Headshot of Mahmoud Maina.

Mahmoud Bukar Maina

Junior group leader
Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre, Yobe State University and the University of Sussex

Mahmoud Bukar Maina holds dual roles as junior group leader at the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at Yobe State University in Nigeria and in the neuroscience department at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. His team’s research focuses on generating induced pluripotent stem cells from Indigenous African people for open-access biobanking and investigating the molecular mechanisms of tauopathies in the context of African genetic backgrounds.

In his previous work, Maina identified a critical function of tau in the nucleolus, which sparked his ongoing research on the potential role of ancestry-driven rDNA variations in nucleolar dysfunction in tauopathies. With more than a decade of experience in initiatives to strengthen African science, he sits on multiple local and international committees and serves as a science adviser for the Yobe State Government, where he advises various institutions and funders both within and beyond Africa. He has received several recognitions, including the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize for the promotion of basic neuroscience and the Royal Society’s Global Talent visa.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior

Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.

By Claudia López Lloreda
27 June 2025 | 9 min listen

Authors correct image errors in Neuron paper that challenged microglia-to-neuron conversion

The issue with the supplementary figures likely does not change the conclusions of the paper, according to an outside expert.

By Shaena Montanari
26 June 2025 | 3 min read

Building a climate neuroscience subfield: Q&A with Angie Michaiel

Michaiel, a program officer at the Kavli Foundation, shares what it took to cultivate research on the relationship between climate change and the nervous system.

By Calli McMurray
26 June 2025 | 5 min read