Dr. Chibueze Ihekwereme
Associate Professor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
"Development driven by science is better when end users get involved in the process. This underscores the importance of communicating science with the uninitiated public"
Dr. Chibueze Ihekwereme is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and former Head of Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. He underwent training and research programs in Canada, Italy, South Africa, Uganda, Cameroon, and Nigeria. He is a registered and licensed pharmacist, researcher and lecturer with diverse skills (analytical, soft, and reporting). He has published many peer-reviewed articles. He obtained his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy (Pharmacology) degrees from the University of Nigeria. He also bagged a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, as well as a PhD degree in Pharmacology & Toxicology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. His doctorate degree study was conducted in Canada at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was funded by the Canadian Government through the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Programme (CCSP). His PhD research centered on a pioneer work aimed at engineering a new in vitro process for the prediction of substances and compounds that would be toxic to the human respiratory surface in vivo.
He has a wealth of experience both as an academic and a Registered Pharmacist. He has worked both in hospital and community Pharmacies as well as a medical representative for numerous pharmaceutical companies. As an academic, he has held several positions both in the Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. He teaches and supervises projects of undergraduate, master and doctorate degree students and has graduated several of them. Most of his research has focused on infectious diseases especially malaria. Part of it has been on the usefulness of bitterleaf (Vernonia amygdalina) and African star apple (Chrysophyllum albidum) in malaria treatment.
He has been involved in several volunteer programs where he has served in various capacities as organiser and health professional. He is also a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation (2010), Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Commendation (2011) and Academic Staff Development and Training Grant (Educational Trust Fund, 2008) intervention. Due to his understanding of the dire need to empower scientists to communicate their research works to the public, as Departmental Head, he introduced a new postgraduate course in science communication.