Academy to induct 12 medical professors as fellows

Twelve professors and one PhD holder in the field of medical sciences across Nigeria will be conferred with the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Nigeria (AMSN) this year.

This follows the induction of 15 and 13 fellows in 2025 and 2024, respectively, further expanding the numerical and professional strength of the body.

The new entrants will be inducted during the academy’s sixth scientific conference and annual general meeting, scheduled to take place in Lagos from Friday, October 30, to Saturday, October 31.

The academy will also inaugurate Professor Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku, a renowned consultant chemical pathologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, as its new President. He will serve a four-year term, succeeding Emeritus Professor Osato Giwa-Osagie.

The outgoing President, Emeritus Professor Osato Giwa-Osagie, a consultant endocrinologist, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos during a pre-event media briefing.

He stated that all nominated inductees are experts in their various fields who have contributed immensely to medical science, the healthcare sector and humanity.

The new fellows include Professor Sunday Akintoye (Oral Medicine), Professor Emmanuel Balogun (Enzymology and Molecular Biology), Professor Rasheed Balogun (Nephrology), Professor Ene Ette (Clinical Pharmacology/Pharmacometrics), Professor Okechukwu Ogah (Cardiology), Professor Omonike Ogbole (Pharmacognosy/Phytomedicine), Professor Anthony Okorodudu (Pathology/Clinical Chemistry), Professor Olusola Olawoye (Ophthalmology), Professor Adebola Orimadegun (Paediatrics and Child Health/Clinical Epidemiology), Professor Bamidele Owoyele (Physiology/Neuroscience), Professor Wellington Oyibo (Medical Parasitology), Professor Musa Yakubu (Biochemical Toxicology/Reproductive Biochemistry and Ethnopharmacology) and Dr Abiola Adeniyi (Dental Public Health).

Giwa-Osagie noted that the event would feature a keynote lecture by Professor Azeez Butali, a specialist in craniofacial genetics at the University of Iowa, USA.

He will speak on the topic: “The joy of the human genome: discovery to clinical care.”

Another highlight of the conference will be the presentation of the academy’s highest honour, the Nobel (Golden) Prize, to Professor Okechukwu Ogah, a renowned consultant cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Professor Ogah will receive a ₦10 million cash prize alongside a medal.

The event will also host the second edition of the Augustine Ohwovoriole Lecture, named after a founding member of the academy’s Board of Trustees to immortalise his contributions.

In his remarks, the founding President of the academy and President of the Africa Reproductive Care Society (ARCS), Professor Oladapo Ashiru, noted that AMSN was established in 2019.

He added that the body is dedicated to promoting excellence in medical research, education and mentorship, ensuring that research is actively applied to medicine to enhance human health and welfare, and that it also performs advisory roles to the government on national medical issues.