Research Scientist
Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit
Degrees
BSc. Biochemistry (University for Development Studies, Ghana)
MSc. Molecular Medicine (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Norway)
PhD. Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases (University of Ghana)
Dr. Balagra Kasim Sumabe is a Research Scientist at the Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Water Research Institute (WRI). I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University for Development Studies (UDS) in 2012, my Master’s degree in Molecular Medicine from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway in 2016 and my Ph.D. degree in Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases from the University of Ghana in 2021.
Research interest
Mr. Balagra has expertise in molecular genetics, bacteriology and in silico drug discovery. My research interests focus on understanding antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, bacterial pathogenesis and drug discovery. My current research work will focus on identifying biomarkers in bacterial infection and the development of point-of-care testing (POCT) devices.
Research publications
I have a number of publications in reputable journals including Biomolecules MDPI and Nucleic Acids Research. Below is the list of papers he authored:
Tettevi EJ, Kuevi DNO, Sumabe BK, Simpong DL, Maina MB, Dongdem JT, Osei-Atweneboana MY, Ocloo A. (2024). In Silico Identification of a Potential TNF-Alpha Binder Using a Structural Similarity: A Potential Drug Repurposing Approach to the Management of Alzheimer’s Disease. BioMed Research International, 2024, 9985719. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/9985719.
Sumabe, Balagra K., Synnøve B. Ræder, Lisa M. Røst, Animesh Sharma, Eric S. Donkor, Lydia Mosi, Samuel Duodu, Per Bruheim, and Marit Otterlei (2021). Nucleoside Analogues Are Potent Inducers Of Pol V-Mediated Mutagenesis. Biomolecules 11, No. 6: 843. Https://Doi.Org/10.3390/Biom11060843.
Aina Nedal, Synnøve B Ræder, Bjørn Dalhus, Emily Helgesen, Rune J Forstrøm, Kim Lindland, Balagra K Sumabe, Jacob H Martinsen, Birthe B Kragelund, Kirsten Skarstad, Magnar Bjørås, Marit Otterlei (2020). Peptides Containing The PCNA Interacting Motif Apim Bind To The ?-Clamp And Inhibit Bacterial Growth And Mutagenesis Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 48, Issue 10, pages 5540–5554, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa278.
Oseini Lateef Adebayo, Abugri James, Sumabe Balagra Kasim and Onilimor Peter Jagri (2014). Leaf extracts of Vernonia amygdalina del. from northern Ghana contain bioactive agents that inhibit the growth of some beta-lactamase producing bacteria in vitro. British journal of pharmaceutical research; 4(2): 192-202, 2014.