UWINTERNATIONAL - Wisconsin Alumni Association

Student Perspectives
Focus on an International
PhD Candidate
Joe Brewoo’s research takes him to the cellular level of
living organisms, where he can see how diseases spread
and how our bodies react to them.
Imagine coming to a different country
for the first time and enrolling in
an unfamiliar university system. In
September 1997, Joe Brewoo MS’00
came to the United States for the first
time to pursue studies at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. He came from
his native Ghana where he received
his first degree at the University of
Science and Technology in the ancient
city of Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti
Kingdom. He went to Accra, Ghana’s
capital and largest city, to begin his
quest into scientific research at the
Animal Research Institute. Knowing
he wanted to pursue his education,
he started researching universities.
Wisconsin was not his first choice.
Indeed, a school in the Midwestern
United States is not a highly known
commodity in Ghana. As he furthered
his investigation, he happened to run
across the fact that UW-Madison was
very strong in animal health and the
biomedical sciences. While requesting
the necessary documentation for his
upcoming adventure, he discovered
that the Animal Research Institute’s
director and his boss, Walter Alhassan
MS’69, was an alumnus of UW-
Madison. The die was cast.
Upon his arrival in Madison, Brewoo
found things to be on the quiet side.
“All the better to study,” he says.
However, signing up for credit classes
was a new concept to him. The educational
system he was used to emphasized
research at the graduate level, not
classwork for credit. He persisted and
in 2000 received his master’s degree in
veterinary science.
Brewoo began to develop his interest
in science at an early age in Ghana.
While he could have studied to become
a medical doctor, he chose research
instead. “I want to find out how the
diseases start in the first place and then
make recommendations to the doctor
on what to use,” says Brewoo. In
May 2006, he will receive his PhD in
viral immunology. Research is his passion,
and he will most likely pursue
some postdoctoral work. As he says,
“Whatever you try to solve, it keeps
coming back!”
Has he been happy with his decision
“Yes,” he says, “UW-Madison is a top
notch school.” Winters are cold, but
Brewoo and his wife Lucy, along with
their five children, have lived their
life fully and happily these past
several years.
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