After a decade's break, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has reactivated its professorial inaugural lecture.

Prof. Christian Agyare, the provost of the College of Health Sciences and an expert in pharmaceutical microbiology and natural products was given the opportunity to break the dormancy.

Professorial inaugural lectures symbolise an important achievement in an academic’s career providing official recognition of their promotion to full professorship.

Inaugural offers a rare opportunity for newly-appointed professors to introduce themselves before academic colleges and research collaborators.

The University registrar, Andrews Kwasi Boateng emphasized the university’s aim to ensure the continuity of the event.

“The University in keeping with best practices around the world has made inaugural lectures a cardinal part of its academic life and experience,” he said.

About Prof. Christian Agyare

Professor Christian Agyare is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Natural Products at the Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He hails from Koneyaw, in the Asante-

Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti region and his parents are Mr. Gideon Agyare of blessed memory and Madam Joyce Amoah. He is the fourth and the last child of his parents. He had his basic education at the Armed Forces Basic Schools at the 4^th Battalion Infantry (4BN), Uaddara Barracks, Kumasi, and his secondary education at Prempeh College, Kumasi. He obtained his Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degrees from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Professor Christian Agyare obtained his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) from the University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany, through a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship after which he had his postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco, California, and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Professor Christian Agyare was appointed a Lecturer at the Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, KNUST, in 2003, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011, Associate Professor in 2016, and Full Professor in 2020. His area of specialization is Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Natural Products. He is the immediate past Head of Quality Assurance and Planning Office, KNUST, and also served as a Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, KNUST.

Prof. Agyare’s lecture was on “Treating non-curable infectious diseases and wounds with natural knowledge and products: The relevance of Ethnopharmacological studies.

Prof. Agyare highlighted the contribution of herbal medicine in the achievement of SDG 3 and his academic journey in that respect.

“The contribution of ethnopharmacological studies towards overcoming the burden of non-curable infectious diseases and wounds in the global quest to achieve Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (Good Health and wellbeing).

“Ethnomedicine, I believe, holds a great potential in the fight against both communicable and non-communicable diseases. To this end, I have spent a big part of my research career exploring the best ways the metabolites or ‘chemical arsenals’ from medicinal plants can be used and developed as alternative therapies for infections, wounds and inflammation.

“This has been done with a clear understanding of the potential benefits of ethnomedicine in the global fight against ‘stubborn bugs’, among others,” he explained.

One of Ghana’s foremost flood and housing experts and head of Settlement Studies, Prof. Divine Kwaku Ahadzie is next to deliver his lecture on the topic: “Winning the real impact Award: A reflexive Journey through housing, environment and community flood resilience.” On April 3, 2023.