Consultant, ARUA Secretariat
Dr. Emmanuel Adu-Danso is a consultant to ARUA on the ARUA-Carnegie Benchmarking Project. Prior to this, he worked closely with the Secretary General as Network Manager to forge several partnerships with universities, university associations, funding agencies and other collaborating institutions. He is a development economist by training and faculty at the Department of Economics of the University of Ghana.
Dr Emmanuel Abbey works with the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) as a consultant. As a consultant, Dr Abbey is involved with ARUA’s institutional data gathering project on member Universities. Dr Abbey is also the immediate past Project Coordinator overseeing the 13 ARUA Centres of Excellence (CoEs). He also provides administrative/organisational support to ARUA. Dr Abbey is a development economist at the University of Ghana.
Professor Jane Ambuko holds a BSc in Agriculture and MSc in Horticulture from the University of Nairobi as well as a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (Pomology and Postharvest Major) from Tsukuba University, Japan. She currently holds the position of Associate Professor and Head of Horticulture at the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Her training, research, and outreach activities are focused on sustainable and effective solutions to reduce postharvest losses in horticultural value chains. Using the “lab-to-land” approach, Prof. Ambuko works with smallholder farmers and other food value chain practitioners in various capacity building and technology scale-up initiatives. Prof. Ambuko currently serves as the Director of Research and Training at the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA).
Mr. Fidelis E. Y. Anumu is a seasoned professional known for his extensive experience in research management, programme coordination, and strategic planning, currently serving as the Head of Research Operations at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). He previously held the position of Research Development Officer at the University of Ghana, with interests in health sciences and waste management. He is a committed leader with over 18 years in programme management.
Professor Peter Quartey holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester (UK), MSc in Quantitative Development Economics (University of Warwick, UK), MPhil. Economics (Ghana), and BA Economics (Ghana). He is a Professor in Development Economics and the current Acting Director of the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD). He was previously the Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana. He has published extensively and his research interests are: Financial and Monetary Sector, Private Sector Development including SMEs, Development Finance, Migration and Remittances and Poverty Analysis. He has consulted for both local and international institutions including the World Bank, African Development Bank, OECD and USAID.
Dr. Saeed Ibn Idris Kofi Yeboah is a postdoctoral fellow under the ARUA–Carnegie Early Career Research Fellowship at the Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, South Africa and a staff member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ghana. He holds a PhD, MSc and BSc in Environmental Engineering and Management from UENR. His research spans water–environment–health interactions, spatial hydrology, climate impacts and environmental risk assessment. Saeed has received competitive awards, including World Bank ACE scholarships, international mobility grants, recognition in the U&AI SDGs Youth Innovation Bootcamp and has published in reputable international journals. His current work examines the fate and transport of pathogens under current and future climate and socioeconomic scenarios, while contributing to research and capacity-building activities within the ARUA Water CoE.
Dr. Steve Ngoy Kabemba is a construction engineer and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Construction Economics and Management at the University of Cape Town. He holds a PhD in Construction Management from the University of Zambia and recipient of the ARUA Mastercard–Carnegie Early Career Research Fellowship (2025) and Erasmus+ Mobility Grant at Riga Technical University (2023–2024). His research focuses on sustainable construction technologies, alternative building materials, and low-carbon housing. He manages the Journal of Construction Business and Management, lectures, serves on scientific committees, supervises postgraduate students, and engages industry and policymakers on construction innovation and carbon-reduction strategies.
Dr. Susan Kamundia is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR), University of Cape Town, where she earned her PhD in Economics. She also holds a Master in Economics (Econometrics) and a Bachelor in Economics and Statistics from Kenyatta University, Kenya. Her research focuses on poverty and inequality, particularly multidimensional and asset-based poverty measurement across countries such as Kenya and South Africa. She has worked on spatial economics, maternal and child health, and impact evaluation. Susan has received research grants from the African Economic Research Consortium and ACEIR and was a UNU-WIDER PhD Research Fellow in 2021.
My name is Dr. Toleshi Teshome Ketema. I am a researcher and lecturer at the Chemistry Department and a Postgraduate Program Director at Bonga University, Ethiopia. I graduated from Jimma University by PhD in Analytical Chemistry on July 1, 2024, MSc in Analytical Chemistry from Haramaya University on June 28, 2018 and BSc in Chemistry from Jimma University on June 18, 2016. My research focuses on the synthesis of nanomaterials for diverse applications, particularly in sensing and photocatalysis for applications in agriculture, food safety, and water quality. I have a proven track record of publishing numerous articles in esteemed international and national journals. I am actively involved in the Society for Women and HIV/AIDS in Africa, Ethiopia, where I have successfully conducted training on school-based peer learning related to gender inequalities.
Dr. Tunde Lewis Yusuf is a Lecturer in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, an MSc (Distinction) from the University of Ibadan, and a BSc (Hons) from the University of Ilorin. His research focuses on nanostructured materials for a sustainable environment. He has published extensively and received competitive grants from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Water Research Council, and the Medical Research Council. Dr Yusuf leads projects on piezo-photocatalysis, supervises postgraduate students, and engages in collaborative research advancing clean water and energy solutions.