Arnold Forkuo Donkor
The researcher's work integrates ethn botany into pharmacological studies, focusing on the effects of herbal and traditional plant-based compounds in African contexts. Their research encompasses the ethical and safety implications of herbal medicines, immunological investigations into human immune responses, studies of skin diseases linked to antimalarials, and explorations of alkaloid metabolism and their therapeutic potential, particularly in controlling malaria. Additionally, they examine the pharmacovigilance practices related to herbal medicine use in Ghana and explore the pharmacokinetic properties of plant-derived compounds using mathematical modeling techniques. Their work also delves into the ethical considerations in traditional materials' application in modern healthcare settings.
Faculty Biography
Dr Arnold Forkuo Donkor is a Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana. His research interests focusses on medicinal plants - mainly on the evaluation of novel compounds from these natural products for the treatment of malaria, schistosomiasis, inflammation and the pharmacokinetics of these plant derived bioactive compounds in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, Dr Forkuo’s research also focusses on monitoring of the adverse effects of these natural products (Pharmacovigilance) and the elucidation of their mechanism(s) of action in these adverse effects.He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy (First class honors) and a PhD in Pharmacology all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in 2011 and 2016 respectively. He also holds a University Certificate of Advanced Studies from the University of Basel and Novartis Pharma AG, Basel Switzerland as part of the Next Generation Scientist Program in 2014.In 2018, he undertook the International Zebrafish and Medaka course (FELASA) at Karlshule Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany to equip him with the skills to use Zebrafish and Medaka as a biological, toxicological and biomedical research tool in his research.Over the past four years, he has been involved in research toHe has on-going collaborations with colleagues within and outside the college. He has co-won two (2) KNUST Research Fund (KReF) as a results of these collaboration. He is part of the KNUST researchers repurposing Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, a popular antimalarial plant, for COVID 19. He has sixteen (16) peer-reviewed articles, two (2) book chapter and two (2) peer-reviewed abstracts out of his research work. Most of these are published in open-access journals to enhance their visibility and thus promote their increased usage and impact.His research publications are indexed in several scholarly databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Thomson ISI, Google Scholar, African Journals Online (AJOL), Hinari, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), etc. Some of his research findings have also been presented at scientific conferences both local and international.His research work has good visibility and as such well cited by other researchers. He has an h-index and i10-index of 7 and 5 respectively for his efforts documented on his profile page in Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qIRtHIwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) and h-index of 6 on Elsevier’s Scopus. He has a RG score of 16.67 and h-index of 7 on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arnold_Donkor).In all the publications listed below, he made major contribution(s) to the conception/design of the work, the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work. Additionally, he drafted or co-drafted the work and/or revised it critically for important intellectual content.He is co-supervising two (2) PhD candidate and seven (7) MPhil candidates at various stages of their projects.
Crystallization and Solubility Studies
Dermatology and Skin Diseases
Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies
Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment
Immune Response and Inflammation
Malaria Research and Control
Parasites and Host Interactions
Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions
Synthesis and bioactivity of alkaloids
Traditional and Medicinal Uses of Annonaceae
Department of Pharmacology
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology