Research Excellence

A team led by Nicola Aravecchia reveals crucial clues to the early spread of Christianity and life in the Egyptian desert.

Located in the foothills of Mount Elgon near the Kenya-Uganda border, Kakapel Rockshelter is the site where WashU archaeologist Natalie Mueller and her collaborators have uncovered the earliest evidence for plant farming in east Africa.

What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa. This dynamic can be particularly complex when the predation occurs in an isolated or poor-quality habitat, according to research […]

Since its 2020 inception, the McDonnell Academy Seed Grant initiative has served as researchers’ starting point. This year, we expanded it by integrating the McDonnell Academy Global Accelerator Grant, enhancing opportunities for endeavors gaining momentum. This crucial support nurtures initial ideas, ensures preliminary data collection, and propels projects to advance human health and humanity. Collaboratively […]

George Kyei is the principal investigator of the HIV Cure Research Infrastructure Study, based at the University of Ghana, which trains African scientists in HIV research and treatment.

Regarded as one of the nation’s leading African historians, Jean M. Allman shares her passion for the continent through her teaching, mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, and prolific writing and scholarship.

Farmers outside Kibale National Park in Uganda had a huge problem: elephants kept trampling their crops. This is one of many examples in which human–wildlife interactions become dangerous for both parties.

Mark Manary is a professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and an expert in childhood malnutrition. More than two decades ago, Manary launched an effort in Africa to fight childhood malnutrition using a peanut butter-based therapeutic food fortified with micronutrients.

WashU professor, Dr. Fred Ssewamala, and his research team at WashU and in Uganda have been working for decades to alleviate the impacts of poverty on Uganda’s most vulnerably youth – orphans.