Witsie is New Secretary General Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA)
- L.Rautenbach
Professor Amadi O. Ihunwo, from the School of Anatomical Sciences to Head the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa
Amadi O. Ihunwo, Professor and Head of Morphological Anatomy in the School of Anatomical Sciences at Wits University has been elected Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) for the next 4 years. His election was made recently during the 13th International Conference of the Society that took place at Imperial Beach Resort Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda, from 11-14 June 2017.
SONA is a non-profit organisation registered in Nairobi, Kenya and functions as the umbrella organisation for the regional and national neuroscience societies and groups in Africa. SONA is also an affiliate of the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO). The society's mandate is to promote research, teaching and advocacy in Neuroscience in Africa and holds an international conference every two years.
Prof. Ihunwo neuroscience interest and research is in the area of comparative adult neurogenesis on different mammalian brains, where is has been the Principal Investigator under the prestigious Switzerland-South Africa Joint Research Programme (SSAJRP) from 2009 to 2014. This research aimed at providing a database of active and potential neurogenic sites in adult mammalian brains. An extension of this research is now looking at adult neurogenesis in avian species. With an NRF funding, the investigation into the integration of the new neurons into the adult hippocampal circuitry is underway.