Dr. Mohamed Mutocheluh, the first to grow viruses in KNUST

"Doing Research is my Passion" - Dr. Mutocheluh

Dr. Mohamed Mutocheluh is a molecular medical microbiologist and immunologist. He is a lecturer in virology and immunology at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). His research group focuses on translational research related to microbial-cell interactions and immunity to microbial diseases, with a particular interest on how human oncogenic viruses and mycotoxins cause cancers.

His work currently focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanism(s) by which aflatoxins together with hepatitis B virus evade innate immune response leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) provides a model for much of his work. Dr Mutocheluh was the first scientist to culture adherent cells and to perform reporter gene assays in KNUST. Some of his published works are listed below. Both the tissue culture and the molecular biology sections of his laboratory have attracted the attention of some researchers from his University (KNUST) and they are currently using those facilities for their research work. It is worth noting that Dr Motocheluh's laboratory is also the first to grow viruses in KNUST.

Dr. Mohamed Mutocheluh has both PhD and Master of Science degrees in Immunology and Infection from the University of Birmingham, UK (2011 and 2007 respectively) and another Master of Science degree in Molecular Medical Microbiology from the University of Nottingham (2003). He joined the Department of Clinical Microbiology at KNUST in February 2000 as a Biomedical Scientist and was appointed lecturer in 2005. He is a member of the Society General for Microbiology and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (UK). He was elected member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Biomedical Convention (GBC) for 2013-2015. He hails from northern Ghana and married with three beautiful girls.

Since his early days in KNUST, Dr. Mutocheluh has been involved in research. “Doing research is my passion. Sometimes, it even means funding it out-of-pocket. It is not surprising therefore that some faculty do not do much in terms of research. It is not an easy endeavor in this environment and I do not blame them.”

In 2012, Dr Mutocheluh and Professor David J. Blackbourn (University of Surrey, UK) won the Leverhulme – Royal Society Africa Award (II) to investigate ‘The Role of Aflatoxins on the Type I Interferon Response’. The award has begun strengthening the research and postgraduate training capacity in his department. In 2013, he got a small grant from the Building Stronger Universities Phase 1 (BSU I) Health Platform based at College of Health Sciences, which was supplemented with support from the Vice Chancellor of KNUST.

Despite the passion Dr. Mutocheluh has for research, he outlined some of the challenges he encounters in the course of his work. He stated that the major challenge he faces is the lack of established research environment in his area of interest in KNUST. He said most of the molecular biology and tissue culture reagents and consumables are purchased from abroad and require special shipping conditions thereby increasing the cost of research. He added however that he gets some level of support from units like the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) also in KNUST. He therefore expressed his excitement about the Vice Chancellor’s Research Laboratory Resourcing Project and said it could not have come at a better time; especially when the postgraduate student population at KNUST had tripled.

Dr. Mutocheluh affirms that he hopes to conduct more research despite the numerous challenges, and continue to advance knowledge in his area of study. He commended his Head of Department, Prof E.H. Frimpong; the Dean of the School of Medical Sciences, Prof Yaw Adu-Sarkodie; the Provost of College of Health Sciences, Prof T. Agbenyega; and the Vice Chancellor, Prof William Otoo Ellis who have all been extremely supportive and encouraging.