Autobiograpy

Faustina Dufie Wireko-Manu (PhD) is an Associate Professor in Food Science and Technology and a Faculty Member at the Department of Food Science and Technology in KNUST. Generally, she is interested in value addition to local agricultural produce for sustainable utilization, improved nutrition and wealth creation, and thus, works on  food compositional studies, value addition/product development and food product quality (nutrition, sensory and safety) studies.

Prof. Wireko-Manu has PhD and MSc degrees in Food Science and Technology from KNUST, and BSc (Honours) in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Ghana, Legon. She has certificates in Applied HACCP and Sensory Evaluation from the Royal Institute of Public Health and Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund (IFST) respectively in UK. She has had the privilege of working with multidisciplinary teams of researchers on many projects with sponsorship from Mastercard Fondation, ENI-Ghana, Bill and Melinda Gate, IFAD, DANIDA, AUSAID and the Netherlands Government. She has been a project coordinator, co-researcher and work package leader on projects that have enhance visibility and raised funds for teaching and research at KNUST. Selected among them are:

1. Nkabom Nutrition and Sustainable Agri-Food Collaborative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, 2025-Date. Role : Project team member, PhD supervisor and training facilitator.
2. Collaborative Research Project with Nestlé on Development of affordable nutrition for a low-cost product concept which provides satiety (2023-2024). Role: Lead superviser of 1 MPhil student with a Grant sum of Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty Four US Dollars ($6354).
3. KNUST Research Fund (KReF) Award (2023-2024). Co-Investigator. Design and Synthesis of Schiff-Base Compounds as Potential Chemosensors for Cyanide Detection in Water and Food (GHS 53,820)
4. KNUST Research Fund (KReF) Award (2023-2024). Co-Investigator.Potential of Okra Pectin and Tamarind Xyloglucan as emulsifier in Chocolate Spread. (20,000).
5. Collaborative Research Project with Nestlé on Development of A Powdered Instant Beverage Mix From Fermented Millet And Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato (2020-2021). Role: Lead supervisor of 2 Mphil students. Grant sum of Nineteen Thousand and Two Hundred US Dollars ($19,200)
6. Okuafo Pa Project on market-focused training in agricultural value chains for youth empowerment and job creation in Ghana (2019-Date). Role: Member of proposal writing team and leader of the Postharvest and Value Addition Module. Grant sum of Six Hundred and Nineteen thousand, Eight Hundred US Dollars ($ 619, 800) from ENI Ghana.
7. Purdue Improved Crops Storage (PICS) 3 Project (2016-2019). A Sub Contract Project sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gate to help understand the use of PICS bags technology to reduce insecticide use and incidence of food poisoning. Role: PI / Technical lead. Contract sum of Twenty Thousand US Dollars ($20,000).
8. Strengthening Root and Tuber Value Chains in Ghana (2013-2017). Role: Member of proposal writing team and leader of New Product Development Work Package. Grant sum of Four Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-six Thousand Danish Krone (4,996,000 DKK), from DANIDA.
9. Improving quality, nutrition and health: impacts of inclusion of HQCF in bread formulations in West African (Ghana and Nigeria) (2014-2016). IITA-McGill-KNUST collaborative Project sponsored by IFAD. Role: Collaborative Scientist. Grant sum of Seventeen Thousand, Five Hundred and Forty-Five Dollars ($17,545).

 Through these projects;

• A number of students have been sponsored, trained, and mentored. She has in effect supervised over one hundred (>100) students’ projects/theses/research, comprising nine PhD (7 completed), fifty (50) MPhil/MSc (40 completed) over sixty (>60) undergraduate, and hundreds trained (youth, women, entrepreneurs among others).
• Relevant research findings, technologies/products, skills and best practices have been shared and or transferred through hands-on training, publications, workshops and conferences. Prof. Wireko-Manu has published over fifty-five (55) peer reviewed journal articles, one (1) co-authored book, seven (7) book chapters, two (2) manuals and over 70 abstracts, oral and poster presentations at workshops and conferences.
• Communities have been directly engaged through organized trainings, exhibitions, festivals and media discussions to create awareness, transfer skills and empower relevant stakeholder along the food value chain.

Her contributions have impacted greatly on the advancement of science and humanity and the collaborations have enhanced her knowledge sharing and implementation of best practices as a researcher, facilitator/teacher/tutor and mentor. Her articles are cited globally and index in good databases such as Scopus, Springer, ResearchGate, Google Scholar among others.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

• Mentoring of a new Faculty Members, students and entrepreneurs  2013-Date
• Curriculum Reviews for instititutions in areas of expertise 
• Facilitator at the Front-of-Package Warning Labelling and Nutrition Profiling Models Symposium, 30^th January, 2025
• Promotion document (from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor) review for Cape Coast Technical University, February 2025
• Member, College of Science Research and Conference Sub Committee, 2020-Date
• Workshop participation: Becoming an Effective Mentor and Personal Grooming by WiSTEM MasterCard, 2024.
• Member, College of Science Seminar and Conference Committee, 2024-Date
• Member, Development of the short course modules in Postharvest and Value Addition, Nkabom Nutrition and Sustainable Agri-Food Collaborative, 2025
• Member, Technical Advisory Committee on Nutrition, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana, 2022-Date
• Reviewer, KNUST Research Fund (KREF 9) Application, 2024
• Support the funding of Junior Science and Maths Quiz (JSMQ), 2024 Edition
• Facilitator for the national youth training on flour production and products organised by the Agricultural Productivity and Technology Centre (APTC) of the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, June 2023
• Member, Council of Convocation, KNUST, 2020-2021.
• Representative of Council of Convocation on the Estate Organization Management Committee of KNUST, 2020-2021.
• Facilitator and Module Leader, Okuafo Pa Project Postharvest and Value Addition Module, 2019-2020.
• Resource Person, Ghanaian Women in Agricultural Research and Development (GhaWARD) Role Modelling and Career Advise Event.
• Facilitator at Skill Building and Professional Development Workshop organized by USAID and BHERAD in Kumasi, Ghana _ July 24-30, 2016.
• Member, College of Science Research and Conference Committee (CoS), 2016 to 2020.
• External Assessor for promotion of research/academic staff, 2016-Date.
• Reviewer of research articles for journal publishers, 2011-date.
• Panel of Assessor of academic programs for National Accreditation Board, Ghana, 2016-Date.
• Member, Technical Advisory Committee on Nutrition, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana, 2018-2022.
• Chairperson of LOC, 1^st National Food Fraud Conference, KNUST, 27^th January 2016.
• Visiting Professor to FIPDes in France under the collaboration between KNUST and Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Food Innovation and Product Design (FIPDes), 2-6^th 2019.
• Visiting Professor to ISA Lille, France, under the Staff Mobility for Training and Teaching in the frame of the Erasmus + project no 2017-1-FR01-KA107-036901 between ISA Lille and KNUST, 3-11^th May 2019.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS PROGRAMS

• Fellow, Australia Awards Fellowship on improving agricultural productivity through increasing the impact of agricultural research in Africa, University of Sydney, Australia, April-May 2015.
• Fellow, Agropolis Fondation on competitive research attachment at the Institút National de la Recherche Agronomiqu? (INRA), Avignon, France, 2013-2014.
• Fellow, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) on research and leadership development program, Nairobi, Kenya, 2011-2013.

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES: Association of Ghana Food Scientist and Technologist (GhAFoST), Ghana Science Association (GSA), International Society of Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) and Institute of Food Technologist (IFT, currently not active).