The Nigerian PhD student in the Department of Chemistry, University of Ilorin, who developed an anti-tuberculosis metal drug in India, Mrs. Misitura Lawal-Arowona, on Friday emerged third in an International Conclave holding in Chennai, India.

Mrs. Lawal-Arowona who participated with 21 other DBT-TWAS Fellows came third in the Poster Presentation while another researcher, Shivanshu Kumar Tiwari, a Nepalese from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, emerged first in the contest.

The First Conclave of DBT-TWAS Fellows with the theme: “Achievement of Capacity Building in Developing Nations” was organised by the Department of Biotechnology, India in Chennai, from 8th to 9th August, 2019.

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The Nigerian scholar who attended the event along with her Research Guide and Professor of Chemistry,  at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India, Rajendrasinh Jadeja, vowed to continue to make Nigeria proud globally.

It would be recalled that Lawal-Arowona recently developed a drug that promises to be potent in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs.

According to the publication, the metal attached anti-TB drug developed by Arowona, has improved the efficiency of the anti-TB drugs compared to normal drugs that are consumed globally.

It said that Nigeria is among the 14 high burden countries for TB, TB/HIV and multi-drug resistant TB.

“The country is ranked seventh among the 30 high TB burden countries and second in Africa and the problem of TB in Nigeria have been made worse by the issues of drug resistant TB and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Lawal-Arowona, a lecturer at the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero is undertaking her Doctoral Degree Programme at the University of Ilorin under the supervision of Prof. Joshua Obaleye, a former Dean, Faculty of Science.