The Anita Ghansah Lab
Genomics, Wisdom, and Ghana
Our logo, our lab’s purpose, our science, and our people are all a blend of our rich Ghanian Culture and advanced scientific understanding.
Adinkra Symbol
NYANSAPO
The Wisdom Knot
The Wisdom Knot is an Adinkra symbol of ingenuity, intelligence, and patience. At the Ghansah Lab these traits are foundational to our pursuit of scientific understanding for the betterment of Ghana and our people. In our experience, the ingenuity of our applied genomic technological processes are methodical and SLOW, requiring large amounts of patience in order to reap the benefits of heightened understanding and new insights.
Adinkra.org explains further, referencing Willis’ Adinkra Dictionary that NyanSapo is: “An especially revered symbol of the Akan, this symbol conveys the idea that “a wise person has the capacity to choose the best means to attain a goal. Being wise implies broad knowledge, learning, and experience, and the ability to apply such faculties to practical ends.”
Symbol of wisdom, ingenuity, intelligence and patience.
Continued readings found at the Dept. of African Studies at UM page on “Adinkra Symbols”
Our Logo’s Double Helix
The form of DNA’s Double Helix is representative of the exact work we do in applied genomics and genetics. We study the Malaria pathogen and its genomic variation throughout Ghana to gain a better understanding of how to apply Malaria Control methods with the help of Ghana’s NMCP and various other scientific partners. Our work in Genetics and Gemoics is summarized on our Lab’s page on Genomics and our scientific publications section has links to our in-depth research.