Wits academic leads Society of Neuroscientists of Africa
- Wits University
Professor Amadi O. Ihunwo was elected as the Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA).
Ihunwo is Head of Morphological Anatomy in the School of Anatomical Sciences at Wits. He was elected at the 13th International Conference of the Society that took place in Entebbe, Uganda, from 11-14 June. Ihunwo will serve a four-year term.
SONA is a non-profit registered in Nairobi, Kenya, that functions as the umbrella organisation for the regional and national neuroscience societies and groups in Africa, and as an affiliate of the International Brain Research Organisation. The Society's mandate is to advocate neuroscience research and teaching in Africa and host an international conference every two years.
As the Principal Investigator in the prestigious Switzerland-South Africa Joint Research Programme, Ihunwo researched comparative adult neurogenesis on different mammalian brains from 2009 to 2014. This research aimed to provide a database of active and potential neurogenic sites in adult mammalian brains. This research has now been extended to investigate adult neurogenesis in avian species. National Research Foundation funding has enabled exploring the integration of new neurons into the adult hippocampal circuitry.