Marian Ewurama Addy (7 February 1942 – 14 January 2014) born Marian Ewurama Cole was a Ghanaian biochemist and the first Ghanaian woman to attain the rank of full professor of natural science. She was also a role model for school girls, aspiring and younger female scientists on the limitless opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Marian Ewurama Addy was born 7 February 1942 at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region of Ghana, to Samuel Joseph Cole and Angelina Kwofie Cole. She was educated at St Monica’s Secondary School in Mampong-Ashanti and the Holy Child Girls’ School in Cape Coast where she obtained her ‘O’ and ‘A’ level certificates.
Marian Addy continued her education at the University of Ghana, where she studied and obtained a degree in Botany, and at the Pennsylvania State University for her masters and doctorate degrees in biochemistry.
Her experiences in academia were mainly in teaching biochemistry, both basic and applied to undergraduate, post-graduate, dental and medical students at the University of Ghana and at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington DC. Her main area of research is the science of herbal preparations used by traditional medical practitioners, especially their safety, efficacy and how they work.
Marian Addy’s interest and extension activities were in bridging the gap between scientific and indigenous knowledge and in the popularization of science. She was often called upon as a resource person and role model for programmes in female science education.
She was the first Quiz Mistress of the popular Ghanaian televised National Science and Mathematics Quiz programme which promoted science and math to the public and showed its importance in daily life. The National Science and Mathematics Quiz programme influence in the general science knowledge of the youth of Ghana led to more females showing interest and pursued STEM related fields of study.
Marian Addy was awarded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1999. In same year, she was elected as a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2008 she was appointed President of the Anglican University College of Technology, a newly launched private initiative for higher technical education in Ghana.
Marian Ewurama Addy died in Accra on 14 January 2014 of natural causes.
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