The elevation of Prof. Isaac Okyere and Prof. (Mrs.) Perditer Okyere to the rank of Associate Professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, reflects a shared vocation and sustained contribution to medical education, research and clinical care.

For the Okyeres, medicine is not merely a profession but a calling lived daily in lecture halls, hospital wards and community service.

Prof. Isaac Okyere is at the Department of Surgery at the School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, KNUST.

He is a Council Member of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), Vice Chair of its Ghana Chapter, and a Fellow of both WACS (FWACS) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (FGCS).

Trained in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery in South Africa, India and the United Kingdom, he returned to Ghana in 2015 with a focus on building local capacity in specialist surgical care.

That year, he established the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), where he serves as its foundation head and consultant surgeon.

His work has contributed to expanding access to advanced cardiac surgery in Ghana’s middle belt, including the performance of the first open-heart surgery in Kumasi outside the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Accra.

Through collaborative clinical and research partnerships with leading international experts from institutions in the United States, Europe and Asia, his unit has delivered paediatric and adult heart surgeries while introducing new operative techniques and strengthening peri-operative outcomes.

Beyond clinical milestones, Prof. Okyere’s impact is evident in postgraduate surgical training.

He mentors residents, supports curriculum development and serves as an examiner for the Ghana College of Surgeons, as well as an external examiner for the University of Cape Coast, contributing to the development of the next generation of surgeons.

Alongside him, Prof. (Mrs.) Perditer Okyere is at the Department of Medicine at the School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

She obtained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from KNUST and earned a Fellowship in Internal Medicine (Nephrology) from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2015.

She is the first Fellow by examination of the Ghana College of Physicians in Internal Medicine.

She served as a Board Member of the Faculty of Internal Medicine from 2018 to 2023 and currently holds the position of Nephrology Subspecialty Lead of the Ghana College of Physicians, a role she has occupied since 2021.

Prof. (Mrs.) Okyere has a strong record in medical education and training. She has, for several years, taught fourth- and final-year medical students in Internal Medicine, with a particular focus on nephrology.

Since 2016, she has been actively involved in examining, invigilating and coordinating clinical teaching, while mentoring and supervising junior doctors throughout their medical school and housemanship years.

An active researcher, she has been affiliated with the Human Health and Hereditary (H3) Africa Kidney Disease Network since its establishment in Ghana in 2012.

Her research interests include acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, polycystic kidney disease, haemodialysis and vascular access. She is a member of the Ghana Kidney Association, the African Association of Nephrology and the International Society of Nephrology.

Clinically, she has practised at the KNUST Hospital, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

She currently serves as a Consultant Adult Nephrologist and Head of the Nephrology Unit at KATH, where her leadership has strengthened renal services and specialist training.

Beyond her academic and clinical roles, she is a Deaconess and serves on several leadership bodies within the Church of Pentecost, including the National Chaplaincy Board, the District Women’s Ministry (PIWC–Asokwa) and the Children’s Ministry at the area level.

What distinguishes the Okyeres’ journey is not only their excellence in two demanding specialties: surgery and medicine but the fact that they have pursued these paths together, as allies in purpose.