Kwadwo Sarpong is the cofounder and CEO of African Research Academies for Women, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create a research-intensive pipeline program for young African women interested in pursuing STEM careers. Sarpong also is a current student at Georgetown University School of Medicine and a former PREP Scholar at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. After battling a severe form of typhoid fever as a child and being affected by his brother’s paralytic polio condition, Sarpong hopes to become a physician-scientist specializing in neurodevelopmental diseases. His research focuses on evaluating the role of somatic mutations in children with autism and epilepsy. Sarpong was invited by the White House to participate in the 2014 US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, and also to the 2016 United State of Women Summit, to discuss women’s education in Africa.
The Sheth Distinguished International Alumni Award, established by a generous gift from Madhu and Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, seeks to recognize Emory University’s international alumni who are highly distinguished either nationally or internationally in their business, profession, or life’s work and who have made outstanding contributions to humanity, science, art, or human welfare.
