The Winter 2023 UMAPS Research Colloquium Series features the U-M African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) fellows and their scholarly work. The talks prepared and presented by each visiting scholar are designed to promote dialogue on topics and to share their research with the larger U-M community.

Jude Okoye (Nigeria), “Signatures of high mortality risk and life-choice practices among patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Nigeria”
Jude Okoye is a lecturer in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria. He recently completed his PhD dissertation at the same institution, focussing on the oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes in the human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and Herpes simplex virus type 2 among female sex workers. He is a recipient of the 2021 Merck Foundation “Best Young African Researcher Award” and the American 2022 Association for Cancer Research “Global Scholar-in-Training Award.” At U-M, he will work with Yatrik Shah (Medical School) on a project titled “Gut microbiome and colon cancer,” evaluating the clinical and therapeutic implications of race-linked genomic and gut microbiome variations and interactions of metastatic colon cancer.
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Tshepiso Scott (South Africa), “Small enterprises in South Africa: is their protection as consumers warranted?”
Tshepiso Scott is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds an LLB and LLM from the University of Pretoria and an LLD from the University of South Africa. Her research interests center on consumer protection law and company law. During her time in the UMAPS program, she will work on a project titled “Improving consumer access to redress in South Africa” and will be hosted by Kyle Logue (Law School).
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Eyerusaleam Kassahun (Ethiopia), “Decolonizing the National Theater of Ethiopia”
Eyerusaleam Kassahun is a lecturer in the School of Theatre Arts at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, from where she also holds an MA degree. She has written and produced short, and feature-length films and stage plays. Her academic interests include decentralizing the diverse spectrum of Ethiopian cinema and theater, focusing on issues stemming from Ethiopia’s relationship with black people in Africa and the diaspora. At U-M, she will work with Frieda Ekotto (Afroamerican and African Studies, LSA) on the “Re-Theorizing Colonialism through Ethiopian Theatre” project.

Register at https://myumi.ch/x7mZx