Scientist among the best in Africa

Reaching out: Dr Andrea Rother, second from left, with fellow winners at the finals of the Women in Science Competition held in Addis Ababa.

Dr Andrea Rother of the School of Public Health has won second prize in the prestigious Young Professionals and Women in Science Competitions, aimed at African researchers.

The competition is organised by a consortium of science and development agencies, including the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The competition recognises young professionals and women scientists who are conducting innovative and pioneering research, and who communicate the outputs of their work to improve agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of rural communities.

Rother took second place in the Women in Science category for her paper, Pesticide Risk Reduction Strategies for Vulnerable African Populations through Regulatory Capacity Building and Gender Appropriate Risk Communication Strategies. Pretty much in keeping with her research in the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Unit in the School of Public Health, where she looks at issues such as risk communication, risk perception, risk management and health literacy issues related to public health, safety, and chemical management (with a particular focus on pesticides), especially in Africa.

Her paper was initially shortlisted from a pool of 258 abstracts. The 10 finalists in the section then presented their papers at an event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in April.

"This is a great honour and a fantastic achievement," said Professor Leslie London, director of the School of Public Health, of Rother's award. "It reflects lots of hard work on Andrea's part building links in Africa, and should encourage us all to keep pursuing social responsiveness, particularly in engaging with African issues, in our work."