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Dr. Daniel Dzidzienyo - Research and Teaching

 Dr. Daniel Kwadjo Dzidzienyo

   PhD, Molecular Biology, Nottingham

   ddzidzienyo@wacci.ug.edu.gh

   Deputy Director, Administration, Teaching and Learning (ATL)
   Deputy Centre Leader, WACCI - ACE Project
   Senior Lecturer, Biotechnology Centre
   University of Ghana

 


Profile               Grant-Funded Research               Research & Teaching               Publications

 

Research Interest

Research interest includes the applications of innovative techniques for the genetic improvement of crop plants and the use of modern molecular techniques for improving the quality of staple crops particularly root and tuber crops for food and nutrition security in Africa.

 

Teaching Experience

Post-graduate level:

2020 - date

WACI 719

Plant Molecular Biology

2020 - date

WACI 708

Plant Cell Tissue Culture

2000 - date

CROP 615

Plant Tissue Culture

2000 (date)

CROP 703

Plant Cell and Tissue Culture

2017 - date

WACI 608

Seed Trade, Policies and regulations

2017 - date

CROP 704

Laboratory Instrumentation

2016 - date

CROP 630

Molecular Plant Pathology

2015 - date

WACI 607

Crop Improvement and Biotechnology

2013 - date

CROP 616

Principles of Gene Manipulation

2013 - 2019

WACI 703

Biotechnology in Plant Breeding

2013 - 2015

CROP 613

Molecular Genetics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undergraduate level:

2013 - date

CROP 413

Molecular Biology

2013 - date

AGRC 312

Principles of Biotechnology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undergraduate level:

2015 - 2019 HORT 021 Crop Improvement

 

 

 

Curriculum Development/Review
  • Involved in the development of curriculum in Biotechnology and Biosafety which are yet to be launched at the Biotechnology Centre.
  • Involved in the development of WACCI’s innovative curriculum in MPhil Seed Science and Technology which was launched in 2015.
  • Involved in the revision of the MPhil Plant Breeding and Genetics curriculum at the Department of Crop Science and the WACCI PhD Plant Breeding curriculum.
  • WACCI recently (2018) obtained international accreditation for its PhD and MPhil programmes from the Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes (AQAS), Germany, and I have been involved in preparing documents including the self evaluation report (SER) for the WACCI programmes for the accreditation process.
  • Led a team from the University of Ghana to create awareness on Biotechnology among selected stakeholders (farmers, extension officers, opinion leaders, chiefs and media personnel) in three selected districts, i.e. Lawra, Walewale and Bawku in Northern Ghana under the USAID-Feed the Future (FtF) project awarded to the School of Agriculture including WACCI and Biotechnology Centre.
  • Involved in facilitating the training of Farmers and Extension Agents in Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso under the WACCI Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE) project.
  • Involved in organising farmer field schools and open days for farmers under the AU-EU project.
  • Part of the team from the University of Ghana that organized “Food Security Summer Training” programme for college students from the Monmouth College, USA, held at WACCI, UG.
  • Part of a team from the University of Ghana working with collaborators at the Iowa State University, to develop Instructor Guides and Applied Learning Activities (ALAs) for the courses under the Plant Breeding e-learning in Africa (PBEA) project. https://pbea.agron.iastate.edu/

 

 
GRADUATE STUDENT THESIS COMMITTEE MEMBER

PhD Thesis Supervision Committees

NAME TITLE YEAR OF COMPLETION
Diallo Chiaka Genetic Analysis of Grain Yield and Related Traits in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Under Phosphorus Deficient Field Conditions in Southern Mali 2017
Dieni Zakaria Genetic Analysis of Resistance of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) to Alectra vogelii Benth. In Burkina Faso 2017
Bathe Diop Genetic Characterization of Tolerance to Ferrous Iron Toxicity in West African Rice Cultivars 2017
Kayondo Siraj Ismail Genetic Analysis and Selection Strategies for Improvement of Farmer Preferred Traits in Cassava 2017
Akaogu Ijeoma Chinyere Genetic Analysis of Drought Tolerant Early Maturing White Maize (Zea mays L.) Inbreds with Striga Resistance Genes from Zea diploperennis 2017
Kumba Yannah Karim Genetic Analysis for the High Starch, Dry Matter Content and Storage Root Yield in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) 2017
Ousmane Seyni Diakite Breeding Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] for High Quality Stover for Niger 2018
Saba Baba Mohammed Genetic Improvement of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) for Phosphorus Use Efficiency 2018
Essohouna Modom Banla Characterization of Cultivated Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and Genetic Analysis of Late Leaf Spot Resistance in Togo 2018
Gmakouba Tighankoumi Genetic Improvement of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) for Cassava Mosaic Disease Resistance in Togo 2019
Bassirou Sani Boubacar Gaoh Genetic Studies on Grain Iron and Zinc concentration and Agronomic Traits in West African Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] Germplasm 2019
Asare Kwabena Bediako Genetic Improvement of Locally Adapted Groundnut Varieties for Resistance to Pre-Harvest Aflatoxin Contamination in Ghana 2019
Vangahun Juliana Mariama Genetic Studies of Salinity Tolerance of Mangrove Rice Varieties in Sierra Leone 2019
Sikiru Adeniyi Atanda Development of Efficient Protocols for Training Population Design and Resource Allocation for Genomic Selection in Cimmyt Tropical Maize Breeding Programme 2021
Uchendu Ugochukwu Kelechi Genome-Wide Association Mapping and Stability Analysis of Root Mealiness in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) 2021
Aboagye Benjamin Danso Breeding for resistance against Cercospora Leaf Spots Disease in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) 2022
Okwu Queen Udodirim Genomic selection for cassava starch quality 2022
Wembabazi Enoch Genetic Analysis of Texture and Related Properties of Cassava Storage Roots 2023
Abah Simon Peter Optimizing Genetic Gain of Cassava Breeding Cycle for Storage Root System Traits Using High Throughput Screening Systems 2023
Mbe Joseph Okpani Genomic Studies for Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cassava (Manihot esculanta Crantz) 2023
Mrema Emmanuel Frank Breeding for Resistance to Cassava Brown Streak Disease 2023
Abiodun Olayinka Genetics of Plant Architecture and Effect on Yield, Yield-Related Traits and Carotenoid Content in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) 2024*
Solomon Otu Ayeboafo Development of Cassava Mosaic Disease Resistance varieties through mutation induction and genetic transformation 2024*
Abincha Wilfred Magangi Breeding for Pro-vitamin A carotenoids cassava in Kenya 2025*
Opuni Muhammed Genome wide association studies of nitrogen use efficiency and yield related traits in rice landraces and wild relatives 2025*
Omotola Dorcas Olaoye Genetic studies of cassava product quality traits 2026*
Joseph Pascal Sene

Genetic improvement of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench] for post flowering

drought tolerance

2026*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Expected year of graduation

 

 

GRADUATE STUDENT THESIS- SUPERVISOR

MPhil Thesis Supervision Committees

NAME TITLE YEAR OF COMPLETION
Benjamin Aboagye Danso Introgression of Cowpea Aphid resistance gne into susceptible cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) (L.) Walp) Cultivars Through Marker Assisted Backcrosses 2016
Iddrisu Baba Adam Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Sorghum (Sorghum biocolor (L.) Moench) Cultivars in the Northern Ghana 2016
Amihere Kwame Blay Nwaleh The Role of Quality Seed in Rice Production – A case study of the Dawhenya Irrigation Scheme 2018
Gariba Yakubu Samuel Assessment of Four Plant Extracts as Mazie Seed Storage Protectants Against Sitophilus zeamais and Prostephanus truncatus in Ghana 2018
Mariama Hamidu Effect of Seed Extraction Methods and Seed Storage Conditions on the Quality of Garden Egg (Solanum aethiopicum) Seeds 2018
Kwakyewaa Nuako Priming of Rice Seeds for Improvement in Germination and Adaptation to Drought Stress 2019
Tsamenyi Harrison Evaluation of F2 Populations of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Genotypes for Drought Tolerance and High Yield 2019
Johnson Antwi Adom Assessment of the Quality of Marketed Certified Vegetable Seeds in Original Package and those Repackaged at Retailers’ end in the Ashanti Region of Ghana 2019
Koomson Isaac Appiah-Asare The Groundnut Seed System and Adoption of Improved Varieties in Northern Ghana 2021
Joyce Kobia Effects of Post-Emergence Herbicides on Seed Quality and Yield-Related Traits of Maize Inbred Lines 2021
Hounnou Amele Aurore Effect of the storability of Traditional African Vegetables (TAV) on seed quality in West Africa 2024*
Konadu Jonathan Attah Isolation and molecular characterization of Aspergilus niger and Aspergillus flavus in store maize (Obatanpa and Pannar maize) in Ghana 2024*
Francis Mirara

Effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and silicon in the management of Rice blast Disease

Magnaporthe oryzae on Rice in Kenya

2025*
Jessica Naa Offeibea Dodoo The effects of seed priming and storage environments on seed germination and seedling establishment of Cleome gynandra L 2026*
Samuel Wristberg Assessment of some seed quality parameters of retailed maize and soyabean seeds after certification in the five northern regions of Ghana 2026*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Expected year of graduation

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH SUPERVISOR
NAME TITLE YEAR OF COMPLETION
George Nii O. Sackey Morphological and Molecular Characterization of some Rice Accessions using SSR Markers 2015
Ocloo Edem Screening of some Cassava Germplasms for Cassava Mosaic Disease 2015
Sey Dominic Kobina Phenotypic and Molecular Screening of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Germplasm for Resistant to Cassava Bacterial Light 2016
Ofoe Rapheal Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Xanthomonas campestris infecting Mango Ghana 2016
Obirih-Opareh Jennifer Developing High Nodulating Bacteria for Soyabean (Glycine max (L.) merr) using Transposons Mutagenesis 2016
Mercy Korkor Azanu Molecular Screening of some Tomato Accessions for Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Disease (TYLCD) Resistance Gene 2017
Galley Christopher Molecular Characterization of Selected Maize Hybrids in Ghana using Simple Sequence Repeat Markers 2017
Abbey Abraham Anartey Molecular Identification of Xanthomonas campestris pv. Mangiferae indica and Evaluation of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Germplasms for Resistance to the Bacterium in the Coastal Savanna Zone of Ghana 2017
Lawrence Afenyi Arhin Genetic Diversity of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Using SSR Marker 2017
Asare Benedict Tetteh Molecular Characterization of Maize Inbred Lines for Resistance to Maize Streak Virus Disease 2019
Basakeng Baayor Peter Agro-morphological Characterization of some Biofortified Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Accessions 2023
Asare Joseph Osei Evaluation of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Genotypes for Yield and Morphological Traits 2023