Health Technologies and Informatics

Professor Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji is a faculty member in the Microbiology Department within the Faculty of Science at Edo State University Uzairue, Edo State, Nigeria. He employs biological techniques and microbial bioprocesses to advance sustainable development goals and foster agrarian revolution through quality teaching, research, and community development. He previously held roles as the Acting Director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, the Head of the Department of Microbiology, Sub Dean of the Faculty of Science, immediate Dean of the Faculty of Science and is presently serving as the Chairman of the Grant Committee as well as the Director of Research and Innovation at EDSU. Professor Adetunji commenced his early career at the Nigerian Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI) in Ilorin, Nigeria, as a Research Officer II and progressed to the position of Principal Scientist. He then transitioned to Landmark University, Omu-Aran, where he served as a lecturer in various capacities, engaging in teaching and research. Additionally, he served as a visiting fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, specializing in Food Safety, and visited the Wageningen Centre for Development and Innovation in the Netherlands.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), the Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, the Nigerian Young Academy, and the Nigerian Society of Microbiology. Additionally, he holds visiting professorships at the Center of Biotechnology, Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, and Trinity University, Lagos State. He is an affiliate member of the African Academy of Science. Presently, he serves as an external examiner for numerous academic institutions globally, particularly for Ph.D. and MSc students, including the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Covenant University, Ota Lagos State, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Landmark University, Kwara State among others. He is an external assessor to the Department of Biotechnology at Addis Ababa University to assist in establishing prima facie of candidates to be promoted to the rank of Full Professor, as well as at the University of Ilorin for the Department of Microbiology, and many other universities worldwide. He was recently appointed as a Visiting Professor at the Center of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Abeokuta, Ogun State, and as an adjunct Professor at The University of the People, Pasadena, CA, USA. Moreover, He was recently appointment as a member of the Advisory board for College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences by the management of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Nigeria.

He has received numerous scientific awards and grants from prestigious academic bodies such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) India, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) India, The World Academy of Science (TWAS) Italy, Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NPF) Netherlands, The Agency for International Development Cooperation in Israel, Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, and the National Research Fund (TETFUND), among others.

Due to his international recognition and significant contributions to knowledge and scientific impact, Professor Adetunji was recently listed in Stanford University's World Top 2% Scientists Rankings for 2023 while he was also recognized in the prestigious 2024 Career-long List of the World's Top 2% Scientists, as well as the single-year Most Impactful List of Distinguished Professors globally. He has authored numerous scientific journals and conference proceedings in refereed national and international journals amounting to over 812 manuscripts, including more than 60 books, 537 book chapters, and numerous scientific patents while he had also published many manuscripts in top rated journal such as Lancet with impact factor of 168.9. Notably, he holds a Google Scholar of i10-Index of 207. Additionally, he was recently ranked first among the top 500 prolific authors in Nigeria between 2020 till date by SciVal/SCOPUS in Elsevier, Netherland. Moreover, he achieved the top ranking in two distinct fields, Biological Sciences and Agricultural Science, among 500 prolific authors from 58 different countries in Africa in the year 2023 till date. Currently, he serves as a book series editor with Wiley and Sons, Elsevier, Springer, Taylor and Francis, among others.

Professor Adetunji has participated in over 100 international scientific conferences and workshops, assuming various roles such as Invited Speaker, Plenary Speaker, Keynote Speaker, Chief Panelist, Lead Guest Speaker, Chairman of Scientific Sessions, and Judge of Posters, across several continents worldwide. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for more than 100 scientific journals, including Nature, Communications Earth & Environment in Nature, PLOS One, among others. His contributions to open science and the role his research plays in addressing global challenges were recently acknowledged by Elsevier, particularly after some of his scientific articles were associated with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Currently, Professor Adetunji holds the positions of President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Bioinformatics and Genomics Network Society. Previously, he had served as the General Secretary of the Nigerian Young Academy, previously chairing the Biological and Health Sciences Working Group for the Nigerian Young Academy. Furthermore, he holds the positions of Assistant General Secretary and National Coordinator for the South-West Nigerian Society for Microbiology. He was recently appointed to the Young Investigator Award Committee by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, USA. He also serves as the Vice-President and Nigerian Country Director of the Genetics Society of West Africa and as the Director of the International Affiliation and Training Centre for Environmental and Public Health, Research, and Development, situated in Zaria. Moreover, he acts as the immediate past Business Manager and currently the Vice- President for the Biotechnology Society of Nigeria. Prof Adetunji was appointed by the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Innovation (CoE STI) as a senior expert and consultant to facilitate the development of curricula in Biotechnology, Applied Microbiology, Microbiome, and Genome Editing in various African countries, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, among others. He was recently appointed as the Vice Chairman of Technical Expert Committee by Standard Organization of Nigeria on Sugar, Confectionery, Biscuits, and Bakery Products.

In recognition of his expertise and extensive experience in the field of Microbiology, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Professor Adetunji holds the unique privilege of serving as a Consultant to the Government of the Republic of Serbia in Europe, specifically as a Project Peer Reviewer for the Science Fund in the areas of Microbiology, Nanotechnology, Food Science, and Biotechnology. Also, he was recently appointed as a senior expert by South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF) in evaluating the quality, impact and standing of the research portfolio of Scientists in the area of Microbiology that are associated with a Higher Education/Research Institution (HEI) in South Africa (SA). Moreover, he was recently appointed to serve as a reviewer of DSI/NRF South African Research Chair Initiative Programme (SARChI) - Performance of Grant Recipients received by distinguished professors in the area of Biotechnology Innovation & Engagement in South African. Recently, he was appointed as a member of College of Experts from UK to serve as a member of selection committee on Africa Research Excellence Fund to help in timely delivery on its vision of an inspired, committed, and talented community of researchers in Africa leading world-class research and participating equitably in international research endeavors for health and wellbeing. Additionally, he was recently appointed as the general coordinator and supervisor for the 1000 scientific trials programme by Harvest Harmonics in the USA. In this role, he oversees coordination across 58 countries in Africa, serving as the Country Representative for Nigeria. This appointment underscores the significance of his landmark publications in translational research, his diligent work ethic, and exceptional talents, positioning him as a renowned trailblazer in advancing academics and research in Africa.

On a global scale, Professor Adetunji has mentored numerous undergraduate, postgraduate, and post-doctoral students at both national and international universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, among others. He has provided advice to numerous scientists and serve as a mentor to young researchers on how they could design translational and innovative research. Based on his experience as director of intellectual property at EDSU he has assisted many scientists on how they could file their innovation as well as assisted numerous foundations, specifically, on how to secure funding, grant, scholarship, and awards from non-profit organizations to assist qualified young Nigerians who aspire to pursue science-based disciplines at the advanced levels (Master/Ph.D) and assist them to get tuition fees and research fund.

Professor Adetunji is esteemed as an accomplished academic, erudite scholar, and researcher par excellence, boasting an impressive academic record and enviable wealth of experience in microbiology, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. He is the convener of the Recent Advances in Biotechnology conference, held annually since 2020, where distinguished Microbiologists and Biotechnologists convene to share their latest discoveries.

Dr Kingsley Nnanna Ukwaja is a public health physician, epidemiologist, and sub-specialist trainee in clinical respiratory medicine with excellent experience in operational research and communicable and non-communicable disease epidemiology. Other interdisciplinary interests lie at the nexus of translational epidemiology, health economics, and implementation science. He is a highly motivated professional with over a decade of clinical and public health experiences in the Nigerian health care system. He has over ten years of programmatic management related to tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS at national and sub-national level. He has experience in the implementation of international (WHO) and national (in Nigeria) TB prevention, care, and treatment programs, programmatic management of TB and drug-resistant TB, research synthesis, economic evaluation, policy development, monitoring and evaluation, supportive supervision, and operational research. In the field of translational epidemiology he has a strong interest in creating dynamic modeling analyses and frameworks that translates epidemiological data into effective decisions. Early work on TB program data centered on translating epidemiological data to useful practical and policy decisions. He has received both training and mentorship from the Pan-African Thoracic Society's Methods in Epidemiologic Clinical and Operations Research (PATS-MECOR) courses, and he now serves as an associate faculty and a role model to PATS-MECOR students from Africa. His other experiences include proposal writing, data management and analysis (Epi Info, SPSS, STATA), and manuscript/ report writing.

He specializes in general medicine, public health, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, health economics, and epidemiology.

Prof. Segun Fatumo is the head of NCD Genomics at the MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit and Chair of Genomic Diversity at Queen Mary University of London and. He specialises in NCD Genomics and Omics of African Populations. He co-led the first GWAS of cardiometabolic traits in Africa and led the first GWAS of Kidney functions in continental African populations. He is the director of the KidneyGenAfrica Research Partnership Programme - A Partnership to Deliver Research and Training Excellence in Genomics of Kidney Disease in Africa.

Segun Fatumo is strongly committed to increasing diversity in genomic studies and was recently awarded the prestigious MRC Impact prize for advocating for the inclusion of Africa in genomic research and championing genetic risk prediction of complex diseases in Africa populations. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and is actively involved in capacity building across Africa.

Segun Fatumo received postdoctoral training in genetic epidemiology at the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Sanger Institute and a postdoctoral fellowship in Bioinformatics at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Prior to that, He had postgraduate training in Bioinformatics at the University of Cologne, Germany and Ph.D. in Computer Science (Bioinformatics specialization) from Covenant University, Nigeria.