on the Council of the College of Family Physicians of South Africa and serving on the Education and Training Committee of the South African Academy of Family Physicians. 

Profile

Anteneh Belete, PhD

Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics School of Pharmacy

Addis Ababa University

Dr. Anteneh Belete is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences (CHS), Addis Ababa University (AAU) trained in Ethiopia and in Germany.

He has served AAU in various capacities as Head of the Department, Associate Director for Staff Affairs, Academic Standards and Quality Assurance, Director for Research and Technology Transfer as well as Dean of School of Pharmacy in the CHS. He is routinely involved in teaching and research activities and has presented a number of research findings in both international and local conferences. He has published over 55 research articles in reputable local and international journals. He was the principal investigator of two thematic research projects at the AAU, co-PI of a Science and Technology Minister (MOST) supported research project and a co-investigator and core faculty member of CDT-Africa, a World Bank funded African Center of Excellence (ACE-II) project.