DUT PHD CANDIDATE SCOOPS IWA AWARD
Mr Isaac Amoah, who is a Durban University of Technology PhD candidate based at the university’s Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology (IWWT) in Durban, has won an International Water Association (IWA) award.
Inspired by being able to positively impact on the lives of the most vulnerable and poverty-stricken communities, Amoah has dedicated his life to seeking solutions that address challenges such as access to sanitation, water and food. “My life has been about directly impacting on the lives of the communities that surround me. The issue of water, sanitation and food are inter-linked and with the right focus and policies, backed by research we will be able to find lasting solutions to them and that is how my love for research in the health-related water microbiology field began,” he said.
Before joining DUT’s Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology and being a post-graduate student at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Amoah pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and Masters of Philosophy in Parasitology, all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.
Amoah’s work in estimating health implications for wastewater reuse in agriculture, partly from an epidemiological perspective as well as the use of quantitative microbial risk assessment to assess risks for farmers, consumers and communities, has partly contributed to him being awarded the IWA scholarship. “Receiving an award from international experts in the area of health-related water microbiology as recognition of our contribution, is a milestone,” said Amoah. Although, he says (Amoah) that the award is not an individual achievement but a clear sign of the greatness and hard work from his mentors, supervisors and colleagues within DUT’s IWWT, he is extremely motivated to push further to have a greater impact in the area of water, sanitation, hygiene and health.
He (Amoah) is not new to accolades; in 2024 he received an award for the third best doctoral presentation by the South African Society for Microbiology at the 2024 congress. Amoah is also a researcher on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded project, tasked with developing a uniform method for the detection and qualification of soil-transmitted helminths in environmental samples.
For his current achievements, Amoah expressed his gratitude to his mentor and supervisor, Professor Thor Axel Stenström, his co-supervisor Professor Poovendhree Reddy and Professor Razak Seidu. “For all my achievements, I am grateful to the people who have contributed and those who are still contributing, my colleagues and the IWWT, the post-graduate support and research directorate at DUT as well as the health-related water microbiology specialist group of the International Water Association for everything, including the award,” said Amoah.
Pictured: Isaac Dennis Amoah (DUT IWWT PhD Candidate and IWA award recipient) with his colleague, Sarah McRae (PhD student at the University of Pretoria).
Noxolo Memela
Inspired by being able to positively impact on the lives of the most vulnerable and poverty-stricken communities, Amoah has dedicated his life to seeking solutions that address challenges such as access to sanitation, water and food. “My life has been about directly impacting on the lives of the communities that surround me. The issue of water, sanitation and food are inter-linked and with the right focus and policies, backed by research we will be able to find lasting solutions to them and that is how my love for research in the health-related water microbiology field began,” he said.
Before joining DUT’s Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology and being a post-graduate student at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Amoah pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and Masters of Philosophy in Parasitology, all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.
Amoah’s work in estimating health implications for wastewater reuse in agriculture, partly from an epidemiological perspective as well as the use of quantitative microbial risk assessment to assess risks for farmers, consumers and communities, has partly contributed to him being awarded the IWA scholarship. “Receiving an award from international experts in the area of health-related water microbiology as recognition of our contribution, is a milestone,” said Amoah. Although, he says (Amoah) that the award is not an individual achievement but a clear sign of the greatness and hard work from his mentors, supervisors and colleagues within DUT’s IWWT, he is extremely motivated to push further to have a greater impact in the area of water, sanitation, hygiene and health.
He (Amoah) is not new to accolades; in 2024 he received an award for the third best doctoral presentation by the South African Society for Microbiology at the 2024 congress. Amoah is also a researcher on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded project, tasked with developing a uniform method for the detection and qualification of soil-transmitted helminths in environmental samples.
For his current achievements, Amoah expressed his gratitude to his mentor and supervisor, Professor Thor Axel Stenström, his co-supervisor Professor Poovendhree Reddy and Professor Razak Seidu. “For all my achievements, I am grateful to the people who have contributed and those who are still contributing, my colleagues and the IWWT, the post-graduate support and research directorate at DUT as well as the health-related water microbiology specialist group of the International Water Association for everything, including the award,” said Amoah.
Pictured: Isaac Dennis Amoah (DUT IWWT PhD Candidate and IWA award recipient) with his colleague, Sarah McRae (PhD student at the University of Pretoria).
Noxolo Memela