Affiliation: University of Benin

Dr. Nekpen Erhunse received her BSc and MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Benin, Nigeria. In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Arturo Falaschi Pre-doctoral fellowship to do her PhD at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India. Her doctoral research focused on the discovery of antiplasmodial agents from medicinal plants of Africa. Haven successfully isolated and purified the alkaloidal compounds, she went on to identify their target on the malaria parasite. Upon completing her Ph.D. in 2020, she moved back to Nigeria and resumed her position as an Assistant Professor. She is currently the Principal Investigator of the Malaria Drug Discovery and Pathobiochemistry group, University of Benin, Nigeria. Her research focuses on understanding the malaria parasite biology so as to identify novel druggable targets on the parasite that can guide the discovery of multi-stage antiplasmodial agents. She is a recipient of the 2023 UNESCO-TWAS Seed Grant for New African Principal Investigators (SG-NAPI) for malaria drug discovery and development.