WHO ARE WE
We are a collective of young researchers with diverse scientific backgrounds, united in our mission to advance the field of neuroscience in Sudan.
OUR GOALS
RESEARCH
Our primary objective is to conduct cutting-edge neuroscientific research in Sudan, enriching the local scientific landscape and contributing to the expansion of neuroscience.
SUPPORT
We are committed to establishing a robust system for nurturing the talents of young Sudanese neuroscientists, providing them with the resources and guidance needed to excel in their field.
TRAINING
We aim to offer comprehensive training in a range of critical areas essential for launching a successful career in neuroscience. This includes neuroelectrophysiology, fundamental molecular techniques, clinical neurology, and programming.
DIVERSITY
We wholeheartedly embrace cultural diversity, both on a local and international scale. Our focus lies in promoting equity and inclusion in neuroscientific research, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to contribute and excel.
INSTITUTION
Our vision is to establish ourselves as a center of excellence in neuroscience, not only conducting groundbreaking research but also actively engaging in public outreach activities to foster a greater understanding of neuroscience within our community.
WORD FROM THE FOUNDER
For the few past years, we have witnessed life-changing innovations and technologies that have reshaped the world, and our lives as we used to know it. These technologies have been utilized for many groundbreaking endeavours and large-scale research projects in modern-day neuroscience that reaffirmed and, in many cases, changed our understanding of ourselves. Yet, the overwhelming majority of the driven data have been retrieved from North America and Europe, with little to no contribution from Africa.
In February 2018, we established Sudan Neuroscience Projects (SNPs), marking the inception of the first non-profit neuroscience research group with a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team based in Khartoum, Sudan. Our mission revolves around contributing to the global body of knowledge in the field of neuroscience, providing a unique perspective on understanding ourselves, given Sudan’s status as home to one of the most diverse indigenous populations in the world. Additionally, we aspire to become a hub of excellence in neuroscience research within Sudan, offering training opportunities for young enthusiasts from Sudan and the broader region.
Furthermore, it is our unwavering commitment to actively engage with various communities in our country through the sharing of our findings, public outreach, and educational initiatives. This collaborative approach enhances our skills and methodologies, facilitating the execution of our diverse projects. Ultimately, this collaborative synergy enables the generation of comprehensive cross-disciplinary and large-scale data, which in turn serves as the foundation for translating our discoveries into impactful actions.
Dr. Yousuf H.Y. Bakhit, PhD
Founder of SNPs
In loving tribute: The life and vision of Mohammed Abdelwahab
Mohammed Abdelwahab Osman Mohammed, born in 1993 in Khartoum, Sudan. Mohammed grew up in an academic family. His love for science was evident from high school as he excelled in mathematics and physics. He then attended the Faculty of Medicine at University of Khartoum (UofK) in 2010. During this time years, Mohammed had a clear, goal-oriented path. He actively participated in numerous extracurricular activities, holding an executive position as the external affairs secretary of UofK medical student’s association in 2013. He was also actively involved in the coordination of Public Reproductive Health and AIDS programs in 2014. Furthermore, Mohammed participated in medical student conferences abroad representing his college. He was well-respected among colleagues and had a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
Regarding his research interests, they became evident early on as he actively participated in a workshop on bioinformatics and statistical genetics co-organized by the Karolinska Institute and the Institute of Endemic Diseases. Even as a student, he was awarded the 10th best research project by the Community Medicine department at the faculty of Medicine.
This dedication to science led Mohammed to be accepted into an exchange program at Lund University, under the supervision of Dr. Tania Ramos-Moreno. There, he worked on the characterization of bone marrow-derived stromal cells as a source of cells for modelling neurodegenerative diseases. Mohammed’s interest in Neuroscience became evident as he helped in establishing Sudan Neuroscience Projects (SNPs) research group, solidifying his interest in further expanding our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases in Sudan. In 2018, he graduated with excellent academic performance, but his zealous nature led him to immediately pursue his goals. He enrolled in an internship at the Central Laboratory of Sudan, learning bench-side laboratory techniques. Afterward, he was accepted into the prestigious NEURASMUS scholarship program to pursue his master’s studies.
Mohammed completed a double-degree master’s program from the University of Bordeaux and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. He was the top student in his master’s class, earning a perfect GPA (1.0 in the German system). By the end of 2019, Mohammed’s passion had evolved towards electrophysiology, and he conducted his master’s thesis in the lab of Brett Carter, studying synaptic plasticity in the barrel cortex. In 2020, he embarked on his PhD thesis, studying synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex under the supervision of Dr. Pieter Roelfsema, who was also the director of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. It was in April 2021 that the sudden, saddening news of his passing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, reached us.
Mohammed had a very fulfilling life. He loved to read and play football. Above all, his presence was marked by his humor and witty nature. Mohammed, or “Wahba” as we used to call him, had a brief life, but he was destined for greatness. He had already achieved greatness, serving as a gracious reminder of life than life itself. He symbolized hope, laughter, and passion. He was an avid science lover and a kind human being, an aspiring scientist, and a true artistic soul in the face of life. He has left a vivid imprint of his memory in each of us. Perhaps one day, his questions and curiosities will be answered while he rests in eternal sleep.
Hazim Eldirdiri
meet the team
Arwa Waleed
Arwa is currently a final year medical student at University of Khartoum. She is particularly interested in cognitive functions and the influence of different pathological processes on brain dynamics as well as EEG patterns.
Ebaa Tarig Awad Abdelhadi
Ebaa is currently a final year medical student at University of Khartoum.
Hiba Abubakr
Hiba is a medical officer, neuroscience researcher, and basic sciences teaching assistant and tutor. She works collaboratively in the academic and clinical fields and aims to build a neuroscience capacity in Africa, particularly Sudan, and dispel neurophobia. Hiba has a specific interest in the area of movement disorders.
Hiba Abuelgasim Fadlelmoula
Hiba is a digital health consultant, project manager, and computational neuroscientist. She has a significant experience in developing, implementing, managing, and providing strategic oversight to neuroscience research, health systems strengthening, and digital health transformation. Hiba holds a Master’s degree in Health Informatics and a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Kyoto University, Japan.
Khalid Eltom
Khalid is a medical graduate from University of Khartoum and a holder of a Master’s degree in Biomedicine from Uppsala University, Sweden. He currently works as a research assistant at the Molecular Geriatrics research group at Uppsala University, focusing on exploring the role of glial cells in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. At SNPs, he worked as the Parkinson’s Disease project coordinator between 2018-2021.
Mahmoud Koko Musa
Mahmoud has obtained his Ph.D. from the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tuebingen, Germany. There, he worked on several projects revolving around studying the influence of rare genetic variants in general and ion channel variants in particular on common and rare epilepsy syndromes. In 2022, he joined the Wellcome Sanger Institute as a postdoc, and currently works on exploring genetic architecture in Autism, developmental and cognitive phenotypes.
Malaz Abdalla
Malaz is a passionate researcher with a particular emphasis on neurogenetics and neurology. Her goal is to contribute to the scientific community by producing quality research that sheds light on underexplored areas of neurology, mostly with data from Sudan.
Mohamed Alebeed
Mohamed is a medical graduate from the University of Khartoum. He is currently studying towards a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at George-August University Göttingen. His main interest is in neurodegenerative diseases.
Mohamed Osama Mirghani Ibrahim
Mohamed started conducting research as a medical student working at the Institute of Endemic Diseases. He then obtained a bioinformatics diploma before graduating from the Faculty of Medicine University of Khartoum. Now working as a lecturer, medical doctor, supervisor, and researcher with an interest in neuroscience and genetics.
Mohammed Abdallah
Mohammed is a postdoctoral fellow in the Wasserman lab, at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT), University of British Columbia. He graduated from the faculty of medicine, university of Khartoum, Sudan. He did his Ph.D. on the genomics of understudied populations of Sudan. He later did a postdoctoral fellowship at UCT (University of Cape Town) working on the H3ABioNet AGVD (African Genome Variation Database). He works on the design and development of reproducible and scalable genomic pipelines for the Indigenous Background Variant Library (IBVL).
Murad Elamardi Dafaalla Almak
Murad currently works as a clinical instructor at St. George University, Grenada.
Noon Bushra Eltahir Ahmed
Rayan Abubaker Musa Siddig
Rayan’s background includes nine years of research experience at the Sudanese Neurogenetics Research Group and Sudan Neuroscience Projects (SNPs). She holds an MSc in Molecular Medicine and contributed to many articles on neurodegenerative disorders in Sudanese populations. Her particular interest is molecular and cellular neuroscience, functional genomics, and animal modelling.
Reem Khidir
Reem is a medical doctor pursuing a career in paediatrics, with an interest in clinical neuroscience and genetic epidemiology.
Safaa Mamoun Abdelmageid
Safaa is a Ph.D. student of Neurobiology at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) Trieste, Italy. She is studying the neural basis of brain aging and stress as a factor that might influence the synaptic senescence.
Salma Mohamedelrasheed
Salma graduated from University of Khartoum, faculty of medicine, Sudan. Now she is working as a house officer at Al Zahraa teaching hospital, Egypt. She is passionate about Neuroscience, and neuroimaging in particular. At SNPs, she is a coordinator of the Mental Health Project.
Sawazen Malik
Sawazen is a graduate of Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum. She has a special interest in neurodegenerative diseases. At SNPs, she is a coordinator of the Mental Health Project.