TITLE(PROF/DR): DR.
NAME: NKECHI VERONICA ENWURU
POSITION: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SPECIALISATION:
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with Bachelor’s degree or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.) | |||
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION | DEGREE (if applicable) | Completion Date MM/YYYY | FIELD OF STUDY |
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria | B.Sc. | 07/1995 | Applied Microbiology |
University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria | AMLS | 10/2000 | Medical Laboratory Science: Speciality – Medical Parasitology |
University of Lagos- Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria | M.Sc. | 10/1999 | Medical Microbiology |
University of Lagos- Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria | Ph.D. | 02/2015 | Medical Microbiology: Infectious diseases, Phage Biology and therapy |
Personal Statement
I am an experienced Microbiologist and academic researcher specializing in Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology within the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. My research interests concentrate on the formulation of probiotic and bacteriophage-based therapeutics aimed at addressing infections that are resistant to conventional antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine. This research has facilitated multiple collaborations and led to innovative outcomes, including the development of a chitosan-based hydrogel encapsulated Acinetobacter baumannii phage cocktail for diabetic wound healing. Additionally, I am engaged in the formulation of bioactive-fortified feed and bio-vaccines as alternatives to antibiotics in poultry and aquaculture. My overarching objective is to translate research findings into scalable products and training modules that effectively confront Africa’s challenges in health security and sustainable development through collaborative and interdisciplinary strategies. I supervise research activities at the undergraduate (B.Pharm), Master’s (MSc), and doctoral (PhD) levels and have contributed numerous articles to esteemed peer-reviewed journals. I am particularly passionate about Health Systems Research to enhance health policy and the efficiency of care delivery. I uphold the values of teamwork, excellence, and self-discipline in all my professional endeavours.
Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honours
- OfficiatingMember of African Phage Researchers, May 2023 to
- Visitingfellow Otto-von Guerike Universitat, Magdeburg, Germany,
- Vistingfellow at of Molecular Pathogenesis, Health Science Center, Texas A & M, College Station, Texas, USA, 2011.
- JournalReviewer (for instance, Canadian Journal of infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research).
Selected Most Recent Publications /Contribution to Knowledge (five (5) Maximum).
- Enwuru, B. Nkeki, E. A. Adekoya, O. A. Adebesin, B. O. Ojo, R. F. Peters, V. A. Aikhomu, U. E. Mendie, O. Akinloye. Microencapsulation of Probiotic, Evaluation for Viability and Cytotoxic Activities of Its Postbiotic Metabolites on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Biomedical and Biological Engineering Vol:18, No:5, 2024.
- Enwuru NV, AdesidaSA, Enwuru CA, Mendie UE. Accessory gene regulators and virulence genes associated with the pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureus from clinical and community settings in Lagos, S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(9/10), Art. #10901. https://doi. org/10.17159/sajs.2023/10901.
- Chijioke E. Ezeobiora, Nwamaka H. Igbokwe, Dina H. Amin, Nkechi V. Enwuru, Chiamaka F. Okpalanwa and Udoma Mendie (2022) Uncovering the biodiversity and biosynthetic potentials of rare actinomycetes; Future Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 8:23pg:1-19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43094-022-00410-
- Margaret O. ILOMUANYA, Nkechi V. ENWURU, Emmanuella ADENOKUN, Abigail FATUNMBI, Adebowale ADELUOLA, Cecilia I. IGWILO (2022). Chitosan-Based Microparticle Encapsulated Acinetobacter baumannii PhageCocktail in Hydrogel Matrix for the Management of Multidrug Resistant Chronic Wound Turk J. Pharm Sci;19(2):187-195. DOI: 10.4274/tjps.galenos.2021.72547.
- Nkechi V. Enwuru, Jason J. Gill, Katri P. Anttonen, Christian A. Enwuru, Ry. Young, Akinloye O. Coker and Jefrey D. Cirillo (2021) Isolation andcharacterization of novel phage (Podoviridae ɸParuNE1) and its efficacy against multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa planktonic cells and Beni-Suef Univ J Basic Appl Sci. 10:50, p 1-11 (2021) 10:50 https://doi.org/10.1186/s43088-021-00137-4.
Collaborators/ Networks (International inclusive, five (5) maximum)
i. Jeffrey Cirilo, Dept. of Molecular Pathogenesis, Health Science Center, Texas A & M, College Station, Texas, USA
ii. Janson Gill, Dept. of Animal Science, USA
iii. Janet Nale, Scotland Rural College, United Kingdom.
iv. S.A. Adesida, Dept. of Microbiology, University of Lagos.
v. Oluwagbenga O. Olude, Dept. of Marine Biology.
