By Bertha Badu-Agyei
Accra, Aug 11, GNA-Professor Samuel Kojo Kwofie has officially assumed office as Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) at the University of Ghana, effective August 1, 2025.
His appointment coincided with his promotion to full Professor of Biomedical Engineering, recognising his distinguished academic contributions and transformative leadership in applied science, technology, and innovation.
Prior to this role, Prof. Kwofie served as Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering Sciences and his transition to IAST is widely seen as a strategic move to strengthen the Institute’s role in translating scientific research into practical sustainable solutions that support Ghana’s socio-economic development.
Prof. Kwofie is widely respected for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and computational bioengineering for novel drug discovery and diagnostics and has developed innovative tools and technologies that are addressing critical health challenges.
Among his innovations are TubPred, EBOLApred and AICpred, which are AI-based applications that support the identification of potential drugs for cancers, Ebola virus disease and inflammations.
He is a founding board member of the Convention of Biomedical Research Ghana, and Ethics Committee for Basic and Applied Sciences at the University of Ghana, as well as a former Vice President of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG), University of Ghana Branch.
Prof. Kwofie is a Life Member at Wolfson College and was a CAPREx Research Fellow at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge. He was an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, USA. Alsoa Distinguished Visiting International Lecturer at Coastal Carolina University, USA, and currently serves on the Board of the Engineering Program.
He attended the Ghana Secondary Technical School, Takoradi and thereafter earned Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biochemistry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
His academic excellence earned him the prestigious Carnegie Corporation of New York Scholarship for a Masters in Structural Biology jointly awarded by the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape. He earned a PhD in Bioinformatics at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute, awarded by University of the Western Cape.
He has been at the forefront of student internship, industry partnerships and potential commercialization of translatable research output, beyond research, Prof. Kwofie is a passionate advocate for STEM education, especially among girls and students from
underserved communities and a prominent voice in raising awareness about Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) through public forums and policy dialogues.
In an interview with the GNA, Professor Kwofie, he emphasised the need for IAST to go beyond academic excellence “IAST must not only be a centre of excellence, but it must also be seen, heard and felt by industry across Ghana and beyond”.
He said throughout his career, his focus had been on promoting industry-academia partnerships and therefore would leverage on research findings to translatable solutions and products to influence the national innovation agenda.
The IAST is primarily a multidisciplinary institute drawing upon expertise and resources from the entire university to spearhead industry-driven knowledge, technology and innovation transfer as well as a hub that leverages local and foreign funding to provide entrepreneurial support to commercially viable projects with industry applications.
The institute’s work spans critical sectors such as Food processing, Agribusiness, Material Technology, Infrastructure Development, Water and Sanitation, Energy Solutions and Climate Change mitigation.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah