A conversation with Dr. Rolande Hodel
Founder and President of AIDSfreeAFRICA
Join us for a special talk for students seeking careers in STEM, nonprofits, public service, international relations, and politics.
Tuesday, November 10, 4-5p.m. CT. Virtual Event – Register on Handshake!
Dr. Hodel will share her experiences navigating various obstacles and situations including being a woman in a STEM field, an immigrant from Germany, and having a blue-collar family upbringing.
She will discuss AIDSfreeAFRICA, a nonprofit organization she founded after
seeing an opportunity to apply a career in pharmaceuticals into an international context. Learn about the barriers she encountered, how she gained support, and what she envisions as the future of the organization.
This presentation will carry powerful lessons abot creating goals, following your passions, and developing the legacy you want to leave upon the world.
Download flyer here!
Register here!
AIDSfreeAFRICA is proud to have been featured at world renowned universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. Interested in having our organization represented at an upcoming event? Contact us today!
PAST EVENTS
Rolande’s Going Away Potluck
SUNDAY, APRIL 28
Join us for our Annual Going Away Party for Rolande leaving for Cameroon! You won’t want to miss it. We want to see you there! The more the merrier; bring your friends and family… and a dish of your choice, salats, vine, juices, and deserts!
RSVP by April 27th
***Parking is available across the street from Highland Terrace Coop on either Acker Ave., or Nelson Ave.
Take a minute right now and like us on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AIDSfreeAFRICA
and listen to our very first podcast series at aidsfreeafrica.libsyn.com
Chemistry in Cameroon: Advancing Laboratory Sciences
Westchester Chemical Society New York Section of the American Chemical Society presents:
SPECIAL SEMINAR – FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
SPECIAL SEMINAR – FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AIDSfreeAFRICA’s mission is to implement and advance pharmaceutical drug production and accessibility in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although AIDSfreeAFRICA has been working in Cameroon since 2005, the organization has only recently decided to tackle problems that arise because of the general lack of basic laboratory services in this African nation.
We have chosen to develop two laboratory services. The first focuses on quality control for pharmaceutical drugs. The second is for medical diagnostics, such as tests for malaria parasites and HIV viral load. Malaria and HIV are both highly prevalent in Cameroon.
The inspiration for the quality control laboratory came when AIDSfreeAFRICA was asked to take samples of pharmaceutical drugs to the USA to test them for composition and quality. The main problem with drug quality in Cameroon is degradation due to heat and humidity. In addition, a largely unregulated import market adds to the uncertainty of the quality of drugs. Space for this lab has been provided through a collaboration with Cameroon’s Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD).
The medical diagnostics lab got its start with the donation of a fluorescent microscope. The mayor of Yaoundé (the capital city) has provided space to utilize the microscope. This high-powered diagnostic tool for malaria is one of its kind in Cameroon. It greatly expands current diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. The microscope allows the practitioner to diagnose malaria earlier, and to know which of the four types of malaria is present. Thus, correct prescription and dosage are possible.
AIDSfreeAFRICA needs scientists to help expand our laboratories through donation of equipment and training. This will support AIDSfreeAFRICA’s vision to provide trained Cameroonian staff for the emerging pharmaceutical industry.
Tuesday, November 27th is ‘Giving Tuesday’
Tuesday, November 27th is ‘Giving Tuesday’, which follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. AIDSfreeAFRICA welcomes donations toward the purchase of laboratory equipment as we establish our new lab in Yaounde, Cameroon. The lab will be used to determine the quality of pharmaceutical drugs used throughout the country.
Special Seminar — “Chemistry in Cameroon: Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Drugs”
AIDSfreeAFRICA’s mission is to implement and advance pharmaceutical drug production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although AIDSfreeAFRICA has been working in Cameroon since 2005, the organization has only recently decided to tackle the problems that arise because of the general lack of basic laboratory services in the African nation.
AIDSfreeAFRICA is often approached and asked to take samples of pharmaceutical drugs to the USA and test them for their composition and/or quality. The import of pharmaceuticals in Cameroon is largely unregulated. Much of the imported pharmaceutical drugs are brought into the country from Nigeria by salespeople who buy and sell pharmaceutical drugs with little regard for the origin of the pharmaceutical drugs. Additionally, the salespeople are not educated on how to transport or store pharmaceutical drugs properly. We suspect that the main problem with pharmaceutical drug quality in Cameroon is degradation due to heat and humidity rather than the counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs. However, without the ability to quality control pharmaceutical drugs on a large scale, it is hard to say.
In this talk Dr. Hodel will discuss the efforts underway to bring quality control to Cameroon.
Dr. Rolande Hodel, co-chair of the Westchester Chemical Society, was born in Germany, is a US citizen, and is a legal resident of Cameroon. She received an M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Kansas; and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the City University of New York She has worked for companies such as BASF/Germany, Nanocrystals Technology/NY, Pharmaceutical Discovery Corporation/NY (today Mannkind/CT) and Emisphere Technologies/NY. She founded and is President of a non-profit, AIDSfreeAFRICA that manufactures pharmaceuticals in Cameroon. This talk is based on her more recent work in Cameroon. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Chemistry at the Westchester Community College. She is active in the American Chemical Society and its sections and has won various humanitarian awards. She is active in Rotary, Landmark Education, loves ballroom dancing, hikes, swims, skies and does yoga.
DR. EUGENE MANANGA RECEIVES 2018 DISTINCT SCIENTIST AWARD
Dr. Eugene Mananga is a Faculty Member in the Physics Doctorate Program and in the Ph. D Program in Chemistry at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Nuclear Medicine at BCC of CUNY, and an Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics at New York University. He completed his Ph.D in Physics from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and holds 6 additional graduate degrees and training from various institutions including Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and City College of New York. Eugene did his postdoctoral studies in the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory of USA, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to joining Harvard – MGH, Dr. Mananga was an “Ingenieur de Recherche” in the French Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energies (*Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique de France*, CEA-SACLAY) where he introduced the Floquet-Magnus expansion in the field of Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Eugene has published more than 60 peer-review scientific articles (mainly as first and corresponding author) including prestigious and major scientific journals such as Physics Reports, Royal Society of Chemistry, the Journal of Chemical Physics, the Journal of Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, etc… and has been serving as editorial board member for more than 30 international scientific journals. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Imaging Science and also serves the most prestigious position of “Chief Editor” for the editorial board of “The Scientific Journal of Molecular Physics“. Dr. Mananga has been an honorable Scientific Adviser and Organizing Committee Member for several major international scientific conferences in the US and around the world. His scientific contribution in the field of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance was honored during the 70th anniversary (1946 – 2016) of the Russian Academic of Sciences. Professor Mananga is the Laureate of 2017 Henry Wasser Award for outstanding achievement at the City University of New York. He was selected by the Academy of Humanities and Sciences for the prestigious 2017 Henry Wasser Award in Physics.
Research Interest:
Professor Eugene Stephane Mananga research interests are in theory of Nuclear Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Medical Physics, Radiological Sciences and Nuclear Medicine. Currently, he is focused on advancing theory, simulation and methodology in Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Spin Dynamics, Quantum Physics, Imaging Science, Medical Physics and Nuclear Medicine.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
