First Gombe private varsity appoints Professor Igoli, as founding VC
Pen Resource University, Gombe, has announced the appointment of a UK based Professor of Chemistry, Professor Ogbaji Igoli, as its founding Vice-Chancellor.
This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Sani Jauro, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council.
According to the statement, Pen Resource University will set up the Centre for African Plant Research (CAPRE) under Igoli’s leadership, which is aimed at the production of drugs from local resources.
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The statement reads “Pen Resource University, Gombe is happy to announce the appointment of a UK based Professor of Chemistry, Professor John Ogbaji Igoli as its founding Vice-Chancellor. Prof. Igoli studied chemistry at the University of Nigeria Nsukka finishing as the best graduating student in his class of ‘85. He obtained an M.Sc (1990) and PhD in organic chemistry specializing in natural products in 2003 winning the Vice-Chancellor’s prize for the best PhD thesis in his Faculty.
“He had a six-year postdoctoral training at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK where he learnt spectroscopy and structure elucidation of organic compounds. Until his appointment, he was the Director of the Specialized Equipment Centre, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (Formerly Federal University of Agriculture), Makurdi. His expertise is in the area of phytochemistry, ethnobotany and natural products isolation from plants, propolis and microbial sources. He is also involved in bioactivity studies against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as malaria, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. He has over 150 publications centred on ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and structural elucidation of novel bioactive compounds. He is avidly involved in training and mentoring young scientists in phytochemical studies, the spectroscopic identification of compounds and the evaluation of plants used in traditional medicine.
“He has obtained fellowships, research and travel grants from DAAD/OPCW, IFS, NHS, RSC, CRUK, IFAH, CADFP and the Wellcome Trust. Presently, he is an Honorary Research Fellow with the University of Glasgow, UK. He is currently the editor of two special journal editions of Frontiers in Pharmacology and an Associate editor for Heliyon. He is a member of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s expert committee on the evaluation and registration of herbal remedies against Covid-19. His publications are well cited with a ResearchGate Score of 32.15 and on Google Scholar with a h-index of 21 and i10-index of 43. He is listed among the Top 500 authors, by Scholarly Output in Nigeria over the period 2018 to 2021 by SciVal.
“It is our belief that Prof. Igoli’s wealth of experience in research and administration coupled with his extensive international collaborations will set the tone and put the Pen Resource University, Gombe, on an enviable path of research and academic excellence to achieve the aims and objectives of setting up the University.” The statement said.
On the 6th of March 2021, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the establishment of the Pen Resource University (PRU) in Gombe State. Founded by Dr Sani Jauro, Pen Resource University is the first private university in Gombe State and the second private university in the North-East, behind the American University of Nigeria located in Adamawa State.
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