President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Nigerian-British Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience and top-flight researcher, Ijeoma Uchegbu, on her election as President of Wolfson College, one of the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge.

Professor Uchegbu, renowned for her innovative work in nanoparticle drug delivery, is currently a Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at University College London (UCL).

The President, according to a statement on Sunday by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, celebrated “the outstanding accomplishment and commends Professor Uchegbu for being an excellent ambassador for the country and for her relentless efforts to advance the frontiers of pharmaceutical science.”

He referenced Professor Uchegbu as “epitomizing the ingenuity, brilliance, and hard work that are consistently synonymous with the great Nigerian people both at home and abroad.”

Tinubu assured Nigerians in the Diaspora that his administration remains committed to building a robust interface that harnesses ideas, promotes investment opportunities, and strengthens bonds, in line with his ‘4D Foreign Policy’.

Below is her biodata:

Ijeoma Uchegbu obtained her PhD from the School of Pharmacy, University of London.  Ijeoma is Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at the UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), UCL’s Pro-Vice Provost for Africa and The Middle East, the Provosts’ Envoy for Race Equality and Chief Scientific Officer of Nanomerics Ltd.  Nanomerics is a UCL spin out company, which was founded by Ijeoma and Andreas G. Schätzlein (http://www.nanomerics.com/).  Nanomerics recently licensed NM133 to Iacta Pharmaceuticals.  Nanomerics also recently won first prize for its Molecular Envelope Technology at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition 2017 in the Health category.

Ijeoma has been awarded various prizes for her work, notably the UK Department for Business Innovation Skills’ Women of Outstanding Achievement in Science Engineering and Technology award, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year 2012 and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences Innovative Science Award 2016.  Ijeoma was elected to the Controlled Release Society College of Fellows in 2013 and was made an Eminent Fellow of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2013.  Ijeoma was also elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021 and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2022. Ijeoma is the editor of three books, a named inventor on 11 granted patents and has authored over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters.  Ijeoma’s research has been featured on BBC Woman’s Hour and more recently in The Guardian.  Ijeoma is also a Wellcome governor and sits on the Wellcome board.