Dr. Yaw Bediako Joins Ashesi as Dean of Research and Innovation
Ashesi University is pleased to welcome Dr. Yaw Bediako as the Dean of Research and Innovation. In this role, he will provide strategic leadership to advance our research initiatives, foster innovation across various academic disciplines, and strengthen partnerships that support Ashesi’s mission. The Dean of Research and Innovation role highlights Ashesi’s commitment to deepening research […]
Building Biotechnology in Africa
At Yemaachi, Bediako is developing cancer diagnostics and treatments tailored to Africans, and he describes the limited official data on patients with cancer across Africa as a major challenge.
Precision Medicine on a Budget in Africa: using existing genetic data to mitigate adverse drug reactions to conventional cancer drugs.
Alexandra Lindsey Djomkam Zune , Charles Ochieng’ Olwal, Emmanuel Agbeli , Abdoulaye Baniré Diallo , Emmanuella Amoako, Yaw Bediako , Lily Paemka. Abstract Variations in drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters are associated with adverse drug reactions (ADRs). ADRs to cancer drugs can differ among populations owing to environmental and genetic differences. Due to limited resources and prohibitive costs associated with drug development, African countries rely on […]
A Ghanaian Scientist’s Quest to Create a Genetic Map of Cancer in Africa
Sequencing the human genome enables scientists to study human biology in a granular fashion and use that information to create treatments for things like cancer. Yet, of the human genomes studied so far, only 2% have been those of Africans. Yemaachi Biotech company in Ghana is addressing that through its Africa Cancer Atlas, partnering with […]
‘The Field of Human Ancestry is Rife with Racism’: Pioneering Project to Build Cancer Database in Africa.
When Yaw Bediako lost his father to liver cancer, it set the Ghanaian immunologist on a journey to know more about the disease. He quickly realised the burden of cancer in Africa was much greater than he had thought – accounting for about 700,000 deaths every year – and that very few scientific papers about the disease […]
Yemaachi Presents Findings on Mutation Profiles of Ghanaian Women with Breast Cancer at AORTIC 2023; Announces Formation of African Clinical Cancer Research Network
Results presented in collaboration with Paemka Research Group at the University of Ghana represent largest sequencing study of its kind conducted entirely in Africa to date; Company’s cancer network will advance and scale precision oncology research and collaborations across the continent
Assessing the utility of liquid biopsy for detecting actionable genetic mutations among indigenous Ghanaian women with metastatic breast cancer.
Liquid biopsy detected multiple actionable variants in Ghanaian women with breast cancer that a tissue-only workflow missed. cfDNA analysis featured less variations in sample preparation which is a key consideration in resource-limited settings.
Liquid Biopsy – The necessary first step towards democratising precision oncology?
While IHC and imaging are useful for diagnosing and staging cancers, they are limited in their ability to inform clinical decision-making regarding the use of increasingly available targeted therapies that are revolutionising cancer care in developed countries. For this, more advanced molecular tests are required, and next generation sequencing-based liquid biopsy tests are at the cutting edge.
Liquid Biopsy – The necessary first step towards democratising precision oncology?
Main entrance to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Image credit: ccthghana.org In April 2022 Ama (not her real name), a middle-aged mother of three who lives in a small farming village in the Central Region of Ghana presented at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital with a large mass in her right breast. A week […]