UI Scientist Bag International Awards
DR Taiwo Olayemi Elufioye of the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan has won the 2014 Elsevier Foundation Award, among four other women and that received awards for their researches into the medicinal properties of natural compounds.
The award ceremony, organised jointly by the Elsevier Foundation, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting on Saturday, February 15, 2014 in Chicago, USA.
Dr Elufioye, who is the only woman from the Sub-Saharan Africa, will receive the award for her research on the medicinal properties of native Nigerian plants, with particular bias on the effectiveness of different species in treating malaria, wounds, memory loss, leprosy and cancer.
Previously, a professor of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan, has won the 2014 AU Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Prize in Basic Science, Technology and Innovation.
The award was conferred on him on Thursday, January 30, 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Investment of the African Union (AU).
The Nigerian scholar jointly won this year’s award with Prof Andre Batimo of Burkina Faso, who won in the field of Earth and Life Sciences.
The value of the continental scientific award, established by the African Union Commission in 2008, is $100,000, for each scientific sector.
Prof. Viola Onwuliri, Nigeria’s Supervising Minister, Foreign Affairs, has congratulated Adebowale for making the nation proud.
She said it is a plus for the transformation agenda in education and good motivation for Nigerians to excel internationally.
“This award will help to build confidence in the Nigerian nation and for me as a scientist, I am very excited that a colleague of mine received this award”, the Minister said.
Also, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Isaac Adewole, has lauded Prof. Adebowale’s rare achievement, describing him as an “ethical researcher who is dedicated to excellence.
Source: Tribune Newspaper
