A woman scientist at the Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, Dr Taiwo Olayemi-Elufioye, has won the 2014 Early Career Women Scientist Award in Developing Countries.
Elufioye, the only woman from Africa received the award for her research on the treatment properties of native Nigerian plants, with particular bias on the effectiveness of different species in treating malaria, wounds, memory loss, leprosy and cancer.
Five early career woman scientists in developing world won this year’s Elvevier Foundation Award for their researches into medicinal properties of natural compound.
Other winners are from Central and South Asia, East and South-East Asia and the Pacific, and the Arab Region.
The Award was jointly organised by Elsevier Foundation, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and was held in Chicago, U tied States of America (USA).
The focus of the 2014 award, which was the application of chemistry of nature to pharmaceutical science, attracted $5,000 and sponsorship of attendance at the 2014 AAAS Annual Meeting.
Reacting to the award, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole, described Dr Olayemi Elufioye as a pride of Nigeria and the African continent as a whole.
According to him, the feat recorded by the woman scientist would inspire other women in science.
He stated that the University of Ibadan would continue to provide the needed environment for her researchers to be able to compete and come out tops in global community of scholars.