DEAN’S STATEMENT JANUARY 2025

Thank you for assessing the webpage of the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria. Our Faculty was approved by the University senate on 19th April 2023. I have the honour of being the founding Dean.

The Faculty provides the first foundation for clinical programmes of medical students. The Faculty also provides training in introductory pharmacology for students in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology in our University. We have post graduate Programmes leading to the award of MSc, PhD and MD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Haematology and Therapeutics. The Faculty is made up of 5 departments : Pharmacology & Therapeutics; Chemical Pathology; Haematology & Immunology. Medical Microbiology and  Morbid Anatomy.

Our Faculty is unique and is the only one with academic staff capable of working from the bench to the bedside and to the body bag seeking to solve human problems with scientific tools. We believe in the power of transformative ideas and engagement of our community. We are determined to engage our wider community with our discoveries and educate tomorrow’s leaders and entrepreneurs and show them how our research can impact their lives and development. This will engender a new relationship and investment and endowment in academic pursuits and learning as we find in top flighty universities.

The first 3rd  MBBS (2nd Professional) examination organized by the new Faculty took place in June 2023. The performance was outstanding in pharmacology and therapeutics as well as pathological sciences. Altogether 30 distinctions in Pharmacology and 13 distinctions in Pathology were recorded during the examination. This is the best result since the establishment of the Medical School. The 2024 3rd MBBS examination produced 94% and 87% pass rate in pharmacology and pathology (with 16 and 17 distinctions respectively)

The Faculty plans to run a B.Sc. programme in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology and the curriculum has been submitted to the Senate curriculum committee awaiting Senate consideration and approval. It is hoped that students who go through the programme will be exposed to molecular pharmacology as well as clinical and experimental pharmacology and many aspects of toxicological responses in humans. The graduates from this programme will find employment in universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, research organizations, consulting companies and government agencies. Some graduates may also pursue training in professional degree programmes such as Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry.

The Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics has for many years offered postgraduate programmes leading to the award of M.Sc., PhD and MD. Many of our graduates are professors and leaders in Medical sciences in different parts of the world. The late NAFDAC Director General, Prof Dora Akunyili, who blazed a trail in the country was a lecturer in the department before her national appointment.

The Department of Haematology and Immunology has approved postgraduate degree programmes awarding  Msc and PhD. The Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics has also received approval for four new post graduate programmes within one year of the establishment of the Faculty. Today the world is in dire need of new therapeutics, and the design and conduct of clinical trials including repurposing of drugs will play a great role in achieving this goal. The emergence and re-emergence of new diseases and epidemics call for dedicated chemotherapeutics and immunotherapeutics discipline. Human epidemiological changes that have occurred in the last two centuries have left a great amount of environmental pollutants and research in this area is just at an early stage. These are some of the unmet needs and areas that these new programmes will provide answers.

The approved programmes  and degress awarded are as follows:

  1. Clinical Toxicology and Forensic Pharmacology (M.Sc, PhD,MD)
  2. Chemo-immuno Pharmacology ( M.Sc, PhD, MD)
  3. Ethnopharmacology and Traditional medicine (PGD,M.Sc, PhD)
  4. Pharmaco economics and Pharmaco epidemiology(M.Sc, PhD)

 

We have published the first Faculty Handbook for staff and students. This is a great resource book providing all the lectures the students will receive in the session. All the staff are captured in the handbook together with their contacts to provide easy access for students. We have ensured that mentoring for younger academic staff is given attention. There are other welfare programmes that help to motivate all staff to achieve the best version of themselves.

The challenges facing our new faculty includes funding and infrastructure. The paucity of funds from government has made it imperative that we have to think out of the box to solve our financial needs. This will include increased community engagement in such a way as to attract  some endowment. We have also set up committees on Collaboration and Strategic Contacts as well as on Research and Publications to provide more capacity and capability to leapfrog the faculty to a world class academic centre. Our Faculty is one of the most prolific in research output in the University and we intend to maintain the momentum and attract more research funds to aid our development.

We look forward to the completion of the Pharmacology and Pathology Laboratory building this year. The equipping of this complex will leapfrog the faculty to a greater level where we hope to contribute our quota towards solving the many health problems confronting our country.

Professor Raphael Chinedu  Anakwue

MBBS, MSc, FWACP,FNCS

Cardiovascular Pharmacologist and Cardiologist

FOUNDING DEAN