KOKO’s Best 20 Nigerian Women In Science 2022 

The science world has definitely grown with people having access to education and growth in interest.

19. Deborah Ajaikaye

18. Fatima Idris Auwal
Fatima Auwal is a young female scientist with a passion for improving drug therapy outcomes of patients through pharmacometrics and computational disease modelling. She has interests in assessing medication literacy of patients and making relevant changes where possible. Fatima has worked on the evaluation of the prevalence of diabetic complications in a tertiary institution in Nigeria and its drug management. She has also assessed the effects of the pharmaceutical intervention on the knowledge and attitude of diabetic patients attending a tertiary health facility for their care. Recently, she developed an interest in pharmacometrics and computational disease modeling and she was opportune to be selected and trained on the course by Pharmacometrics Africa. She has gained a lot from the training and she wishes to use the knowledge to develop a predictive model for disease progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes and to diabetic complications. Fatima is an upcoming scientist who is open to career development collaborations with other scientists who share common interests with her.
READ ALSO: KOKO’s Top 3 Most Promising Nigerian Women In Medicine 2022

17. Adenike Osofisan

16. Folasade Ogunsola

15. Fatima Batul Mukhtar
Fatima Batul Mukhtar was born in Kano state in May 23, 1963. She attained her basic and secondary school certificate in Shahuchi primary school kano and government Girls secondary school Dala respectively. She did some menial job to sustain herself after that, and prepared to Actualize her university dreams. She enrolled in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1980 and graduated in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in botany. She proceeded to Bayero University Kano, and completed her master’s degree in the same field. She entered into lecturing in late 1990’s before she went back into study, she finally bagged her doctorate degree in plant physiology in 2005. Her research interest are centered on “growth regulation, biostatistics, biotechnology and plant conservation

13. Olubola Babalola

12. Patricia Lar
Patricia Manko Lar is a Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Jos.Born to Late Honorable Henry J Burromvyat and Honorable Cecilia Jummai Burromvyat in Pil Gani, Langtang North LGA. She is the second child in a family of 9 children. Started her primary education at the Saint Theresa Girls Primary school in Jos, and later transferred to the Local School Board primary school, Riyom. She proceeded to the famous Gindiri Girls High School (GHS) in 1976 where she obtained the GCE in 1981. Patricia went on to obtain her A levels certificate in Chemistry, Physics and Biology at the School for Basic studies (SBS) in Zaria. In 1986, she obtained a B.Sc in Microbiology from ABU, Zaria, after which she served the one year National Youth Service (NYSC) in the former Gongola state (now Adamawa).Manko started work as a Graduate Assistant in 1987 at the University of Jos, Department of Medical Microbiology. One year later, she began the M.Sc. program in Medical Microbiology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and later obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Parasitology in the same institution. From 2003 to 2005, she studied in the United States at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland under the NIH-Fogarty AITRP program for leadership in AIDS. Manko Lar returned to the University of Jos and rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 2012 and was promoted as Professor of Medical Microbiology in October, 2015.To her credit, Lar has more than 34 publications in peer reviewed journals. She has supervised more than 100 undergraduate student projects and several Masters and PHD research projects. She has served at various times as an Assessor for promotion to professorship and External examiner to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Federal University, Abuja; Federal University, Lafia. Lar served as Director of Linkages for the University of Jos. She also served as a member of the University senate and Head of Microbiology department for 2 terms of 4 years. She is also currently the head of Microbiology, at the Plateau State University, Bokkos on sabbatical.She has served as resource person for the NUC accreditation exercise and also appointed a member of the Presidential Visitation Panel to a Inter University Language Center.
11. Rabia Sa’id
Dr. Rabia Salihu Sa’id is a great inspiration for the female scientists of the younger generation. Although she completed her Ph.D. in Physics in 2013, her contributions have speedily given her local and international recognitions as a foremost scientist. Dr. Sa’id was one of the winners of the Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World in 2015. She was featured in Nature (The International Weekly Journal of Science) and in the BBC Radio Program: Discovery Science. She was also listed on the BBC 100 inspirational women of 2015. Currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the Bayero University in Kano (BUK), she was appointed Deputy Dean (female) at the Student Affairs between 2012 and mid-2016. Dr. Sa’id obtained her P.hD in Physics from Bayero University, Kano. She holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Physics from the same university. She also holds an M.Sc. in Environment and Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom; a study she undertook with a fellowship from the Ford Foundation in 2002. Dr. Rabia Salihu Sa’id spent four months in 2010 at the Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland as a visiting research scientist, working with the renowned scientist in terrestrial and atmospheric remote sensing, Prof (Dr.) C. Matzler. She is a volunteer for several non-governmental organizations including the Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund. She mentors girls and boys in the STEM field for which she volunteers the Visiola Foundation and the Peace Corps Nigeria Alumni Foundation (PCNAF/ICEADA) Young Women Mentors Programme. Dr. Rabia Salihu Sa’id is a trained facilitator for the British Council Active Citizens’ Programme; run by the British Council with civil society organizations and universities all over the world to empower youths to engage peacefully and more efficiently with others for sustainable development of their communities.

10. Prof. Sylvia Uzochukwu
Sylvia Uzochukwu is a professor of Food Science and Technology at Federal University, Oye-Ekiti. She got her B.Sc in Biology and Ph.D Food and Science Technology at the prestigious University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). Currently lecturing at the Federal University Oye_Ekiti, Prof. Uzochukwu is dedicated to encouraging University faculty and scientists in sub-Saharan Africa in the use of the tools of modern biotechnology, so that they and their students can help tackle the problems of poverty, hunger and diseases plaguing the region, using this technology, in a safe and responsible manner. Her love for food science and technology has seen her lecturing at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, where she taught food biochemistry, food microbiology, food biotechnology, food microbiology, food fermentation technology, fats and oil technology, malting and brewing technology to undergraduate and post-graduate students and supervised research projects at both levels. Apart from her lecturing job she has developed winning proposal to source grants to set up a well-equipped and functional molecular biology laboratory. Organized 14 molecular biology workshops for training and re-training of university lecturers, scientists, and post graduate students in Nigeria and West African Sub-region between 2000 and 2009, and has also organised National conference of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, 2008.
9. Eucharia Oluchi Nwaichi
An environmental biochemist, soil scientist and toxicologist, Eucharia Oluchi Nwaichi, Ph.D , is one of Nigeria’s shining lights in the sciences, as far as research and awareness are concerned. The astute scientist whose work focuses on waste management, pollution prevention and phytoremediation – the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of local plants that mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it elsewhere, is an expert in elimination of toxic heavy metal such as cadmium, copper, mercury, lead and arsenic from contaminated soil. Nwaichi, a former employee of Shell Oil Company between 2009 and 2010, Dangote (2003-2004) and Coca Cola (2004-2008), before joined the University of Port Harcourt as a senior lecturer, before she worked her way up to bag a doctorate in biochemistry from the same university. Thanks to her doggedness and her unending desire to contribute to humanity and science through her research, Nwaichi was made an international fellow at the 2013 L’Oréal-UNESCO.

8. Folasade Olajuyigbe
In world dominated by men, one of Nigeria’s bright lights and a globally renown scientist, Folasade Olajuyigbe, Ph.D, who is also a senior lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), reached a new high when she was announced the winner of the 2017 Fulbright African Research Scholar Programme (ARSP), award for advanced research in the United States for the 2017/2018 academic session. Following her award, the FUTA don is now affiliated with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The Fulbright African Research Scholar Programme (ARSP) offers senior faculty members from top African universities the opportunity to conduct independent research at U.S. institutions. She was picked from a pool of 700-strong candidates who initially applied for the fellowship from Nigeria. Of these, 16 were shortlisted for the interview, from where five finalists were picked. Olajuyigbe, whose research into enzyme biotechnology and environmental health has won her recognition, will focus on this area during her stint in one of the most prestigious international exchange programmes in the world. Fulbright Scholars (Senior Research Program category) are highly motivated academics with strong academic background, professional achievements, high leadership potential, passion for increasing mutual understanding among nations and cultures and serious commitment to completing the programme and returning home. Fulbright Scholars serve as cultural ambassadors and are prepared to speak about their countries, cultures and research to academic and community groups. Olajuyigbe is all these and more and, what’s even more interesting is that she keep s going strong in the field, both home and abroad.

7. Stella Ifeanyi Smith
A consummate professional and dyed-in-the-wool microbiologist, Stella Ifeanyi Smith, Ph.D has made and is still making a name for herself across the globe as one woman who knows her onions and cuts it right. Smith, who holds a doctorate degree in Medical Microbiology from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, has marked herself out as an exemplary scientist and academic. She is not just a renowned researcher, she also inspires her students and guides them in their projects (whether doctorate, masters or undergraduate degree levels). By her action, she has raised a number of scientists who are willing t go the extra mile to contribute their knowledge and time to the development of what man knows today, especially, as concerns Nigeria. She has been the recipient of grants from the EEC, Alexander von Homboldt , INSERM, TWAS and, currently, the IFS and IECGB grants. Smith, who understands three languages (English, German and French) has written many books on the molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases, conducted researches (through global collaborations) on same and carried out a number of projects on these areas of interests. Nine of her books have won awards between 2002 and 2012. In 2001, Smith was listed among the ‘Who is Who in the World’. She is a member of the African Microbicide Advocacy Group (AMAG), Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), World Academy of Young Scientists (WAYS), List of Productive Scientists on the ISI Web of Science (2007), amongst others. Also, Smith is a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute (ASI, 2013).
6. Olanike Adeyemo
Olanike Kudirat Adeyemo born 17 July 1970, Ibadan Nigeria, is a Nigerian professor of veterinary public health and preventive medicine at the University of Ibadan. She is the current Deputy Vice Chancellor of research, innovation and strategic partnership, the first person to attain the role at the university. Olanike’s research focuses on aquatic and wildlife epidemiology and toxicology, food safety (including fish food safety), global public health, aquatic toxicology, and aquatic veterinary medicine. Adeyemo is the first female veterinarian to be inducted into the African Academy of Sciences and the Nigerian Academy of Science. In 2007, she was named a Fellow of the Eisenhower Fellowship Program and in 2002 she was named a Fellow of the Leadership for Environment and Development program in the UK.[6] In 2010, she was named a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute (California USA) and listed in ASI’s 2011 edition of “Black Achievers in Science and Technology.[8] In 2011, Adeyemo was appointed an epidemiological and toxicological expert on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee (JECFA). In 2012, she was named a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.[9] In 2016, she was named a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science. In 2019 she was named a Fellow of  The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries,[11] and Fellow at the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation.

5. Olaitan Soyannwo
Prof. Olaitan Soyannwo (MBBS, DA, FWACS, FICS, FWACS, FAS), is a Professor of Anaestheisa and Consultant anesthetist, pain and palliative care. She has served as the Head, Department of Anaesthesia and Dean of Clinical sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. She is cofounder, Society for the Study of pain, Nigeria, past council member, International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). She is also cofounder and programme director, Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria.  She is active in advocating effective pain management and opioid availability in developing countries.  She was vice chairman African Palliative Care Association (APCA) Board and member board of Trustees Hospice and Palliative Care Association, Nigeria (HPCAN), She is a Fellow and past councilmember, Nigerian Academy of Science.
4. Adeyinka Falusi
Adeyinka Falusi is a distinguished Professor of Haematology with specific interest in Sickle Cell Disorders. A former Director of the Institute for Advanced Medical Research & Training, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. She has published globally in the area of Genetics of Sickle Cell Disorders and its compounding factors of Malaria, Thalassaemias, and Fetal Haemoglobins. She is currently the Executive Director and President of Sickle Cell Hope Alive Foundation (SCHAF). Her pioneering work on SCD has earned her several awards Nationally and globally. These include: L’OREAL/UNESCO Outstanding Woman of Science (Africa 2001), Rare Gem in the category of Science and Technology (2003), National Productivity Order of Organization for Women in Science for Developing Worlds among others. She is versatile in promoting the possible reduction of the burden of Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria through the three aims of SCHAF which are awareness, education for prevention of SCD, care of SCD patients and research on cofounding factors of SCD for a better tomorrow. A Co-Founder of the Sickle Cell Association of Nigeria (SCAN), She is the Executive Director and founder of SCHAF. She can be described as a total package of an accomplished academic, a role model, mentor, wife, mother and grandmother. Her hobbies are gardening, music, capacity building and youth empowerment. She is happily married to Professor A. O. Falusi and they are blessed with children.
3. Janet Edeme
Janet Edeme is presently the Head, Rural Economy Division in the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has a B.Sc. in Botany from the University of Calabar in Nigeria, an M. Sc. In Agricultural Biology with specialization in Plant Pathology from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Ibadan She earned her PhD degree from the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with Texas A&M University, College Station, USA and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria. With a career spanning over 29 years, Dr. Edeme garnered experience as a Plant Pathologist, an Agricultural Development Specialist and a Policy Formulation and Development Analyst.  She has consulted for various international organizations including UNAIDS, UNESCO-IICBA(International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa) and FAO. As a consultant for the FAO, she was seconded to the AU-Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union to strengthen the capacity and facilitate the establishment of the Department. Within the African Union Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, she is the focal point following up on the status of implementation of initiatives and programmes adopted by the AU Heads of State and Government, such as The AU Declaration on Land through the Land Policy Initiative which is now the African Land Policy Centre, The Continental Agribusiness Strategy, Continental Strategy on Post-Harvest Management, Policy Framework on Pastoralism to name a few.  She also chairs a number of committees within the Commission and externally such as the Advisory Group of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) led by the Future Agricultures Consortium.
2. Taiwo Olayemi Elufioye
She is a Nigerian pharmacologist and researcher who works as a professor at the University of Ibadan in the department of pharmacognosy. Elufioye was born into an educated family where her mother was a teacher and her father was an administrator at a university. She was awarded a research grant by the MacArthur Foundation in order to conduct research on several Nigerian medicinal plants in order to test for compounds that may be used to counteract neurodegenerative diseases. In 2014, Elufioye was one of five women who won the Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. This bundle of talent won the award for her work on the pharmacological properties of Nigerian plants. Her research is especially focused on compounds that could be used to treat malaria, wounds, memory loss, leprosy and cancer. The Elsevier Foundation Awards include a prize of $5,000 and an all-expense paid trip to Chicago to receive the award.
1. Mojisola Adeyeye
Professor Adeyeye is the Director General (DG) of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) where she is leading regulatory and administrative reforms through quality management approach. She has added strong governance structure and regulatory strengthening to NAFDAC through disciplined and motivating workforce, updating of regulations and guidelines, strengthening the local pharmaceutical companies through international best practices and encouraging local production. She has brought NAFDAC from insolvency to solvency and refocused the Agency to be Standard Operating Procedure-driven organization that has embraced international standards and best practices. She changed the culture of NAFDAC to Customer-focused and Agency-minded establishment in order to safeguard the health of the nation.  She inaugurated Nigerian Herbal Medicine Product Committee (HMPC) as a means of fostering research involving herbal practitioners and academic researchers while the intellectual property is protected. The ultimate goal is to turn complementary alternative medicines into a research-driven, regulation controlled commercially viable commodities.She currently serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee of the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) and the WHO-based Global Pediatric Regulatory Network. She represents NAFDAC on the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) and has been invited to be on the WHO Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicine for COVID-19.   She is a Fellow of Nigeria Academy of Science, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, an Academic Research Fellow of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). She is the First African Woman Fellow, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) a society where only 3% of academia receives such recognition internationally.She is Professor Emeritus of Pharmaceutics and Drug Product Evaluation at the College of Pharmacy, Roosevelt University in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA.  Professor Adeyeye was the founding Chair of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the same University in Illinois. She was Professor of Pharmaceutics and Manufacturing for twenty-one (21) years at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.   She is a Senior Fulbright Scholar and Specialist. She earned her B.S from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria and MS and PhD from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Her research interests include quality-by-design (QbD) early phase development and manufacturing of solid, semisolid and liquid dosage forms, including Investigation New Drug Application (IND)-based late phase manufacturing.  She is an expert in research and drug development (R&D), bench-to-bedside translational research and regulatory science. She has mentored over 15 PhD and M.S candidates. She has 5 patents, 65 peer reviewed manuscripts, book chapters and books, and more than 140 scientific presentations.  Trending video of the day;

Photo Credit: Getty