HANDS-ON NMR TRAINING WORKSHOP

Held at the Department of  Chemistry, On October  4th, 2022

knmrc

This Workshop was sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry/ Pan African Chemistry Network and was aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Kenyan scientist in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Technologies.

Associate Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor Prof Stephen Kiama, officially opened the conference, and she was glad to note that the Department of Chemistry received Ksh 42,796,236/= infrastructure grant from the National Research Fund (NRF) to establish the Kenya NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Centre (KNMRC). When fully implemented the Centre will have the 60 and 400 MHZ NMR equipment which will enable scientists in Kenya and the region to do structural elucidation of various Chemical compounds. The  inaugural KNMRC Webinar was held virtually on August 12th 2021 to sensitize all stakeholders regarding services provided by KNMRC.More than 322 participants from Universities, Research Institutes, and Industries from different countries registered for the first webinar demonstrating the high demand for NMR services in the region.

Prof. Hutchinson was glad also to note that the NMR training being done in the Department of Chemistry, was supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Pan Africa Chemistry Network (RSC/PACN) as part of their activities to achieve the objectives of creating a self-sustaining science base in Africa by building the capacity of African scientists to solve local challenges and contribute to local knowledge.

Besides the sensitization virtual workshop held on August 12th 2021, during the Covid 19 pandemic,  the inaugural Hands-on NMR training workshop was organized and hosted by the KNMRC on May 24 to 27th 2022. About 100 applications were received to attend this training. Despite the fact that the inaugural call was only targeting participants who are based in Kenya, applications were also received from Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. However, only twelve (12) were selected to participate in the first workshop from the following institutions;

  1. Maseno University
  2. Technical University of Kenya
  3. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
  4. Technical University of Mombasa
  5. International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology
  6. Taita Taveta University
  7. Kenya Medical Research Institution
  8. Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
  9. University of Embu
  10. Moi University and
  11. University of Nairobi

 Royal Society of Chemistry has agreed to sponsor another NMR training workshop this year. This is the second NMR training organized and hosted by the KNMRC. About 70 applications were received to attend this workshop. Despite the fact that this call was only targeting participants who are based in Kenya, more applications was received from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania as well. However, only twelve (12) were selected to participate in the workshop. Participants attending the training are from the following Universities and Research Institutes;

  1. Maasai Mara University
  2. Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
  3. Egerton University
  4. Kenya Medical Research Institute
  5. Kenyatta University
  6. Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology
  7. University of Kabianga
  8. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  9. International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology(ICIPE)
  10. Moi University and
  11. University of Nairobi

Demand for NMR training locally and regionally is very high and more are encouraged  to continue to work with partners like the Royal Society of Chemistry, PACN and NRF Kenya to equip Kenyan and African scientists with the knowledge and skills in the use and applications of this very important analytical technique in various fields such as Drug discovery from medicinal plants, agriculture and industry applications. 

 Dr. Andrew Shore, the Senior Programme Manager, International Engagement at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK attended the workshop and gave a seminar presentation on October 3, 2022, in the Department of Chemistry.

Prof.  Hutchinson took the  opportunity to sincerely thank the CEO, NRF Kenya for the infrastructure support to the University of Nairobi that has provided students, scientists and industry stakeholders’ access to the use of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility to analyze their samples in their Research and Innovation pursuits.

NMR

Dr Andrew Shore Senior Programme Manager, International Engagement at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and Dr Solomon Derese, MRSC Secretary, PACN UoN Kenya,  paid a courtesy visit to the office of the Associate Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson.