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St Hugh’s professor and senior researcher in Kenya awarded for their collaboration

St Hugh’s Professor Susana Carvalho and fellow African senior researcher, Frederick Manthi, have been presented with one of only eight AfOx ReDA awards for their project: “Ecology and the deep roots of our African origins”.

Fredrick Manthi, Senior Researcher & Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at the National Museums of Kenya, received an AfOx Travel Grant in 2019. During his visit to Oxford, he met with researchers in Oxford’s School of Anthropology and began discussions with Susana Carvalho’s team researching ecology and African origins. Through the AfOx ReDA award, they plan to further their collaboration by pooling resources at the University of Oxford and the National Museums of Kenya to develop our understanding of the ecological and environmental contexts in which the first hominins emerged in Africa. In addition, the project will promote education through outreach activities in Kenya, develop innovative research tools at the museum in Nairobi and promote international partnerships amongst African and UK based institutions.

Launched in 2019, the AfOx Research Development Awards (AfOx ReDA) build on existing AfOx funded collaborations between researchers in African institutions and University of Oxford to address one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 50 applications received were made collaboratively between previously AfOx Fellows and their Oxford-based partners. These applications were reviewed by a panel of interdisciplinary researchers, and eight awards were made. Each project has a lead researcher from an African institution and a University of Oxford collaborator. The awards address at least one Sustainable Development Goal through their research and aim to generate societal benefits beyond creating knowledge in their area of specialisation.

To find out more about the six awardees please click here.