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2019 OWSD PhD Fellows Announced

December 02, 2019

Twenty-seven fellows from 16 countries in the developing world have received OWSD fellowships to pursue their PhDs.

OWSD has awarded fellowships to 27 women from 16 countries, to pursue their PhDs in another developing country in the Global South. The new fellows are researching topics ranging from the impact of gold mining on soil in Cameroon, to 3D reconstruction of skeletal structures from 2D images based on deep learning technology, to  the effects of natural dyes and food preservatives on female reproductive cells. The 2019 fellows also include the first fellow in 20 years from Latin America and the Caribbean, Paola Rocabado Koya from Bolivia. Meet all of the 2019 OWSD PhD fellows below.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mariem Ahmed Baba
Mauritania
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Mohammadia School of Engineers, Morocco
 
Research area: Engineering sciences
Title of PhD project: Fault-tolerant diagnosis and control of an electric vehicle traction chain
Mst Arjina Akter
Bangladesh
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia 
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Application of biostimulants and their mechanisms of plant protection against fusarium wilt of banana
Lilian Mbaisi Ang'Ang'O
Kenya
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Rhodes University, South Africa
 
Research area: Medical and health sciences incl. neuroscience
Title of PhD project: An omics study of a novel Microsporidian symbiont of the Anopheles mosquito and its mechanism of action in blocking Plasmodium within the major malaria vectors
Massogblé Marc Lucrèce Atindehou
Benin
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University Joseph KI-ZERBO, Burkina Faso
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Viability of populations of large old tree species in Benin
Daba Thiogne Bakhoum
Senegal
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of Pretoria, South Africa
 
Research area: Physics
Title of PhD project: Design and preparation of novel carbon-based nanoporous materials with high-energy and high-power densities and long cycle life for supercapacitor application
Rabia António Canda Zimba
Mozambique
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Crude glycerin in feeding dairy goats
Jeanne D'Arc Chinama Rusizana
Rwanda
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Egerton University, Kenya
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Development of in vitro regeneration systems of tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) as an alternative propagation method and assessment of genetic stability
Sayma Serine Chompa
Bangladesh
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Whole genome transcriptome analysis of Burkholderia glumae causing rice bacterial panicle blight Disease in Malaysia
Sabine Danala Danga
Cameroon
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University of Johannesburg, South Africa
 
Research area: Astronomy, space and earth sciences
Title of PhD project: Impact of gold mining on soil and sediments in Meiganga area (Adamaoua, Plateau, Cameroon)
Nanou Emeline Dossa
Benin
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 
 
Research area: Agricultural Sciences
Title of PhD project: The genetic basis of resistance to Cowpea Aphid-Borne Mosaic Virus (CABMV) in Benin cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) landraces
Juliana Mana Edor
Ghana
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: North-West University, South Africa
 
Research area: Chemical sciences
Title of PhD project: Homo-2-Heterocat: enabling technologies for sustainable catalysis
Saga Elsayed Ibrahim Abdalla
Sudan
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
 
Research area: Physics
Title of PhD project: Modification of the electronic structure inducing tuned properties of 2D systems: A density functional theory study
Maureen Gumbo
Zimbabwe
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University of Johannesburg, South Africa
 
Research area: Chemical sciences
Title of PhD project: Design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks with high catalytic activity for hydrogenation of carbon dioxide 
Reitumetse Charlotte Nkali Khalanyane
Lesotho
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
 
Research area: Engineering sciences
Title of PhD project: Power allocation for Digital Video Broadcasting Second Generation Terrestrial (DVB-T2) and fifth-generation (5G)  Coexistence
Catherine Namayenga
Uganda
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of Cape Town, South Africa
 
Research area: Engineering sciences
Title of PhD project: A deep learning algorithm for 3D reconstruction of skeletal structures from 2D bi-planar images
Anna Ritah Namuganga
Uganda
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: Stellenbosch University, South Africa
 
Research area: Medical and health sciences incl. neuroscience
Title of PhD project: Host immune activation and exhaustion markers as predictors of active pulmonary tuberculosis
Elisabeth Louise Ndjengue Mindang
Cameroon
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: Rhodes University, South Africa 
 
Research area: Biological systems and organisms
Title of PhD project: In vitro study of a natural dye (Cameroonian red beetroot) and food preservative (Cameroonian Ocimum Gratissimum) on some female reproductive cells: cytotoxicity, phytochemical and antioxidant investigation 
Emily Chelangat Ngeno
Kenya
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: Makerere University, Uganda
 
Research area: Chemical sciences
Title of PhD project: Application of water hyacinth and Moringa Oleifera for adsorption and phytosorption of endocrine-disrupting chemicals
Saureille Ngouana Moafor
Cameroon
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University of South Africa, South Africa 
 
Research area: Engineering sciences
Title of PhD project: Encapsulation of mesoporous zeolite-supported Co with a carbon shell to obtain liquid fuel via Fisher Tropsch technology
Everlyne Achieng Otieno 
Kenya
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Tanzania
 
Research area: Structural, cell and molecular biology
Title of PhD project: Comparative analysis of the global omics of Aspergillus flavus from biocontrol treated fields and untreated fields in Meru region
Lalaina Patricia Rasoamanana
Madagascar
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Nano Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NanoNIRS): discrimination and traceability of Dalbergia and Diospyros
Paola Adriana Rocabado Koya
Bolivia
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: National University of Córdoba - CONICET, Argentina
 
Research area: Biological systems and organisms
Title of PhD project: The contribution of soil fertility in predisposing Polylepis forests to ravines
Bénéwindé Edwige Sawadogo Ouedraogo 
Burkina Faso
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi, Niger
 
Research area: Physics
Title of PhD project: Experimental study and modeling of energy production by the gasification of biomass and mineral coal
Vimbar Mireille Some
Burkina Faso
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Assessment of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus invasion’s impact on heartwater epidemiology in West Africa
Joan Talibawo
Uganda
 
Type of fellowship: Sandwich
Host institute: University of Pretoria, South Africa 
 
Research area: Physics
Title of PhD project: Fabrication and characterization of TiO2 /Al2O3 composites deposited by electrophoretic method for dye-sensitized solar cell applications
Faith Chepkorir Too
Kenya
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 
 
Research area: Computing and information technology
Title of PhD project: Achieving personalisation in educational technology: Using machine learning
 
Loriane Jennifer Ayo Ola Yanclo
Benin
 
Type of fellowship: Full-time
Host institute: University of Pretoria, South Africa 
 
Research area: Agricultural sciences
Title of PhD project: Impact of non-thermal postharvest treatment on minimally processed fruits: mango
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Onyinye Akunne
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