Picture: Prof. Samuel Osei-Djarbeng
The description “a person with multiple set of skills and abilities” crystalizes the make-up of Prof. Samuel Osei-Djarbeng. Almost twenty (20) years of teaching experience in Pharmaceutical Sciences places Prof. Samuel Osei-Djarbeng, an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmaceutical Microbiology) on a very high pedestal.
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng completed his ‘O’ Level education in 1991 at Abetifi Presby Secondary School in the Eastern region. He acquired his ‘A’ Level Certificate education in 1993 at Pope John Secondary School (POJOSS) in Koforidua, the regional capital of Eastern region. After undertaking a compulsory post-sixth form National Service, he continued to KNUST to study Pharmacy and completed in 1999. He wrote and passed the Ghana Pharmacy Professional Qualifying Examination and earned a Certificate of Registration as a Pharmacist just after his post-university National Service as a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Pharmacy, KNUST.
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng holds a PhD in BioScience (Pharmacognosy and Microbiology) obtained from the University of East London, Stratford – London in the United Kingdom. At the same University, he undertook a post-graduate study in research that earned him a PGC in Research (MRes). Prior to these, he had had a Master of Philosophy degree in Pharmacy (MPharm - Pharmacognosy Option).
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng has served the University community in various capacities. He is currently, the Head of Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences under the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Kumasi Technical University. He has previously been the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Head of Department for the Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management (HCIM), a cognate Department; Deputy Director of the University Health Services. Furthermore, he served as the Sports Chairman of KsTU for many years. He is the Chairman of the COVID-19 Safety Committee of KsTU, and also the leader of the Team that manufactured KsTU Hand Sanitizer. Additionally, he has helped drawn many policies, and has served on several committees in the University. No wonder that his hard work earned him the KsTU Best Worker Award (Senior Members’ Teaching category) in 2017.
He is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana; Pharmacy Council Education Committee; Phytochemical Society of Europe, etc.
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng’s research interests are in; investigation of the scientific basis for the use of medicinal plants in treatment of diseases, especially infectious diseases; isolation and characterization (establishing the chemical structures) of active drug compounds in medicinal plants. He has expertise in the use of spectroscopic instruments such as Mass Spectroscopy (MS); MALDI-ToF; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) [Proton (1H) and Carbon (13C) nmr, COSY, NOESY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC], UV-visible, and chromatographic methods (HPLC, GC, GC-MS, LC-MS). He employs these techniques to identify and characterize chemical structures of compounds, and use same to analyze drugs. In addition, he conducts research into the potential use of medicinal plants as anti-quorum sensing and anti-biofilm agents in the fight against resistant strains of micro-organisms. He also carries out investigations into wound healing potential of medicinal plants.
Furthermore, Prof. Osei-Djarbeng is into product formulation and analysis. He formulates pharmaceutical (medicinal) products from both natural (plants, animals, mineral) and synthetic sources; food products such as wine and probiotic yoghurts; cosmetic and domestic products (e.g. herbal lotions, creams, ointments; detergents; liquid, powdered and bar soaps; antiseptics/disinfectants).
With such rich experiences, he is devoted to helping young fellows who aspire to be in the health and other sectors, and to help build the technical education in Ghana so that people can formulate products on their own for job creation. He is motivated by his ability to analyze and formulate pharmaceutical and other products and his readiness to impart knowledge and skills to others. Self-motivation and self-encouragement are virtues that keep him going.
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng believes that proper apportionment of time and forecast help reduce pressure. Also, he believes that trust in God, self-discipline, patience, effective time management and proper resource management help to overcome many challenges in life. From his perspective, the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department of KsTU needs more equipment and other resources to facilitate quality teaching and learning, skills acquisition and productive research. With proper resourcing of the laboratories, the Department can be a resource centre for analysis of drugs for companies and regulatory bodies to generate income for the University.
Prof. Osei-Djarbeng has had the privilege of working with Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi and other facilities both in Ghana and outside Ghana. He has also worked in some community pharmacies in Accra and Kumasi. He still practises as a Community Pharmacist.