Genomic medicine building complex inaugurated

A multi-purpose genomic medicine building complex designed for genomic training and research was last Friday inaugurated at the University of Ghana. 

Genomic medicine is the study of genes (DNA) and their interaction with people’s health.

It investigates how a person’s biological information can be used to improve his or her clinical and health outcomes through effective diagnosis and personalised treatment.

The $1.5 million West African Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC) building complex, which will advance research on genetic disorders such as sickle cell disease, is located between the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the University of Ghana Medical Centre.

The building has 2,800 square metres of working space, including a 220 square metre open laboratory, 200-seater auditorium, a biorepository, multiple smart classrooms, a genetic counselling clinic, a graduate room and a boardroom, among others.

It was funded by the government through the World Bank’s Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE IMPACT) project, an initiative that seeks to improve the quality of postgraduate education in selected universities. 

Inauguration

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, commended the university management and all stakeholders for their dedication to ensuring the completion of the project which began in 2022.

“You are demonstrating to Ghanaians that you can be good stewards of what is entrusted in your care,” he said.

He further commended the management of the centre for their cutting-edge research and urged them to do special outreaches to communities such as Osu and James Town to help whip up the interest of the younger generation in genomics.

“I don’t want to see this as a centre where only those who are elites will benefit from so let’s do special outreach so that we can get the children to come here and become great geneticists.

“When we do outreach to these communities we are showing them the way and opening their mind to the possibilities that the future holds,”  Dr Adutwum  said. 

Hub

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG), Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said the completion of the building was a major milestone towards the accomplishment of the centre’s goal of becoming a global hub of genomics training and research in Africa.

She explained that as a university with the vision to achieve global impact through innovative research, teaching and learning, using a technology-driven and people-centred approach, it was proud of the niche WAGMC was creating for itself as a beacon of excellence in the study of genomics not only in Ghana, but within the sub-region.

“At its core, this research centre embodies our university's commitment to advancing cutting-edge knowledge and solving the challenges of our time,” she said.

The project, Prof. Amfo added, would contribute enormously to the realisation of the university’s strategic priorities, particularly transformative student experience, impactful research, engagement and partnerships.

She called on all stakeholders in the university to help make WAGMC a beacon of hope, innovation and a centre that offers positive change for the world.

For his part, the Director, WAGMC, Prof. Solomon Fiifi Ofori-Acquah, said the building would help the centre consolidated the gains already made in the area of research and innovation, which included the development of PhD programmes in Medical Molecular Genetics, which had been reviewed and approved at the university level, among others.

“I see this building as a cross-cutting platform for transformative wok globally through education, research, community and public engagement,” he said.