Yaw Bediako is a scientist at the West African Center for Cell Biology Pathogen- University of Ghana. He holds a degree from Northwestern University, USA which focused on understanding T-cell responses to intracellular bacterial infections, investigating the development of a unique subset of T-cells and exploring their potential as targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine design.
He underwent a Post-Doctoral research at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya. In addition to a first-author publication and experience working with human subjects, his project provided him with first-hand experience of doing research in Africa. This is an experience which has significantly informed his approach to doing science in Africa.
Yaw began a second Post-Doctoral Research at the Francis Crick Institute in London in 2015 where he joined the Malaria Immunology Laboratory led by Dr. Jean Langhorne which is targeted at employing systems immunology to uncover immune biomarkers associated with susceptibility to malaria in children. This project represents the most comprehensive study to date detailing immune signatures associated with repeated malaria episodes in a human cohort- exploring causal relationships between malaria pathogenesis and changes in immune function. Even though the study is ongoing, he has one publication already where he is the first author.
Yaw has interacted with world-class scientists from a variety of fields, built soft skills and has expanded his professional network to secure a Career Accelerator Award from the Crick African Network (CAN) to identify correlates of anti-malarial immunity in children. Though the award was highly competitive, he was one of the five scientists to be selected as part of the first cohort of CAN fellows.
Beyond academic research, Yaw is passionate about promoting the development of world-class scientific capacity in Africa. As a result, he has established the African Science Initiative- an online networking platform for young African scientists. He believes young people are the single most important resource Africa possesses and they will be key to the continent’s success. In recognition of his interest in promoting the development of young scientists, he was recently appointed to serve a 2-year term as a member of the Early Career Advisory Group (ECAG) of the journal eLife Sciences.