Institutional Support
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Mpezamihigo
Vice Chancellor of Equator University of Science and Technology in Uganda
Prof. Dr. Mpezamihigo is the Vice-Chancellor of Equator University of Science and Technology in Uganda. Equator University, which includes the medical research university hospital, is proud to coordinate the VODAN-Africa Research Community, established with the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). VODAN-Africa was established during the pandemic in 2020.
Its success across Africa has led to the establishment of the Africa Health Data Space (AHDS) with dedicated programmes which target women’s health in the AHDS ANC programme, under the leadership of the Africa University Network on FAIR Open Science and the patronage of HE Fortune Charumbira, President of the AU Pan African Parliament and Former first female President of Africa, HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. As VODAN has expanded, it has rebranded as the Value-driven Ownership of Data and Accessibility Network.
Her Excellency, Julia Duncan Cassell
Former Honourable Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, The Republic of Liberia
Our healthcare providers and principal caregivers are the first line of defense against these viruses and I salute them. Beyond this however, we need to help them. And one way we can help them is to make sure that they have access to data on the Virus outbreak. This is one of the major reasons why I have volunteered my support for the Virus Outbreak Data (Africa) Network (VODAN-Africa) project. Science is one thing that will help us in this fight against COVID-19 and prepare the world for any future outbreaks; the science of data, FAIR data, which is what the VODAN-Africa is working to achieve by creating Fair Data Points in many African Countries.
Prof. Dr. Francisca Oladipo
Vice-Chancellor, Thomas Adewumi University, Oko, Nigeria
Prof. Dr. Francisca Oladipo is the Vice-Chancellor of the Thomas Adewumi University in Nigeria. She is the Executive Lead of VODAN-Africa. She is a computer scientist and expert on FAIR Data in Africa. She leads the VODAN country teams. VODAN country teams have been established in Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tunisia, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Sakinat Folorunso
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria
Sakinat Folorunso is a computer scientist at Olabisi Onabanjo University. Sakinat Folorunso leads the certification of the FAIR Datastewards. She is champion campaigning for the involvement of women in science and technology. In Women in AI (WAI) Sakinat Folorunso is the Nigerian Ambassador, and she also champions the Women in Machine Learning (WiML) and the Women in Data Science (WiDS) initiatives.
Prof. Dr. Mirjam van Reisen
Professor of FAIR Data at Leiden University Medical Center
Prof. Dr. Mirjam van Reisen is the Principal Investigator of VODAN, a research programme established under LUMC Chair FAIR Data Science. She has established the AHDS FAIR Data Point programme on neglected diseases with Prof. Dr. Meta Roestenberg, the AHDS - ANC programme on women’s health with the Department of Gynaecology and the Hackathon for the training of PhD students in FAIR Data Science. She is the scientific director of conferences held on FAIR science in 2024 and 2025. She is an advisor of the Africa University Network on FAIR Open Science. She coordinates the PhD Network on Globalisation, Accessibility, Innovation and Care (GAIC), founded under her chair at Tilburg University on International Relations, Innovation and Care.
Aliya Aktau
PhD Researcher
Aliya Aktau is a PhD researcher at Leiden University Medical Center responsible for technical leadership on FAIR-based data science engineering
