Nigerian Scientist Wins $100,000 NLNG Prize for AI-powered MRI Tech

Nigerian scientist Mary Brenda Akoda has emerged winner of the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation (NPSI), earning the $100,000 award for GenScan AI, an artificial intelligence tool that cuts down the time required for MRI scans.

The winner was announced at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, following review by a panel of judges chaired by former Minister of Communications, Dr Omobola Johnson. Akoda’s entry beat out 237 submissions, the highest number the prize has received since it began. She is also the first millennial and the first woman to win the prize as an individual.

The Nigeria LNG-backed prize recorded no winner in 2025. NLNG’s general manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr Sophia Horsfall, said this year’s award confirms the competition’s standards remain uncompromising, noting entries only win after a thorough and credible evaluation.

NPSI Advisory board chairman, Professor Barth Nnaji, said the judges’ decision was unanimous, citing GenScan AI’s combination of technical innovation and practical healthcare relevance.

GenScan AI — also called GenMRI/C-MORE — uses a one-step consistency model to reconstruct MRI images faster without requiring new hardware, with the potential to cut scan times by up to 90 percent. Judges said the technology could improve scanner efficiency, cut patient wait times, and widen access to MRI services in resource-constrained health systems like Nigeria’s.

Akoda holds a First-Class degree in Computer Science from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Master of Research with Distinction in AI and Machine Learning from Imperial College London, where she was a Google DeepMind Scholar. She has worked as a software engineer and AI research scientist at Microsoft, including at its Mixed Reality and AI Research Lab in Cambridge.

She will receive her prize at the Grand Award Night on October 9, 2026.