Dr. Samuel Asiedu Owusu is a Senior Research Fellow at the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) of the University of Cape Coast. He is also the Administrator of the University of Cape Coast Institutional Review Board (UCCIRB). Dr. Owusu is an interdisciplinary social scientist with an interest in bioethics, child health, sexual and reproductive health education, population and health, mobile phone usage in education and health sectors, medicines, transport and mobility for children and vulnerable populations as well as advancing the conduct of ethical research. He has co-authored more than 28 peer-reviewed journal articles in reputable journals, more than 20 technical reports, and three policy documents.
He has extensive research and facilitation experience in these areas and has collaborated extensively with both Ghanaian and international collaborators to implement academic projects in these areas. He has served as a consultant to several reputable Ghanaian and international institutions including the United States Agency for International Development through its METSS Project, United Kingdom Department for International Development, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, VREF, the Global Fund, and other Ghanaian Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies.
Dr. Owusu holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Population and Health (2017), a Master of Philosophy degree in Population Studies (2009), and a Bachelor's degree in Population and Family Life Education (2003), all from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He also holds a Master's degree certificate in Bioethics from New York University-USA (2021) and a Certificate in Research Integrity from the New York University-University of Ghana School of Public Health Research Integrity Program (2021). I was a Visiting Doctoral Student at Durham University in the United Kingdom (Jan-June 2014 and Jan-April, 2016). He is a professional certified Teacher with the Ghana Education Service after successfully completing a 3-year Post Secondary Teacher Training Education at the Berekum Training College in June 1998.
Dr. Owusu has worked for than 18 years at the University of Cape Coast Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy implementing various research studies and consultancy assignments. I have attended more than 70 international and national conferences, seminars, and workshops where I have played key roles as a co-convener, presenter, facilitator, or participant.
As the Administrator of the UCCIRB since 2014, Dr. Owusu has collaborated seamlessly with the Board Members to receive, review and approve over 2,000 research protocols submitted by research investigators. Through his instrumentality, the UCCIRB has been able to develop and publish two policy documents namely the UCCIRB Standard Operating Procedures and the UCCIRB Ethical Clearance Protocol Handbook. I am a very experienced research ethics administrator and have been very pivotal in organizing orientation sessions for students and faculty members on the activities of Institutional Review Boards and the ethical clearance application process. I am a very active member of the Ghana Association of Administrators of Research Ethics Committee (GHAAREC). In 2017, I was the Chairperson of the National Symposium Planning Committee which organized one of the most successful national public events of the Association to promote research ethics.
Dr. Owusu is currently a member of notable international Associations including the International Bioethics Association, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), International Union of Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Association of American Geographers (AAG), International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Union of African Population Studies and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
I have been appointed as an Editorial Board member for Global Bioethics Journal and the Journal of Psychology in Africa as well as Peer-Reviewer for some reputable international journals such as Journal of Medical Ethics, Child care in Practice, Health Expectations, Medical Internet Research, Open AIDS Journal, Anthropology and Medicine and PLOS ONE