| MARIE CURIE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (MCAA) AFRICAN CHAPTER |
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| QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER |
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| Number 01 | August 2020 |
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| FROM THE CHAIR |
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| Dr. Hossam Zawbaa |
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The African Chapter was established towards the end of 2014 and currently has 112 members. We aim to provide a platform for Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) members based in Africa or hails from Africa or who are interested in research in Africa to network, share their research experiences, and collaborate.
We know that research in Africa faces many challenges. However, Africa has so much to offer in terms of research opportunities that exist nowhere else– the EU therefore also supports collaborative research in Africa, especially in terms of research concerned with sustainability, climate change, food security, transport networks, and many more. As African Marie Curie Alumni (AMCA), we all had fantastic exposure through our fellowships to collaborate with European institutions and have become part of a distinguished community – we are in a unique position to nurture these relationships to be of benefit in the African context. AMCA is meant to share our experiences, ideas, discuss our challenges, and support one another.
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| FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP |
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| 'A New Normal?' |
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This year, the world has witnessed dramatic changes and is evolving with new terminologies and lifestyles, accepting the inevitable-but-dynamic new normal. For us at the communications desk of the MCAA African Chapter, it is also a new normal, a new dawn.
The launch of this Newsletter marks a new feather in our cap. It is great to catch up with the giant strides by our members despite the challenges of this year 2020. The quarterly Newsletter has come to stay as a way of supporting researchers in/for Africa, to enhance networking, collaborations and promote a sense of community-ship for the benefit of individuals and Africa as a whole. In a related development, plans are also underway to organise a series of topical webinars for which your attendance and participation would be solicited and most appreciated; details coming soon.
In the past 12 months, we have promoted online visibility of the Chapter via our social media outlets and launched our official twitter handle. We have a growing number of online followers and have maintained engagements with a wide range of people, hashtags, and relevant activities. We were exploring avenues to bring you free but quality certified online training programmes just before covid19 struck. These arrangements are still ongoing, in tandem with similar plans by the MCAA Board. More updates to follow soon.
Until we bring you the next edition of our Newsletter, continue to keep safe and well, and do your best to adapt nicely to this new normal.
Emmanuel Salifu, Coordinator
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New MCAA Board |
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Following an online election held on 27 - 28 March 2020 with a total of 491 voters, a new MCAA board and executive led by Chair Mostafa Moonir Shawrav was constituted. See details of the election results and brief profiles of members of the Board here.
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New guidelines announced for MCAA events, brand identity and social media usage |
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In a statement released by the MCAA Board Secretary, the new rules includes, among other things, new logos and social media naming conventions to create a coherent perception of the working groups and chapters. Read more
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MCAA Connect App - the tinder of professional networking |
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It’s easy and safe. Just log in to the MCAA portal from your mobile device and click on the MCAA Connect news item. You’ll be given the link to download the app. You can register via email or use LinkedIn credentials to sign in. The app is also available through Google Play here.
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MCAA GA 2021 to be held in Zagreb |
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The decision was communicated in a message from the MCAA Board, delivered by the Secretary, Marina Rantanen. It will be recalled that the Annual Conference which had been scheduled for the end of March 2020 in Zagreb, was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic. Marina said Zagreb was retained to host the GA 2021 to "leverage all the planning and hard work of the task force".
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| Quarterly Review |
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| CHAPTER ACTIVITIES |
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| Membership |
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Currently, the African Chapter has 112 members. This represents 1% increase compared to the number in 2019. Members come from 24 countries, including 16 African countries. Potential members can join the Chapter via this link
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| Structure |
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In August 2019, the structure of the African Chapter was modified. Two sub-chapters (Ethiopian & Nigerian) and two groups (Communication & Research Collaboration) were created. See details of the respective coordinators below.
Feel free to contact them and engage with the activities they organise.
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| Updates from MCAA Board Meeting |
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The meeting was held online on 7 June 2020.
- Talks underway to provide customised online courses for MCAA members. Read more details on current webinars offered by MCAA
- Former 'Chapter Management Group' now replaced by 'Management Working Group' with Chapter Chairs as members. The Chair of the MCAA Board will head the WG with Esther Volz as Vice-Chair.
- Training on fund raising strategies and guidelines for events organisation will be provided by the Board. Further details coming soon.
- Constitution of the MCAA Editorial Board has been approved. The Board will have an Editor-in-Chief with other members including the MCAA Board Chair, Chair of the Communication WG and ExCom representative.
- MCAA Facebook accounts to be closed due to privacy issues with Facebook.
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| Plans & Collaborations |
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There are a lot of multiple objectives that the African Chapter aims to achieve with our activities, such as to:
- Support career development of MCAA/AMCA members
- Promote networking and collaboration of MCAA/AMCA members
- Support members to participate and collaborate on (EU-funded) research projects.
- Collaborate with other EC entities i.e., Erasmus Mundus African Chapter.
- Sharing of resources and ideas with MCAA members and non-members.
- Networking and Promotional events give visibility to the organization at the national and international levels, hence improving the association's image.
Contact the Chapter Chair, Dr Hossam Zawbaa, and/or Sub-chapter Chairs, to discuss possible collaborations, ideas, suggestions, partnerships and access to available support to achieve these aims and benefits as member of the chapter.
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| Sub-Chapters & Groups |
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On the 1st of August 2019 the structure of the African Chapter was modified. Two sub-chapters and two groups were created. See details of the new coordinators below. Feel free to contact them and engage with activities they organise.
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| Grant Awards |
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| Dr Temilola Oluseyi wins two major UKRI-GCRF Project Grants worth over £200,000 |
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Dr Oluseyi is Co-investigator on the following recently awarded project grants:
1. A £126,722 GCRF UKRI DIDA grant titled Environment fingerprinting via digital technology - a new paradigm in hazard forecasting and early-warning systems for health risks in Africa. The project is funded by the EPSRC from May 2020 - April 2021;
2. UKRI GCRF/Newton Fund Agile Response call to address COVID 19 titled Building an Early Warning System for community-wide infectious disease spread: SARS-Cov2 tracking in Africa via environment fingerprinting starting in August 2020 for a duration of 18 months. Dr Oluseyi and others will monitor the prevalence of COVID 19 via wastewater fingerprinting across several sites in Lagos(Nigeria), Cape Town (South Africa) and Bath (UK).
Huge congratulations!
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| New Appointment |
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| Past Chapter Chair Dr Raelize Du Plooy appointed Location Leader at Zutari – formerly Aurecon Africa |
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Congratulations! to Dr Du Plooy who was recently appointed as the Location Leader of the Transportation Division for the Pretoria Office of Zutari Pty Ltd. Aurecon Africa demerged from the global engineering and advisory brand Aurecon, to form a new African Engineering Consultancy, Zutari, with head office in Pretoria. In addition to her new role, Raelize continues to serve as reviewer for international journals as well as external examiner and supervisor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
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| Recent Research Publications |
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| Dr. Ifeoma Onyeka of the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Publishes a Paper on the link between Physical Ill-Health & Suicide |
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Suicide is a major public health challenge globally. Physical health problems are prevalent with many people having multiple conditions. It is known that poor mental health is associated with the risk of death by suicide but the relationship between physical ill-health and suicide is unclear. This work titled: "Does physical ill-health increase the risk of suicide? A census-based follow-up study of over 1 million people" published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences Journal, and freely accessible via this link, aimed to determine which aspect of physical health is important for suicide risk and whether there are differences by age group. Data for over 1 million adults were identified from the 2011 Northern Ireland Census and linked to death registrations until the end of 2015. The results revealed that the number of physical health condition was not an independent risk factor for suicide. Instead it is the effect of restriction of daily activities on suicide that matters especially at younger ages.
Great job!
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| Dr Zowbaa Publishes COVID-19 related Research Paper in Elsevier's Vaccine Journal |
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COVID-19 is affecting different countries all over the world with great variation in infection rate and death ratio. Some reports suggested a relation between the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine and the malaria treatment to the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some reports related infant’s lower susceptibility to the BCG vaccine. Some other reports a higher risk in males compared to females in such COVID-19 pandemic. Also, some other reports claimed the possible use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as prophylactic in such a pandemic. The paper titled: Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine, antimalarial, age and gender relation to COVID-19 spread and mortality presents a commentary-discussion on the possible relation between those factors and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Congratulations!
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| MSCA Fellow, Dr Maruf Sanni, Presents a Paper on Open Eco-innovations at the EIEE, Milan Italy |
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Open eco-innovation is crucial for global decarbonisation policies, and for global environmental sustainability as it enhances technology and knowledge transfer between Annex 1 and the Non-annex 1 parties. Issues such as these and many more necessitated the presentation of a paper titled ‘Open Eco-Innovation Research Landscape in the Industrial Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Outlook’ by Maruf Sanni at the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment, Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Milan Italy as part of the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici Seminar. The paper is part of the outputs from a Marie Curie Fellowship, ECO-innovation and the Dynamics of External Knowledge Sourcing (ECO-DEKS) supported by the European Commission Research Executive Agency as part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme.
Kudos!
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| Dr Oluseyi Publishes Multiple Research Articles on Environmental Health, Environmental Chemistry and and Pollution/Remediation Studies |
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Dr Temilola Oluseyi has published the following five articles in this year 2020: (i) a study on acute toxicity of produced water on selected organisms in the aquatic environment of the Niger delta. Read the article here; (ii) an exploratory evaluation of the potential pulmonary, neurological and other health effects of chronic exposure to emissions from municipal solid waste fires at a large dumpsite in Olusosun, Lagos, Nigeria, Available here in the Environmental and Pollution Research Journal; (iii) Use of cutting-edge analytical techniques for Multi-residue determination of micropollutants in Nigerian fish from Lagos lagoon. This paper can be accessed here in the Analytical Methods Journal; (iv) Children's exposure to hazardous brominated flame retardants in plastic toys. Read this article in the Science of the Total Environment Journal; and (v) Occurrence, seasonal variation and human exposure to pharmaceuticals and personal care products in surface water, groundwater and drinking water in Lagos State, Nigeria. See publication here in the Emerging Contaminants Journal
Very well done!
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| Dr Amgad Mohammed Publishes "Training Set Selection and Swarm Intelligence For Enhanced Integration in Multiple Classifier Systems" in Applied Soft Computing - a Q1 Journal, IF=5.47 |
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Multiple classifier systems (MCSs) constitute one of the most competitive paradigms for obtaining more accurate predictions in the field of machine learning. Systems of this type should be designed efficiently in all of their stages, from data preprocessing to multioutput decision fusion. In this article, we presented a framework for utilizing the power of instance selection methods and the search capabilities of swarm intelligence (SI) to train classification models and to aggregate their decisions. The proposed methodology yielded competitive results in experiments that were conducted on 25 benchmark datasets.
Conclusions: It is recommended to conduct data reduction prior to the construction of ensemble methods. Hence, the computational complexities of individual classifiers can be reduced. Additionally, the ensemble models will concentrate deeply on the selected informative samples.
Congratulations!
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| Can Mushrooms Help to Mitigate the Potential for Rainfall-induced Shallow Landslides? Find out in Dr Salifu's Paper Published in Géotechnique Journal |
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Water infiltration into granular soils and the associated increase in pore water pressure and reduction in shear strength can trigger landslides, instability of vertical cuts and failure of retaining walls. Water repellent soils can reduce infiltration to maintain soil suction and strength. Recent research has demonstrated the creation of synthetic water repellent soils using chemical methods. This paper titled: Fungal-induced water repellency in sand investigates a biological treatment for creating water repellent sand via the growth of the root of the mushroom (fungus) Pleurotus ostreatus. Fungal-induced water repellency was found to be ‘extreme’ up to 4 weeks and 'severe' up to 12 weeks, even with no further supply of moisture or nutrients. A water repellent layer was formed and maintained in saturated conditions, which is difficult to achieve using chemical methods.
Well done!
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| Partnerships |
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| Lecturers-Without-Boarders (LeWiBo) Extends Partnerships and Outreach in Africa |
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The LeWiBo have continued to partner with relevant groups in Africa to deliver their lofty projects. These include partnership with AfricArxiv which is a free, open source and community-led digital archive for African research and with Projekt Inspire in Tanzania, which has been working with Primary schools (Rising STEAM Stars Program) and Secondary schools (Science Fairs and STEM BootCamps).
Dr. Liubov Tupikina of LeWiBo has reiterated the openness and willingness of the Network to partner and collaborate with more individuals and groups based in Africa and who share similar interests, in order to achieve their objectives.
Lecturers without borders is a community of scientists and university/school professors who use their travel opportunities to give free outreach-lectures in local schools and universities. Starting from 2020 LeWiBo also organise a wide range of online activities including remote lectures and webinars for students, podcasts with scientists from all over the globe, and special webinars for the scientists and researchers themselves.
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| UPCOMING WEBINAR |
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| Exploring the Nexus between Brain Drain, Brain Gain & Brain Circulation for a Better EU-Africa Cooperation |
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| October 31, 2020 |
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| GUEST SPEAKERS |
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| To be confirmed |
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