Belfast, Northern Ireland – December 2025.
The College of Health Sciences (CHS) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has achieved international recognition at the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) Conference, dubbed Pharmacology 2025, on the 16th - 18th December 2025 at Belfast, Northern Ireland, with multiple research outputs presented and an alumnus winning a prestigious award.
The annual conference brought together pharmacologists from academia, industry, health services, and regulatory bodies, alongside early-career researchers, to share new findings and explore advances across basic, translational, and clinical pharmacology. Key themes included artificial intelligence, pharmacogenomics, sustainable medicines, and therapeutic inequality.
Professor Cynthia Amaning Danquah, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at KNUST, served as co-chair for the session on Natural Products and Other Oral Communications. She also presented poster abstracts from her research group, including:
- Repurposing Atorvastatin and Simvastatin as Antimicrobials in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance: A Preclinical Study with High-Throughput Methods
- In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Ethanolic Bulb Extract of Allium cepa (Pink) on Mycobacterium aurum
- Estrogen-Responsive Gene Modulation by Mentha pulegium L. Extract in Uterine and Ovarian Tissues of Immature Rats
Meanwhile, Evans Aryeh, an alumnus of the KNUST Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and currently pursuing an MSc in Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, delivered an oral presentation titled:
- Comparative Influence of Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) on Anticonvulsants and Behavioural Activities of Antiaris toxicaria
Adding to the College’s international acclaim, Dr. Michael Ofori, an alumnus of the Department of Pharmacology and current lecturer at Hilla Liman University, won the Best Poster – Natural Products Category at the conference. His award-winning research, titled “Betulin, a Compound Isolated from Crinum asiaticum Bulbs, Exerts Anti-Silicosis and Pulmonoprotective Effects Through the Inhibition of NF-κB Activation in a Rat Model,” was recognized for its originality and potential impact in respiratory pharmacology.
Research works from Theophilus Ninkyi (PhD Candidate), Dr. Lorraine Sallah (Lecturer, Department of Physiology), and Nana Bugyei Buabeng (alumnus), also emanating from Prof. Danquah’s research group, were highlighted at the conference, further underscoring the department’s commitment to advancing pharmacological science through rigorous inquiry and innovation.
“This recognition demonstrates the strength of our department’s research and the global contributions of our alumni and graduate students,” said Prof. Cynthia Amaning Danquah. “We are proud of Dr. Ofori’s achievement, the impactful oral presentation by Evans Aryeh, and the innovative contributions from our graduate researchers. Together, these efforts highlight CHS's growing reputation as a centre of excellence in pharmacology.”
The KNUST CHS congratulates Dr. Ofori on his outstanding achievement and extends best wishes to all its alumni and graduate researchers for their continued success in academic and research endeavours. With alumni and students making their mark internationally, CHS remains committed to advancing health and medical sciences through impactful research, collaboration, and innovation.