Heloise Emdon
Program Manager
Heloise Emdon leads Acacia, an IDRC program that works with African partners to apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to Africa’s social and economic development.
Before joining IDRC, Emdon was a communications sector analyst for the Development Bank of Southern Africa, where she worked on telecom, broadcast, and other ICT-related projects. Emdon also worked as a social impact specialist in post-apartheid South Africa. During the crucial first decade of the country’s Reconstruction and Development Programme, this involved analysis of social participation of beneficiary communities in the planning and implementation of public infrastructure in water, energy, transportation, communications, and agriculture She also worked for 10 years as a journalist. She started her career in the scientific co-operation program at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa.
Emdon holds a master’s degree in development studies from University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Alioune Camara
Senior Program Specialist
Alioune Camara has over 15 years of experience designing and setting up information systems and networks in the Sahelian countries of West and Central Africa.
Based in IDRC’s Dakar office, Camara oversees research in the region on ICTs for economic and social development – projects such as integrating ICTs into African schools, and studying ICTs in the informal sector of the economy and society. He is also currently overseeing a project on the governance of university research in West and Central Africa, examining how universities can better manage and administer research in order to improve its quality and make it relevant to national development priorities and societal needs. Before joining IDRC, Camara lectured at the University of Dakar in information sciences and coordinated the Sahelian Documentation and Information Network, a source of development information from across the Sahel region.
Camara’s education background is in international public law and information sciences.
Ellie Osir
Senior Program Specialist
Ellie Osir manages IDRC’s research projects on science, technology, and innovation (STI) in Southeast Asia. He works closely with universities, research organizations, governments, and NGOs to examine how science and technology can be harnessed for the region's sustainable development.
A molecular biologist and biochemist by training, his research interests centre on issues around STI such as biotechnology/ bio-innovation, and policies and innovations for the poor such as innovations in the services sector. Before joining IDRC, Osir spent 16 years at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya, where he researched pests and diseases affecting plant, animal, and human health. His work has led to over 60 publications, a patent, and an international award from the Institute for Genomic Research in 2003. He also established BioNET-Africa, a pan-African bioscience and biotechnology network.
Osir holds a PhD in biosciences from the University of Arizona (US).
Veena Ravichandran
Senior Program Officer
Veena Ravichandran’s expertise is the development of policies on science, technology, and innovation to alleviate poverty in developing countries. Her work mainly focuses on innovations that help social development (clean water, vaccines, essential drugs, access to information, etc.) and on finding alternative pathways for innovation in developing countries.
Before joining IDRC, Ravichandran worked for the International Council for Science, where she promoted science and technology for development in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. She has also been a consultant to the European Commission, Leadership for Environment and Development International, and UNESCO. In 2003, she was awarded a citation from the Andhra Pradesh state government in India for her contributions to science and technology for sustainable development.
Ravichandran holds a PhD in biophysics from the University of Madras (India) and a Diploma in Technology Management from the United States International University.
Fernando Santiago-RodriguezSenior Program Officer
Fernando Santiago-Rodriguez is an expert in science and technology policy, especially the role of technology in growth and development. At IDRC, he is responsible for ITS projects in Northern, Eastern and Southern Africa and the Middle East.
Before joining IDRC in 2010, Santiago-Rodriguez was a researcher and consultant at the United Nations University – MERIT. He has published on subjects including the Mexican government’s policies on science and technology, managing human resources for R&D, and the challenges of conducting clinical trials in Mexico. He also has considerable experience within the Mexican government, including at the National Council for Science and Technology.
Santiago-Rodriguez is completing a PhD in economics and policy studies of technical change at UNU-MERIT/University of Maastricht (Netherlands). He holds an MSc in science and technology policy from the University of Sussex (UK).
Senior Program Officer
Bortagaray is an expert on science, technology, and innovation policy in developing countries. She has particular expertise on the role of institutions in building technological capabilities, especially in biotechnology for agriculture.
Before joining IDRC in 2010, Bortagaray spent some time at the Higher Council of Scientific Research in Spain, studying the research environment in institutions in that country. She also worked at the University of the Republic in Uruguay, where she promoted a research program on links between the university and society. She was also a research associate at the Technology Policy and Assessment Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. In 2004 she was awarded a dissertation grant from the National Science Foundation, and in 2000 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for her PhD studies.
Bortagaray holds a PhD in science and technology policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy.
Helen Raij
Program Management Officer
Helen Raij is a Program Manager Officer with the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office and spends 50% of her time with the Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) program. She has extensive experience in technical and management support to projects in agriculture and environment, including monitoring and evaluation activities.
Helen Raij holds a MSc in Food Engineering and Biotechnology from the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and studied agronomy at the Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay.
Jose-Manuel Gil
Program Management Officer
<Insert Bio Here>
<-------------------------------------->