CORE TEAM
Emmanuel is a passionate African Open Science champion whose journey began early in his career - during the final year of his undergraduate studies. He is an eLife Community Ambassador and a COS Ambassador, initiating the establishment of AREN through his eLife Community Ambassador project in 2022, and getting interviewed by the Times Higher Education and University World News in 2024 about AREN and the open science movement in Africa.
In September 2022, he was invited by the Association of African Universities (AAU) to be part of the Panel of Experts who helped plan the AAU's African Universities' Day celebration from the 7th - 11th of November dubbed "Open Science: Bringing Equity to Research and Publishing". The panel included representatives from organisations such as UNESCO, PLOS, SPARC Europe and TCC Africa. He presented at the event on the topic "Open Science: Global and Continental Perspectives", where he talked about the various initiatives and infrastructure that have been established to push forward the Open Science agenda, first looking at it globally and then zooming into Africa. As a COS Ambassador, he led the Center for Open Science’s OSF Swahili Translations despite not being a native speaker.
Aside from his involvement in Open Science, he is also passionate about science communication and has been working with the AfroScience Network, a scicomm platform, since March 2022 where he volunteers as a Coordinator and Editor. He developed, organised and led the platforms scicomm training, SciComm 101, for undergraduates.
Emmanuel holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana which he completed in 2021. He is broadly interested in genomics and translational research and intends to pursue a postgraduate study focused on these areas.
Lamis Yahia Mohamed Elkheir (Co-Director & Training Lead)
Lamis Yahia Mohamed Elkheir is a dedicated African open science advocate and an accomplished academic and researcher. She holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Master’s in Molecular Medicine and is completing her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at a joint program between the University of Khartoum, Sudan and the University of Tours, France.
Her journey in promoting open science began early in her career, which has seen her rise to the role of Co-Director and Training Lead of the African Reproducibility Network (AREN). She has contributed significantly to the global discourse on research transparency and reproducibility through her active involvement as an eLife Community Ambassador, ASAPbio Fellow and PREreview Champion. Her work has been instrumental in forming partnerships with national and international Open Science communities and organisations, promoting open science practices across Africa.
Aside from her advocacy work, Lamis plays a crucial role as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum. Her involvement in teaching and mentoring students is not just a job, but a passion. She is actively shaping the next generation of scientists, instilling in them the values of open science and research transparency. Her academic career is complemented by her research on neglected tropical diseases, particularly mycetoma, where she has contributed to groundbreaking research on new drug therapies.
Lamis's advocacy work extends beyond open science. She is a strong voice for the inclusion of African women scholars and refugees in the scientific community. Her efforts ensure that their voices are not just heard, but valued in the global push for open science.