Blog – The Nigerian Institute Of Medical Research

Evaluating Salako’s success story at NIMR – Punch Newspapers

NIMR REPORT ON THE GENETIC ANALYSIS OF INDEX CASE OF SARS-COV-2 VIRUS FROM AN ITALIAN EXPARTRIATE IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA.

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Belmont Multilateral

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) partnership with The Belmont Forum has enabled Nigerian researchers’ participation in the Collaborative Research Action (CRA) award on Transdisciplinary Research for Pathways to Sustainability. Congratulations to the award winners from Nigeria.

Transdisciplinary Research for Pathways to Sustainability Awards

The Honorable Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Health, Senator. Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora paid a working visit to NIMR on Monday 8 March 2020 to commission the Institute’s newly acquired DNBSEQ-G50 (Next Generation Sequencer (NGS)).

Ventilators donated to FMoH

Director General/CEO – NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Lawal Salako (first from right) presented 60 Units of Non-invasive Ventilators to Federal Ministry of Health on 31st August 2020 as part of the institute’s contribution to the fight against COVID -19 pandemic.

The item was received by Dr. Baba Ahmed and his colleague on behalf of the Ministry.

NIMR Biotech Total RNA Purification Kit

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research has launched the country’s first set of local Ribonucleic Acid purification kits to help expand the nation’s capacity to test for COVID-19.

In his address at the official commissioning of the kits on Tuesday Tuesday 30th June 2020, Director-General of NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Lawal Salako explained that the local RNA kits would address the perennial problem of test kits shortage in the country and help ramp up daily testing capacity for COVID-19.

“The idea of producing the local Ribonucleic Acid purification kits was conceived after we noticed how its scarcity was delaying tests and other backlogs of samples,”

The product was christened NIMR Biotech Total RNA purification Kit.

Commendation letter to NIMR-FMOH

https://nimr.gov.ng/nimr/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Commendation-letter-to-NIMR_MOH-1.pdf

Basic PCR Training

Malaria Microscopy Workshop

Internal Advertisement: Malaria Vector Surveillance PIs

VACANCY FOR THE POSITION OF MALARIA VECTOR SURVEILLANCE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS (PIs)

The National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) with the support from different partners has established Malaria Vector Surveillance Sentinel Sites in Sixteen (26) States in Nigeria since 2014. Reports from these sites indicate Anopheles resistance to the different classes of insecticides especially the pyrethroids. This development is a major threat challenging the effectiveness of vector control interventions such as insecticide treated nets. This has necessitated the need to establish more sentinel sites to scale up vector surveillance and insecticide resistance monitoring activities in the country.

To further strengthen this process of scale up, the NMEP with support from the World Bank and Islamic Bank, has proposed to establish malaria vector sentinel sites in Abia, Borno, Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory and Kogi States where insecticide resistance monitoring studies will be carried out at six LGAs in each of the State under the Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) project. In view of the above, vacancies exist for interested candidates that will serve as the Principal Investigators (PIs) to coordinate the activities at the sentinel sites.

VACANCY: MALARIA VECTOR SURVEILLANCE PIs

Internal Advertisement: ONCHO/STH Project

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research invites applications from suitably qualified applicants to fill the following vacant positions for the ONCHO/STH Project at the Department of Public Health & Epidemiology.

1. Project Officer: (1 position)

Qualification:

MSc in Life Science, Public Health and other related disciplines from a recognized university.
Experience in Molecular biology techniques and OV-16 antigen ELISA assay will be an added advantage.

Application Guidelines:

A formal application letter
Comprehensive Curriculum Vitae
Certificates

Interested candidates should submit their applications to:

The Director-General/CEO

Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, 6 Edmund Crescent
Off Murtala Muhammed Way, Yaba – Lagos.

This should reach the Director-General’s office not later than four (4) weeks from the date of this publication. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be considered.

2024 Annual Retreat

NIMR HOSTS ITS ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) hosted its annual scientific conference, now known as the “International Conference on Health Advances, Innovation and Research (ICHAIR), from 27th – 29th November 2024. The conference was repositioned in 2023 to become a go-to meeting for bio-medical professionals and stakeholders within Nigeria and beyond to reflect on innovations in research and health and how these will impact health, especially in Nigeria.

The opening ceremony took place on the 28^th of November 2024 with an opening remark by the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Honorable Commissioner of Health, Lagos State. The keynote speaker, Prof. Akinsanya Osibogun, delivered a keynote address on “Challenges and prospects of medical research in Nigeria”. He spoke on the importance of research and how to use the products of research to improve practice. Prof. Osibogun further mentioned that research must be tailored to answer specific questions and not to waste time and resources.

The Director General of NIMR, in his welcome address, noted that this “scientific conference, annually brings together biomedical professionals of repute, stakeholders, academics, and upcoming researchers to share their findings, ideas, and experiences, network, learn and celebrate the advances in biomedical research birthed through cutting-edge research for the advancement of global health”.

The DG further mentioned NIMR’s significant contributions and achievements, including the development of Diagnostic Test kits for infectious diseases of national importance like Mpox and COVID-19, and the Lassa fever vaccine, which is at the completing stage, absolutely developed on Nigeria soil by Nigerian scientists. Recently, NIMR, in collaboration with NMEP and Gombe State University, discovered a new malaria vector, Anopheles Stephensi, in Gombe, Nigeria. This was the first in West Africa.

The Chair Conference Organizing Committee, Dr. Musa, said this year’s conference attracted over 200 participants from within and outside the country. In addition, she mentioned that the conference will continue to be a meeting point for cross-fertilization of ideas, experience, and discussion, as well as an opportunity for novel innovations and outcomes that could transform our nation to a higher height.

During the conference, Dr. Agatha Nkiruka David from the Clinical Science Department delivered the 12th edition of the institute’s distinguished lecture. The lecture titled: “HIV in children and adolescents: Winning the battle against a formidable foe”.

The ceremony was also attended by Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister of Education, Federal Republic of Nigeria, who urged the participants to translate their ideas and findings into actionable outcomes that will improve health care delivery and public health in the country, sub-continent Africa, Africa as a whole, and the world at large. He also commended NIMR for its continued upholding of the mandate to research into health problems that translates into policy and stated that the Ministry of Education will continue to promote partnership between academic institutions, research centers, and private sectors in order to expand Nigeria’s contributions to global health advancement and subsequently grow the economy. Other dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Commissioner for Health, Lagos State; Prof. Akisanya Osibogun; and Ms. Ajibike Adewole from the Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who also delivered goodwill messages and poured accolades on the DG and Management of the Institute while also commending the innovative research efforts of the institute and the importance of the annual conference.

The highlights of the conference included a skill-building pre-conference workshop that focused on health research and AI research toolkit, and the application of molecular dockings in molecular research and drug development. The conference featured both virtual and physical meetings, and it was well attended by participants from various institutions as well as distinguished scholars who delivered different scientific papers.