Mahmoud Bukar Maina PhD FRSA

I am a Research Fellow in Sussex Neuroscience and had my PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Sussex, UK. My research focuses on understanding the basic mechanism that triggers and/or drives neurodegeneration in neurodegenerative diseases, with special interest on the role of Tau protein and amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease. When I am not in the Lab, I would be found somewhere passionately promoting and communicating science. 

I have organised and participated in science communication activities in Africa and the UK. I founded the TReND in Africa Outreach Programme and serve as the Outreach Coordinator. I was a recipient of the Royal Society of Biology Science Communication Award in 2017, New England Biolabs Passion for Science Humanitarian Duty Award in 2019 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2017 with a mission to enlarge science in Africa. In the past eight years, working with TReND, I have met hundreds of brilliant young students from Africa, many with a strong interest in science but lacking guidance or mentors they could emulate. Moreover, the public has a high level of misconceptions about science. This is partly because of the low visibility of scientists and their participation in public discourse.

Through science, we could help to increase the level of innovation from Africa and improve the African economy, e.g. help to find treatment/cure for diseases and increase the level of home-grown innovation with societal benefit. SciComNigeria hopes to help in addressing some of these needs by enhancing public understanding of science, enhancing the visibility of Nigerian and African scientists for aspiring scientists to identify as role models, learn from their stories and be inspired. I want journalists, educators, policymakers and all interested in science to identify people of science from Nigeria or any part of Africa and a source of credible scientific information. Find more about me through my personal website.