The Governing Council of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho, has accepted the nomination of Professor John Owusu Gyapong as Vice Chancellor of the university.
Prof Owusu Gyapong’s appointment followed a unanimous recommendation by a 10-member search committee.
He takes over from Prof Fred Newton Binka, the foundation VC of the university, which was established in 2011 by an Act of Parliament.
Find below Prof Owusu Gyapong’s profile:
Professor John Owusu Gyapong is a Professor of Epidemiology. In August 2011, he was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Innovation and Development, University of Ghana, a position he is presently occupying in the University.
Professor Gyapong obtained an MB ChB degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 1987. He undertook his postgraduate studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, England where he earned an MSc in Public Health in Developing Countries in 1993, and later a Ph.D in Epidemiology, 1997. He is a Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Professor Gyapong has to his credit 108 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, authored one book, contributed chapters in 8 books, over 50 Technical Reports, and made over 300 presentations at Scientific Conferences.
Professor Gyapong, currently in his second term as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Innovation and Development, is responsible for facilitating the development of the University’s strategic plan and business plans and developing policies and guidelines for the management of research within the University of Ghana. Under his leadership the Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID), has raised $20million dollars per annum for research over the last four years. He initiated the flagship annual Research Report which has given the University of Ghana increased global visibility.
Prior to joining the University of Ghana, Professor Gyapong worked in several capacities at the Ghana Health Service. He was the Project Clinician for the Ghana Vitamin A Supplementation Trials and an Epidemiologist of the Navorongo Health Research Centre. By dint of hard work, he rose through the Ghana Health Service career system to become the Director, Research and Development, Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service from 2000 to 2010, led the process of defining the Health Research agenda for the health sector and supervised three Research Centres in Navorongo, Kintampo and Dodowa.
At the National level, he is the Chairman of the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority Clinical Trials Technical Committee and a member of the Governing Council of Trinity Theological Seminary. He was the Executive Director, Ghanaian-Dutch Collaboration for Health Research and Development.
Outside the University, Professor Gyapong has had a wide and varied international experience and exposure. He has provided expert service as Technical Advisor to several national and international organisations and institutions some of which he chaired. These include: The World Bank; World Health Organisation and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). These several roles over the last two decades culminated in Professor Gyapong’s appointment as a Commissioner to the Lancet-University of Oslo Commission on the Global Governance for Health, an independent academic research initiative managed in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Professor Gyapong is an excellent scholar who has over the years established an enviable international reputation as a researcher, practitioner and mentor in his area of specialization. He is dynamic, a visionary and an effective leader capable of consolidating the gains of the last four years in achieving the ultimate goal of transforming the University of Health and Allied Sciences into a pre-eminent research and practically oriented health educational institution dedicated to community service. Professor Gyapong takes over from the foundation Vice-Chancellor of University of Health and Allied Sciences, Professor Fred Newton Binka, whose term of office comes to an end on July 31, 2016.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @3Newsgh