The major aim of the workshop was to enable students and researchers acquire the basic molecular techniques required for species identification. It was a practical course that followed the online lectures held in the first semester of 2023. The two-day on-site training at the Biology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Muni University took place from 25/07/2024 to 26/07/2024 and will be completed by one final day of the workshop to be held online at the end of August 2024.
The course covered Lab practical Skills, DNA/RNA Extraction and Quantification, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques, Gel Electrophoresis and Nucleotide Sequence Analysis. These skills were applied to molecular species identification of different mammal species and for molecular screening of these mammals for infections with malaria parasites.
The workshop was led by Dr. Juliane Schaer, a research group leader at Humboldt University, Germany (funded by DFG, https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/437846632) and guest researcher/lecturer at Muni University, and Dr. Imran Ejotre, a Senior Lecturer at the department of Biology and Coordinator, Graduate Programs, Faculty of Science, Muni University. The practical course was carried out with and supported by the Muni University technicians; Mr. Anguyo Dennis Foe, Mr. Lee Michael, Mr. Adiga Kasim (technician under the Uganda Bat Immune Study project) and the Humboldt University PhD student Mr. Oskar Werb. The on-site course was further supported by Dr. DeeAnn Reeder and partners from Bucknell University, USA.
The workshop was well attended by the students of Master of ScienceClimate Change and Disaster Risk Management, and Master of Science Biodiversity Conservation programs. Notable among the participants was the Acting Dean Faculty of Health Sciences.
This training and the appointment of Dr Juliane Schaer by Muni University as a Guest Researcher and Academic are steps towards establishing a formal working relation between Muni University, Arua, Uganda and Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.