Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has appointed Professor Dorothy Yeboah-Manu as its new Director of the institution.

She holds the honour of being the first female director of the institution, as she takes office from Professor Abraham Kwabena Anang who retired on July 31, 2021.

Prior to her appointment, she served as the Deputy Centre Leader at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens.

She studied at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where she obtained First-class Honours in Biochemistry.

She further pursued her education at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she completed a Masters in Applied Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases.

In 2006, Prof Yeboah-Manu earned her PhD from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

She holds a membership at the American Society for Microbiology, International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, as well as the WHO Global Network of Laboratories Confirming Buruli Ulcer.   

She is also an executive member of the Federation of African Immunological Societies, and a committee member of the National Buruli Ulcer Control Program.

Prof Yeboah-Manu is the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the National Tuberculosis Control Program.

She is also a board member of the African Research Academy for Women.

In 2018, she received a Royal Society Africa Prize for her contributions and innovative approaches to understanding Mycobacterium ulcerans and Mycobacterium africanum, combining microbiology, genetic studies and epidemiology in the areas of her work.