NAS visit Counterpart in Republic of Benin
On Thursday and Friday, 28th and 29th of April, 2022; a delegation from the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) led by the President, Professor Ekanem Braide FAS, paid a visit to Academie Nationale Des Sciences, Arts Et Lettres Du Benin (ANSALB). The aim of this visit was to strengthen partnership and collaboration between the academies in West Africa.
The President of ANSALB, Academicien Nazaire Padonou, welcomed the NAS delegation and expressed appreciation for the warm reception accorded the ANSALB delegation during their visit to Nigeria.NAS Induction and Public Lecture
At the Academy’s Annual General Meeting held in Abuja in January, 2022, 11 distinguished scientists were elected into the Fellowship of the Academy (one as a Foreign Fellow). However, only ten (one was unavoidably absent) were inducted as Fellows at the ceremony held on the 12th of May 2022.
The induction ceremony was preceded by a public lecture on “The Nexus of Science and Evidence-based Decision Making towards a Responsive and Strong Nigerian Health” delivered by Professor Obinna Onwujekwe FAS. (Professor of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmacoepidemiology).
The newly inducted Fellows are:
Professor Folahan Amoo Adekola FAS obtained a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) and Master of Science degrees in Chemistry in 1984 and 1987 respectively from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife). Some of his areas of research interests include Analytical and Environmental Chemistry with emphasis on Water and waste water treatments.
Professor Anthony Amaechi Attama FAS is a Professor of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka since 2009, where he currently holds the position of the Director, Institute for Drug, Herbal Medicine and Excipient Research and Development. He is the immediate past Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and former Director, Education Innovation Unit of the university.
Professor Olubukola Oluranti Babalola FAS is a Professor of Microbial Biotechnology. Prof. Babalola, has been the Director of Food Security and Safety at North-West University, South Africa, since June 2015. She is the Vice President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) (Africa Region) and the Head & Principal Investigator of a Microbial Biotechnology Research Group.
Professor Simeon Idowu Cadmus FAS is a Professor of Veterinary Sciences. He is a specialist in Veterinary Public Health, whose epidemiological studies on tuberculosis address the human-animal-ecosystem interface in Africa. He is the current Chairman of the Zoonotic Tuberculosis sub-section of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the largest lung health/tuberculosis network globally.
Professor Abdulrazaq Garba Habib FAS is an infectious and tropical diseases physician, public health implementer, epidemiologist, educator and a professor since 2009. He is an advisor to the Royal College of Physicians London (UK), and member Board of Directors of the Brisbane-based Global Snake-bite Initiative.
Professor Ganiyu Oboh FAS had his university education at Federal University of Technology, Akure, obtaining a PhD in Applied Biochemistry in 2002. He joined the service of the same university as a Graduate Assistant in 1997 and became a Professor in 2012. Oboh’s research interest is mainly about exploitation of tropical functional foods and nutraceuticals in ameliorating neurodegenerative diseases and he has distinguished himself by unravelling the biochemical/molecular mechanisms of their neuroprotective properties.
Professor Anthony Okoh FAS holds BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Microbiology and 11 other diplomas and certificates in several specializations in molecular biology and biotechnology from reputable institutions on the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and USA. He is currently Director, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre (a national facility) at University of Fort Hare (UFH), South Africa.
Professor Bamidele Olu-Owolabi FAS is a Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry with expertise on the development of low cost sustainable alternative materials for remediation of contaminated/polluted water and soil. She won the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Regional Award of 2016 and is a regular peer reviewer for several Journals including Desalination, Geoderma, and Chemical Engineering.
Professor Stella Smith FAS holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos with special interest in Molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of infectious agents such as Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli 0157:H7. These four organisms form the core of her research work. She is a reviewer for the African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES) and is a member of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Technical Working Group.
Professor Christian Happi FAS (Foreign Fellow) is a Professor of Molecular Biology & Genomics, and Director of the World Bank funded African Center of Excellence for Genomics of infectious Diseases (ACEGID) at the Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria. He holds a PhD from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (2000). Professor Happi is currently a visiting Professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IID), Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University.