A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, Professor John Owusu Gyapong will take over as Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) when he retires at the end of July 2024.

The ARUA Board meeting at the University of Lagos on November 14, approved his appointment to succeed Professor Ernest Aryeetey, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana.

Professor John Owusu Gyapong is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology. 

He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Department of Global Health at Georgetown University, Washington DC.

His main area of research is infectious disease epidemiology, especially neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and malaria.

Prior to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, he was for five years, the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research Innovation and Development and Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Control at the University of Ghana and an Adjunct Professor of Global Health at Georgetown University in Washington.

He studied medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and later pursued a Master of Science in Public Health in Developing Countries, and a PhD in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London.

For over 30 years he has practised as a doctor in Ghana, rising to become the Director of Research and Development of the Ghana Health Service where he was responsible for Health Systems and Implementation Research.

Prof Gyapong established and managed the Ghana Neglected Diseases Control Programme for eight years.

He is a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The former UHASS VC is a member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the Ghana Medical Association.

Prof Gyapong has served as chair/member of several World Health Organisation and other international and local scientific committees.

He currently chairs the Scientific Committee of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the Ghana FDA Clinical Trials Technical Advisory Committee.

He contributes to global higher education and research dialogue through various platforms and has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals, more than 300 conference presentations and an edited book on Neglected Tropical Diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.