Who We Are

Profile

The KNUST-IVI Collaborative Centre, operating under the School of Public Health, KNUST, is a multidisciplinary research centre engaged in the execution of complex, multi-site biomedical trials, vaccine efficacy studies, disease surveillance programs, and implementation of public health projects. Under the leadership of Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, the centre has become a model of scientific rigor, regulatory compliance, and translational research excellence. Driven by a commitment to high-impact, policy-relevant science, the KNUST-IVI Collaborative Centre integrates robust quality assurance mechanisms, continuous staff capacity development, and cross-sectorial partnerships to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s health research landscape and beyond.

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Location

The centre is located within Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Agogo, Asante Akim North District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The hospital is the referral hospital for the district and other adjoining districts. The Asante Akim North district occupies about 5% and 0.5% of the total land area of Ashanti Region and Ghana respectively. The district has a population of about 85,788 according to the 2021 census with over 80% being farmers.

Establishment

The KNUST-IVI Collaborative Centre was established through the partnership between the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Korea and officially commissioned on 5 July 2021. The International Vaccine Institute and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have a longstanding partnership in vaccine development and infectious disease research.

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Purpose

The Centre is a research and training site established to implement ongoing and new collaborative projects, including disease surveillance, vaccine clinical development, vaccination campaigns, and vaccine effectiveness and health economics studies for infectious diseases prevalent to the region such as typhoid and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella.

Facilities

Include a teleconferencing room, laboratory block, consulting and resuscitation rooms, vaccine storage, data and archive rooms, pharmacy, and staff offices, 24-hour internet connectivity and Alternate electricity supply.

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Staff Composition

Headed by Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, the centre has over 110 staff from diverse research backgrounds, including physicians, medical practitioners, lab scientists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, pharmacists, and administrative personnel.

Institutional Affiliation

The Centre operates under the School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, KNUST.

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Surveillance Sites

Includes Ananekrom H/C, Juansa H/C, MCHH, Nyinamponase H/C, Tanoah H/C, KOGH and Agogo Under 5.

Research Focus

The group specializes in infectious and non-communicable diseases, including disease surveillance, vaccine clinical development, vaccination campaigns, and health economics studies.

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Vision Statement

To lead the generation and translation of high-quality, ethically sound scientific evidence through integrated biomedical research, clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, epidemiological surveillance, and data science; informing public health interventions and strengthening health systems across sub-Saharan Africa.

Mission Statement

To be a premier African hub for translational research, precision public health, and real-time disease surveillance in bridging science and society to drive sustainable health outcomes and policy innovation.

Core values

Scientific Integrity: Upholding rigorous scientific standards, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) across all research protocols.

Ethical Responsibility: Ensuring full adherence to ethical standards and regulatory requirements in human subject research, from Institutional Review Board (IRB) submission to community consent.

Operational Excellence: Delivering efficient project management through harmonized administrative, logistical, and financial systems guided by Standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Data Stewardship: Promoting accurate, secure, and timely acquisition, validation, analysis, and reporting of research data in accordance with international data governance standards.

Pharmaceutical Vigilance: Monitoring the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of investigational products across trial phases through robust pharmaceutical oversight.

Collaborative Impact: Strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across clinical, laboratory, and field units to foster a holistic research ecosystem.

Adaptive Innovation: Applying cutting-edge tools in epidemiology, bioinformatics, geospatial mapping, and AI-enhanced health analytics to address emerging health threats.

Departments/Units

With a modular organizational structure, the Centre operates through six (6) main departments/units:

Administration

Responsible for facilitating project governance, resource allocation, and regulatory communications. Other activities include Contract Administration, Records and Documentations, General correspondences, Procurements, HR Management, Security, Transportation and Flights, etc. The department is headed by the Project Manager. Other staff includes the Assistant Project Manager, Project Administrators, Transport Supervisor, Drivers, Cleaners, Security Officers, Procurement Officer, and Logisticians/ Storekeeper.

Finance

The finance unit is responsible for handling all the financial transactions of the project group. This includes Financial Management, Salary payments, Payroll Administrations, etc. The team is headed by the College Accountant. Other staff includes Project Accountants, Account Staff and Research Assistants.

Data

The department is responsible for handling real-time electronic data capture (EDC), eCRF monitoring, and advanced biostatistical modeling. The Data unit headed by the Data Manager, the unit gather, stores and process all the data of participants enrolled unto the various projects. They also carry out routine census of the catchment areas where trials are being implemented. The team comprises of Data Manager, Assistant Data Managers, Data Staff, Data Entry Clerks and Research Assistants.

Clinical and Field

The department is responsible for conducting site readiness assessments and trainings, community-based engagements and recruitments, participant monitoring, adverse event (AE) tracking, and protocol compliance. They serve as the correspondents between project teams and all other stakeholders in the community within which trials are implemented. The team is headed by the Project Coordinators assisted by medical officers and field supervisors. The team comprises of Project Coordinators, Epidemiologists, Medical Officers, Clinical Trialists, Quality Control Officers, Field Supervisors, Field Staff, Community Health Workers and Research Assistants.

Pharmacy

The department is responsible for managing investigational product lifecycle, dosing protocols, cold chain logistics, and AE/safety signal reporting. The team is headed by a Pharmacovigilance Specialist assisted by a team of pharmacists.

Laboratory

Headed by the Laboratory Manager, the department is responsible for all the laboratory investigations made on participants enrolled into the various projects being implemented at the centre. Some investigations performed are Hematology – Complete Blood Counts, PT and ESR of participants, Chemistry – biochemical profile such as lipid profile, kidney and liver functioning tests, Microbiology – detect microbes, mainly bacteria from clinical samples such as blood, and Immunology – study immune responses to the various antigens, as well as administered vaccines. The department also facilitates the routine maintenance and servicing of all laboratory equipment and tools. Other staff include Clinical Microbiologists, Biochemists, Laboratory Scientists, Laboratory Assistants, Laboratory Technologist, Phlebotomists and Biomedical Scientists.