Daniel Antwi-Amoabeng presents at last year's Mapping the New Knowledges conference.
Daniel Antwi-Amoabeng presents at last year's Mapping the New Knowledges conference.
Daniel Antwi-Amoabeng
PhD candidate, Biological Sciences and president of Brock’s Graduate Students’ Association
Supervisor: Fiona Hunter
Research presentation for 2011 Mapping conference: “Sugar Diet Properties Influence Black Fly Diet Selection, Longevity ?and Ambient Temperature Selection”
Hometown: Toase, Ghana
As president of the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), Daniel Antwi-Amoabeng served on the organizing committee for the 2010-11 Mapping the New Knowledges Graduate Student Research Conference. He is one of 70 students who will give oral and poster presentations at the conference that takes place on Thursday, April 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Plaza Building.
The GSA has also organized a professional development workshop for graduate students, titled “Prepare for Your Future,” as part of the conference and will host the wrap-up celebration.
“The conference is a fantastic event because it brings together graduate students from all disciplines as a community of researchers who are passionate about advancing their specific fields,” Antwi-Amoabeng said.
What is your research area and how do you hope to make a difference?
My research interest is the relationship between a parasite and the insect that transmits the parasite. Currently, I am investigating the effects of sugar diets on the ability of mosquitoes to limit the multiplication of malaria parasites. I hope to find a diet recipe that makes mosquitoes take less blood meals from humans, and also allows them to reduce the total number of parasites they transmit when they bite a human victim. My findings may be useful in malaria control efforts.
As a graduate researcher, what are the benefits of participating in the conference?
The MNK Conference brings together students from various research fields. By participating in the conference, students have the opportunity to communicate their findings to colleagues whom they may normally not have access to. This offers a great opportunity to practice giving academic presentations, receive constructive criticisms and receive different perspectives on one’s research.
What is the focus of the GSA Professional Development Workshop “Prepare for Your Future” at this year’s conference?
When planning this workshop, we identified two categories of graduate students with respect to their career paths after graduate school: those who will seek work within academia and those who will work outside of academia. Due to the very different nature of these career sectors, we felt we needed to equip our members with the right information to make them competitive in the job market. The workshop will be presented by Brock’s Career Services and it will focus on the particular skill-sets and experiences that employers expect of new graduates.
