On 17th July 2023, a delegation from Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) Uganda, paid a courtesy visit to the College of Health Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (CHS-KNUST), to discuss their ongoing five (5)-year collaborative research on Cervical Cancer in Sub-Sahara Africa. The delegation was received by Professor Christian Agyare, the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, and Professor Daniel Ansong, the Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, KNUST.
The five-year partnership, supported by the National Institute of Health in the United States of America (USA), aims to utilize data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to improve cervical cancer diagnostics and treatment which is most common cancer found among women in Ghana and Uganda.
Speaking during the visit, Professor Celestino Obua, the Vice-Chancellor of MUST, revealed that they have been collaborating with the College of Health Sciences for the past two (2)-years in the Data Science Research Hub which is part of the larger Data Science Africa Initiative. He added that as the collaboration enters its third year, there is a need to leverage and develop data science expertise at the research hubs to combine AVE-based screening conducted by healthcare workers at peripheral health facilities with geospatial analysis and needs-driven assessment to scale up cervical cancer screening in Ghana and Uganda.
The research is being conducted at the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) and the Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), affiliated with the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Mbarara, Uganda and Kumasi, Ghana respectively.
Professor Celestino Obua was accompanied by Dr. Edith Wakida, the Deputy Director of Mbarara University Data Science Research Hub (MUDSREH), Dr. William Wasswa and Ms. Betty Mabisi, all members of MUDSREH.
Information about MUDSREH.
The Mbarara University Data Science HUB also known as MUDSReH is a 5-Year program with funding from Fogarty International Center, NIH Grant No. U54TW012043 that is embarking on setting up data science research hub for improved clinical outcomes and impact across sub-Saharan Africa.
The program is implemented by Mbarara University of Science and Technology in collaboration with (1) Massachusetts General Hospital – MGH, (2) Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT, (3) Kwame Nkurumah University of Science and Technology – KNUST, and (4) College of Ophthalmologists of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa – COECSA.
Overall Plan for the Research Hub
The Data Science Research Hub will help in creation of medical images that offer great potential for supporting clinical diagnosis and care management. The Mbarara University Data Science Research Hub is designed to overcome the barriers associated with insufficient linkage to relevant clinical data, limited data from African populations for proper image interpretation, and poor implementation in clinical practice through enabling robust Data Management and Analysis and Administrative Cores, initially supporting projects in posterior segment eye disease and cervical cancer with plans for expansion to new projects and sites, as well as training in data science and implementation science.
MUDSReH LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
Multiple PD/PI 1 and Hub Director: Prof. Celestino Obua (MUST)
Multiple PD/PI 2: Dr. Leo Celi (Data science – MIT)
Multiple PD/PI 3: Dr. Jessica Haberer (Implementation science – MGH)
Hub Deputy Director/ Administrative core lead: Dr. Edith Wakida (Overall program Implementation – MUST)
Data Management and Analysis core lead: Dr. Fred Kaggwa (MUST)
Hub Administrator: Ms. Samantha Mary (MUST)
Co-Investigators
Multimodal Database of Retinal Images in Africa (MoDRIA)
• Dr. Simon Arunga (MUST)
• Dr. Michael Gichangi (COECSA)
Automated Visual Evaluation and geospatial Mapping (AVE-Map) for cervical cancer screening optimization in sub-Saharan Africa
• Dr. Joseph Ngonzi (MUST)
• Dr. Thomas Konney (KNUST)
Additional research projects will include
• Dermatology
• Radiology
• Microbiology/Pathology
DURATION: 5 Years
The meritorious works as the MUDSReH team have brought visibility to the university, thank you all and congratulations.