Karen Lee: Welcome to Intellectual Property Matters. In this WIPO podcast, we explore the fascinating world of creativity, innovation and intellectual property. Let's listen, learn and get inspired.
Natalie Humsi: Hello, everyone. Welcome to today's episode of Classroom Conversations, a WIPO Academy Series, and I'm joined today by Priscilla Kolibea Mante. She is an award-winning neuroscientist and a senior lecturer in pharmacology at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in her home country of Ghana. Priscilla is dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy, and she was awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO Regional Fellowship for Ghana in 2018, and then she was selected as one of L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Programme’s International Rising Talents for Africa and the Arab States in 2019. As part of that award, she participated in a WIPO Academy training course on intellectual property, or IP for short, for women scientists.
Ever since she's been an avid advocate for IP in the sciences. So, that's what we'll chat about today. We'll talk about why IP is key for a career in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Thank you so much for joining us today, Priscilla. So I was wondering if you can briefly tell us about your science journey and how you got to where you are today on the cusp of epilepsy treatment research in West Africa.
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: Thank you, Natalie. I'm excited to join you on this episode. So as you have introduced, I am a neuroscientist and I work on treatments for epilepsy. So I’d say that my journey to science probably started when I got into the university. Just like every smart kid, I was hoping to go into the university to study medicine, but for a few reasons, I missed medical school and then ended up in a pharmacy program. But after ending up in the pharmacy program, I discovered that after a year, that actually this was the right place for me. And this was a place where I could realize all my strengths, so I went through that program.
I came back to the university as a teaching assistant for one year, which was where I met my very first mentor, Professor Eric Woode, who introduced me to neuroscience. So, he taught me all the skills that I know currently, and I developed the interest and then the niche for epilepsy research, just because as a pharmacist, I frequently came across people who are living with epilepsy, who currently have no cure for their condition. And I just felt that with the skills that I had, that I was in a very good position to be able to offer some help to these people. So, I decided to focus on finding treatments for epilepsy. And here I am.
Natalie Humsi: That's very inspiring. From everything that you've experienced academically and professionally, when would you say was your first experience or interaction with intellectual property? And as a scientist, a neuroscience researcher, how do you use IP in your daily life at work?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: Well, I would say the very first time I probably heard about IP was when I was in pharmacy school. And you know that as part of the training of pharmacists, we are required to know a lot of laws and policies. So we were first introduced to the TRIPS Agreement and then we were also introduced to concepts like patents and then compulsory licensing, because these are usually concepts that tend to come up when you are, for instance, trying to register drugs or during drug trade issues.
But currently as a scientist or a lecturer who is interested in drug development, I often have to think around issues that go towards patents just in case we come up with some inventions or some ideas which we want to protect. And I also often have to think around copyright because, as you know, as a scientist, our primary means of putting out the knowledge we generate is through publications.
Natalie Humsi: That makes sense. Are there areas of intellectual property that you feel are more relevant or interesting to you personally and also professionally?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: Yes, I would say because of my background and because of my interests: number one is patents. I'm interested in drug development, developing also medical devices. So knowing about patents is very important to me because then I can understand when I need to file for exclusive rights of my inventions. And it's also critical for me to be able to fully exploit the commercial value of these inventions.
Then I also say copyright. The major means of disseminating our research work is through publications, and usually we have to deal with publishing houses. And so it is very important that we understand what copyright laws are so that we can try and retain as much of our rights to our work as possible.
For me because of my interest in drug development, I'm also very interested in traditional knowledge. A lot of the molecules that I try to adopt for epilepsy treatment are actually coming from natural sources. And to be able to get to these natural sources, a lot of the knowledge is coming from the local communities in Ghana. So it is very important for me to ensure that the knowledge that these local communities entrust to us is not misappropriated. And we do our best to acknowledge the roles and contributions of these communities.
So for me, it’s the three: the patents, copyright, and then the traditional knowledge.
Natalie Humsi: From your experiences, at what stages should a scientist know about IP or become more aware of some IP elements that could arise in their research?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: I believe every scientist should know about IP at the very beginning of their careers, and it's important to have the knowledge because it's helpful in helping you identify inventions that qualify for IP protection. And then that would also help you to properly plan towards how you are going to adequately commercialize these inventions so that you would be able to reap the full benefits. As we know, IP rights allow scientists and then their universities or organizations to earn the proper recognition and also the proper financial benefits from these inventions. And once people benefit and get the recognition from these inventions, this is very important to stimulate innovation.
Natalie Humsi: From your experiences, are there any challenges that scientists frequently face when it comes to the IP side of their work, and the research, and commercialization of drug development, for example.
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: I’d like to speak from the perspective of an African researcher that is based on the continent. Generally, there are very low levels patent protection, if you compare us to more advanced countries. For instance, we have weaker science and technology capacity. A lot of us have inadequate intellectual property awareness, and there’s also the issue of money. So, there's a high cost of processing of patent applications – we simply don't have the funds.
Natalie Humsi: For scientists who are working in the field right now, maybe in an academic institution or research center. What are the tools or resources that they could have at hand that they could rely on and use to protect their IP?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: I am assuming that most of the institutions that these scientists work in probably have offices or departments that are responsible for IP protection issues or knowledge transfer issues. I think it is very important that scientists, when it comes to the protection of their ideas that they get professional help. When you look at the process for obtaining IP protection, it's usually explained to you in a very simple way. But then, the truth is that there are a lot of hidden details which professionals can easily help you with. So I think their very first tool in their belt will be the knowledge transfer offices, because I believe that there'll be some professionals over there that can help you to navigate this issue.
That being said, I think it's also very important for scientists to know their intellectual property rights for themselves. It helps to have the knowledge for yourself because at the end of the day it saves you a lot of time when you are trying to protect some invention that you may have come up with.
Natalie Humsi: In your current environment at university. Do you feel like there is sufficient IP knowledge amongst those in STEM fields, or is there anything that you're doing to help spread the word on IP or any advice that you can give to scientists who might just be starting out on their IP journeys?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: I believe that the scientists in my environment have general knowledge about IP rights. I know for a fact that they know that there's the opportunity to protect an invention when you come up with it. But I cannot guarantee that, for instance, if you ask somebody to tell you the first step or the exact steps that they need to follow to protect an invention that they would be able to elaborate or explain that to you.
So one of the things I do as part of training, especially for up-and-coming researchers that are under my supervision, is I try to teach them some of the very basics of IP protection rights. So at least I may expect that after a year of working with me, you should understand basic concepts like copyright and patents. And so that as we work together, if it happens that we get to the point where we need to protect our invention that you are on board with me in terms of the way to proceed from that point.
Natalie Humsi: It's also worth mentioning here that the WIPO Academy has free courses and other resources available online for those who wish to enhance their IP knowledge. We also have content for scientists and for those working in medical fields as well, such as the Executive Course on IP and Access to Medical Technologies and Innovations (DL-701). There is a plethora of resources out there, but definitely I think it's so good that you're helping the scientists under your supervision to expand their IP knowledge and to make sure that they're aware of their rights so that they can protect them and exploit them for their good and the good of those in their community. Do you have any other pieces of advice for scientists going into similar fields as you or other STEM fields that you could give them? Anything that you would like to impart?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: In addition to what I mentioned above, always getting professional help, and then also understanding IP protection rights for themselves. I would also like to state that people should always remember that even though there seems to be a lot of challenges such as funding in trying to protect IP, there are also some options that you can use to navigate the issue of funding. So, you could easily work together with other people, other collaborators, to be able to share the rights and in the same way also cut the cost.
Natalie Humsi: What's next for you in your journey? As a scientist, as a potential user of the IP system by filing a patent? What are your plans next?
Priscilla Kolibea Mante: One of the key milestones I am looking to be able to chalk within this time is that I will be able to have set up a neuroscience research center of excellence that does groundbreaking research in drug development of medicines, as well as medical devices for people that live with conditions like epilepsy, and depression, and anxiety. And I'm hoping that this center of excellence is one that can serve the entire sub-region of West Africa, and that a lot of our research is going to lead to an increase in inventions as well as IP protections that are filed for from this part of the world.
Natalie Humsi: That's amazing and very inspirational.
Well, thank you so much Priscilla, for taking time to share all these useful tips that will help any scientist that's listening in. This brings us to the end of our Classroom Conversation for today. I would like to thank our curious listeners for tuning in and will catch you all next time on Classroom Conversations.