Mary-Brenda Akoda wins Nigeria science prize for MRI AI

Mary-Brenda Akoda has won The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation for her work at GenScan AI. The award carries a USD $100,000 prize.

Akoda, founder of the London-based medical technology startup, was recognised for GenMRI, software designed to cut Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan times by up to 90% without requiring new hardware. It can reduce a 20-minute scan to as little as two minutes, according to the company.

The win marks a first for the competition. Akoda, 28, is the first woman and the youngest individual recipient in the prize's 22-year history.

No winner was declared last year after 112 entries failed to meet the judges' required standard. This year, the competition kept its focus on artificial intelligence, information and communications technology, and digital technologies, drawing a record 237 entries from around the world.

The judging panel unanimously recommended GenScan AI's entry, according to the organisers, and the advisory board endorsed the decision. Judges said it offered the strongest combination of scientific innovation, technical soundness, development impact and commercial scale among the three shortlisted entries.

Clinical focus

GenScan AI was founded after Akoda witnessed the effects of delayed diagnosis on patients with conditions including stroke and cancer. The software grew out of her postgraduate research in artificial intelligence at Imperial College London.

According to the company, GenMRI has been retrospectively validated on more than 8,000 MRI images and achieved up to 99.7% similarity to conventional MRI scans. It also cited an early blinded assessment by a consultant radiologist at Buckinghamshire NHS Hospital, in which GenMRI images were judged diagnostically equivalent to conventional images in all assessed cases.

That is significant in health systems where scanner time is limited and waiting lists are long. Judges noted that the software's potential to improve scanner use, cut patient waiting times and widen access to MRI services made it relevant in resource-constrained settings including Nigeria.

Akoda studied computer science at Goldsmiths, University of London, and later completed a Master of Research with Distinction in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Imperial College London. She was also the first and only Google DeepMind Scholar in the programme's history, and previously worked as a software engineer and AI research scientist at Microsoft.

Since incorporation earlier this year, GenScan AI has also been recognised by Innovate UK's Women in Innovation initiative, the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme and the Entrepreneurs' Award in Social Innovation.

Founder response

Akoda said the award had personal and professional significance.

"GenScan was founded on a simple belief that no one should suffer or die because of a delayed diagnosis. I've been fortunate to receive international awards and recognition, but there is something incredibly special about being recognised by your home country.

"It's a tremendous validation of the mission we are building towards: making medical imaging and diagnostic workflows faster, safer, and more accessible, starting with MRI.

"The prize money will contribute to our next steps towards clinical pilots and regulatory approval. We are also seeking additional funding partners as we work towards our first commercial deployments in the second half of 2027.

"Ultimately, success for us means helping millions of patients, and eventually billions, receive life-saving diagnoses sooner. It means enabling healthcare providers to dramatically increase their imaging capacity using existing scanners, and potentially save millions of pounds that would otherwise be spent on additional scanners," Akoda said.

Professor Barth Nnaji, chairman of the NPSI Advisory Board, said the unanimous decision reflected both the quality of the work and its relevance to healthcare challenges.

The result also stands out because the prize has often been seen as dominated by senior academics. Akoda's selection breaks with that pattern, making a startup founder in her twenties the latest recipient of one of Africa's most prominent science awards.

For GenScan AI, the recognition brings added visibility at an early stage of development. For the wider medical imaging sector, it highlights growing investor and policy interest in software that can increase throughput on existing scanners rather than rely on costly new infrastructure.

GenScan AI said its system is intended to fit into existing clinical workflows, allowing providers to scan more patients each day, shorten waiting lists and reduce repeat scans. The company said faster scans could also lessen the need for sedation in some cases and improve patient access to diagnosis.