Dr Bernard Appiah wears many hats; he is a Pharmacist, Science Journalist, global health scholar, public engagement specialist, and science communication scholar and practitioner, with a special focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Bernard is Director of the Centre for Science and Health Communication, a non-profit based in Ghana; and Assistant Professor of the US-based Texas A&M School of Public Health, where he is also the Director of the Research Programme on Public and International Engagement for Health.
A son of a Gong-Gong beater in rural Ghana, Bernard is now beating the Gong on science and public health, and has received several awards including the Council of Science Editors International Scholarship in 2007, Public Communication of Science & Technology (PCST) Network conference scholarship in 2008, Young Voices in Global Health in 2013 and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship in 2016. He is the first recipient of Ghana’s Young Pharmacist of the Year award.
As a science journalist, Bernard has written feature stories on science and global health for local and international media including Myjoyonline.com in Ghana, Citizen News Network in India, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal. He is an Associate of INASP, a UK-based organisation, and has been involved since 2009 in INASP’s AuthorAID, a project for building the capacity of developing country researchers in communicating their research.
Bernard has peer-reviewed papers on science communication in Sub-Saharan Africa, and has experience in obtaining external funding for research projects in science communication and global health; and in building capacity in science communication in African countries such as Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania. His book, “Medicines: Using Them Safely” uses storytelling and cartoons to engage readers.
Bernard has a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy from Ghana, Master’s in Development Communication from the Philippines, Master’s in Science and Technology Journalism from the United States, and a Doctorate in Public Health with a major in Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, also from the United States.
