Profile
Dr Naalamle Amissah is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop Science at the University of Ghana. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, a Master of Science degree and a PhD in Horticulture from Cornell University, USA.
Dr Naalamle Amissah is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop Science at the University of Ghana. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, a Master of Science degree and a PhD in Horticulture from Cornell University, USA.
Her research interests are in the selection, evaluation, and propagation of economically important plants that are either difficult to propagate or at risk of extinction (several trees, medicinal plant, and vegetable species fall within this category), as well as the development of improved technologies to ensure their successful establishment.
Her research interests are in the selection, evaluation, and propagation of economically important plants that are either difficult to propagate or at risk of extinction (several trees, medicinal plant, and vegetable species fall within this category), as well as the development of improved technologies to ensure their successful establishment.
While at Cornell University she developed a reliable asexual propagation technique for clonally propagating Quercus species- an extremely difficult-to-propagate plant species under the supervision of Dr. Nina Bassuk. She served as a teaching assistant in the Horticulture Department and worked as an Assistant Coordinator responsible for organizing the 2005 Master Gardener conference that attracted 104 participants from 29 counties in New York State. She also worked with the Institute for African Development at Cornell University and assisted with the organization of three annual conferences. As part of the Institute’s outreach program, she gave presentations on the history and culture of Ghana to elementary schools in the upstate New York area. She has given talks on Site Assessment and Plant Selection Issues to Master Gardeners, nurserymen and high school students in the upstate New York area and has presented her research work at a number of scientific meetings.
While at Cornell University she developed a reliable asexual propagation technique for clonally propagating Quercus species- an extremely difficult-to-propagate plant species under the supervision of Dr. Nina Bassuk. She served as a teaching assistant in the Horticulture Department and worked as an Assistant Coordinator responsible for organizing the 2005 Master Gardener conference that attracted 104 participants from 29 counties in New York State. She also worked with the Institute for African Development at Cornell University and assisted with the organization of three annual conferences. As part of the Institute’s outreach program, she gave presentations on the history and culture of Ghana to elementary schools in the upstate New York area. She has given talks on Site Assessment and Plant Selection Issues to Master Gardeners, nurserymen and high school students in the upstate New York area and has presented her research work at a number of scientific meetings.
In 2008, through a travel award she received from the Horticulture Department at Cornell University, Dr Amissah had the opportunity to engage in research and hands-on study of the spice (black pepper, vanilla & nutmeg) and orchid industries in the South and South-East Asia region - India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. While in these countries she gained hands-on experience in spice and orchid propagation, production and post-harvest handling techniques.
In 2008, through a travel award she received from the Horticulture Department at Cornell University, Dr Amissah had the opportunity to engage in research and hands-on study of the spice (black pepper, vanilla & nutmeg) and orchid industries in the South and South-East Asia region - India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. While in these countries she gained hands-on experience in spice and orchid propagation, production and post-harvest handling techniques.
She is one of ten postdoctoral fellows of the Volkswagen Foundation’s Africa Initiative programme selected from seven African countries to receive a three-year research grant in 2011. Through the grant she received from the Volkswagen Foundation in Germany, she developed domestication protocols for the cultivation of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, a medicinal plant species, on the verge of extinction, used in the treatment of malaria. Her research also involves identifying neglected and underutilized crop species with the potential to address climate change-related problems and food security challenges in Ghana.
She is one of ten postdoctoral fellows of the Volkswagen Foundation’s Africa Initiative programme selected from seven African countries to receive a three-year research grant in 2011. Through the grant she received from the Volkswagen Foundation in Germany, she developed domestication protocols for the cultivation of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, a medicinal plant species, on the verge of extinction, used in the treatment of malaria. Her research also involves identifying neglected and underutilized crop species with the potential to address climate change-related problems and food security challenges in Ghana.
She served as Program Coordinator for the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), from April 2010-September 2013. Dr Amissah is a recipient of the 2016 Cambridge Africa Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx) Fellowship Award. An award that enabled her to spend four months conducting research at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in the UK. Dr Amissah spent 5 months in 2018 as a Visiting Scholar with the Harvard Centre for African Studies (CAS), Harvard University, where her research focused on “Climate Change as it Relates to Agriculture and Health in Africa.” She is the immediate past Head of the Department of Crop Science, the team lead for Plant Tissue Culture at WACCI and the West Africa Regional Hub Manager for the UC Davis Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture.
She served as Program Coordinator for the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), from April 2010-September 2013. Dr Amissah is a recipient of the 2016 Cambridge Africa Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx) Fellowship Award. An award that enabled her to spend four months conducting research at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in the UK. Dr Amissah spent 5 months in 2018 as a Visiting Scholar with the Harvard Centre for African Studies (CAS), Harvard University, where her research focused on “Climate Change as it Relates to Agriculture and Health in Africa.” She is the immediate past Head of the Department of Crop Science, the team lead for Plant Tissue Culture at WACCI and the West Africa Regional Hub Manager for the UC Davis Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture.