Mary-Brenda Akoda has won the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation for developing GenScan AI, an artificial intelligence-powered medical imaging technology designed to reduce MRI scan times while maintaining or improving image quality.
Akoda, the first woman and first millennial to win the prize, was announced as the winner on Wednesday in Lagos following an evaluation by an independent panel of judges and endorsement by the NPSI Advisory Board. She will receive the $100,000 prize at the Grand Award Night on October 9, 2026.
GenScan AI was selected from a record 237 entries, the highest number submitted since the prize began. Its C-MORE algorithm uses a one-step consistency-model framework to reconstruct MRI images and could reduce scan times by up to 90 per cent without requiring new scanner hardware.
The judges said the innovation recorded the strongest combination of scientific originality, technical soundness, developmental impact and commercial scalability among the three shortlisted entries. They said it could improve scanner utilisation, reduce patient waiting times and expand access to MRI services, particularly in healthcare systems with limited resources.
Nigeria LNG Limited General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr Sophia Horsfall, said the emergence of a winner after the prize recorded a no-winner verdict in 2025 demonstrated that its standards remained uncompromising. She said the 2026 competition was held under the theme, “Innovations in Artificial Intelligence, ICT and Digital Technologies for Development.”
The chairman of the NPSI Advisory Board, Prof. Barth Nnaji, said the unanimous decision recognised both the quality of GenScan AI and its potential to address critical healthcare challenges. He said the judging process considered practical relevance, measurable impact and prospects for real-world application alongside scientific novelty.
The award marks the 12th occasion a winning work has been recognised in the prize’s 22-year history, now under the name The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation. 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, where she was a Google DeepMind Scholar. She previously worked as a software engineer and AI research scientist at Microsoft.
