Mary-Brenda Akoda has won the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, securing the $100,000 award for an artificial intelligence-powered technology designed to make Magnetic Resonance Imaging faster and potentially more accessible.
Akoda emerged winner with GenScan AI, also known as GenMRI/C-MORE, after her entry was selected from a record 237 submissions. The technology uses artificial intelligence to reconstruct MRI images and could reduce scanning time by as much as 90 per cent without requiring hospitals to purchase new MRI hardware.
Her victory also marks a milestone for the competition. Akoda becomes the first millennial and the first woman to win the prize as an individual recipient.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the winner was announced in Lagos on Tuesday, September 8, following an independent assessment by the competition’s Panel of Judges and approval by its Advisory Board.
The judges considered GenScan AI the strongest of the three shortlisted innovations based on scientific originality, technical quality, potential developmental impact and prospects for commercial deployment.
Beyond the technical achievement, the innovation could have practical consequences for patients and healthcare providers. Shorter scanning times could allow hospitals to serve more patients with existing MRI machines, reduce waiting periods and improve access to medical imaging, particularly in healthcare systems where equipment and resources are limited.
The recognition follows a year in which no entry was declared winner in 2025, with organisers maintaining that submissions must meet the required standard before the prize is awarded.
Akoda is a First-Class Computer Science graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London, and holds a Master of Research with Distinction in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning from Imperial College London. She was also a Google DeepMind Scholar and has worked at Microsoft as a software engineer and artificial intelligence research scientist.
The $100,000 award will be presented to Akoda at the Grand Award Night scheduled for October 9, 2026.
The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, sponsored by NLNG, has now produced a winning entry 12 times in its 22-year history and continues to recognise scientific solutions with the potential to address practical development challenges.
