Makafui Borbi (33), Ghanaian, is studying for her doctorate in Food Science and completing the Didactic Program in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She plans to develop an effective food program that hampers intergenerational consequences of poor nutrition quality, and create more opportunities for women in STEM in developing countries.
Makafui’s passion, current research, and previous employment as Principal Food Technologist with Ghana’s Food Research Institute all focus on the interrelationships among plant compounds, nutrition, and human health, especially of vulnerable populations like women of reproductive age and children. In her doctoral research, she is investigating how to enhance the quality of Indigenous foods through process optimization and product development and how the outcome affects food security and human nutrition.
Makafui is co-founder of pioneering organization Dynamic Research Access Media (DRe-AM), aimed at translating and disseminating key scientific health-related findings to local communities in their local languages. She is also an active member of the mid-Michigan chapter of Graduate Women in Science, addressing challenges faced by women in science and encouraging and supporting girls and young women in STEM.
After graduation, she plans to teach in a higher education institution or work in a research institution in Ghana in food science and human nutrition, and to use the outcome of her research, collaboration, and networking both to develop an effective food program to improve nutrition quality and create more opportunities for women in STEM in developing countries.
