Our Story Through Time

Born out of a course by the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard

In January 2020, Martin Lubowa (Uganda, African Leadership Academy) and Daniel Zhang (Massachusetts, MIT) are randomly paired as roommates on Evolution of an Epidemic, Prof. Bruce D. Walker's HST.434 course at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, which takes students across South Africa to study the HIV epidemic firsthand.

Late-night conversations keep circling back to one theme: the stark difference in research and mentorship opportunities for scientists in the U.S. versus Africa. A shared pull toward mentorship, sport, and merging science and entrepreneurship turns that conviction into a promise to stay in touch, and within the year, the promise becomes Future African Scientist.

Evolution of an Epidemic, the course where FAS began

Assembling the founding team

FAS holds its first team meeting, bringing on Robert Kyomuhendo and Shiba Amutuhaire Kalpakovic to build out the founding team.

That year, the newly founded team spends its time learning the ecosystem, speaking with scientists and students across the continent, reaching people in over 15 African countries. Those conversations shape the concept for the African Science Research Bootcamp (ASRB).

Bruce Walker joins as an advisor

Two years after the HST.434 trip, Daniel Zhang and Martin Lubowa reach out to Prof. Bruce D. Walker, inviting him to join Future African Scientist as an advisor.

That same year, FAS runs ASRB's first in-person bootcamp at Gulu University in Uganda, its African Science Research course now expanded with new components on entrepreneurship, built using iBiology's education resources. The connection grows both ways: Thi Nguyen, PhD, iBiology's Associate Director of Training Communities, reaches out after hearing from Ugandan researchers completing the Share Your Research course, keen to learn more about FAS's work and how iBiology could support its training community further.

From ASRB to ASON, and Numbu's Falling Walls moment

FAS's pipeline matures through all four stages, ASRB (Africa Science Research Bootcamp), ASPH (Africa Science Project Hub), ASEL (Africa Science Entrepreneurship Leadership), and ASON (Africa Science Opportunity Network), running its Africa Science Entrepreneurship Leadership program in full. One standout, Numbu Holix, carries an idea conceived during ASEL onto the world stage, placing third at the Falling Walls Competition 2023 in Cameroon.

Martin Lubowa and Daniel Zhang present FAS at the African BioImaging Consortium, a two-day event at the University of Stellenbosch on October 25–26, 2023, meeting Martin Spitaler there. The presentation touches on mentorship for undergraduates in Imaging Science, upskilling students from other disciplines for the field, and defining clear career paths within it.

That year, FAS also runs another bootcamp, and connects with Elizabeth Marincola, Senior Advisor to the Science for Africa Foundation.

New courses, new partners, and Harvey Lodish joins as advisor

FAS runs a new cohort of its Mentorship Fellowship with PhD students from Washington University in St. Louis, with thanks to Thi Nguyen, and expands its curriculum with an Optics Workshop from Janelia Research Campus's Advanced Imaging Center and a Good Scientific Practice workshop with the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry.

In the spotlight: Harvey Lodish, Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute and MIT Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering, joins FAS as an advisor, teaching a ten-lecture course on the Science and Business of Biotechnology.

Martin and Daniel also connect with Wade Zamechek, Vice President of Development at the African Leadership Academy.

A strategy for African biotech

FAS consolidates five years of learning into a focused strategy: building the engine that turns Africa's scientific talent into health and wealth sovereignty, equipping the continent's best scientists to become founders who close the gap between the lab bench and the market.

That year, FAS also runs a 12-week Bioscience Market Analysis Fellowship with WinWin Scientific, mapping the bioscience landscape across East, West, and Central Africa, assessing demand and unmet supply for locally manufactured research-grade consumables. With gratitude to Thi Nguyen and Esse Evbuomwan of WinWin Scientific for leading it.