DELSU is thrilled to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of Uche Esther FESTUS from the DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, who secured 1st place among the top five finalists in the 2024 NEURONEXUS competition that took place on October 12, 2024. The 2024 symposium and award ceremony for undergraduates, titled “The Future of Neuro Scientific Research,” was organized by the Brain Wellness Initiative (BWI), an international non-profit brain research organization based in South Africa, founded by Prof. Amadi Ihunwo, the Head of the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, in partnership with the Youth Neuroscience Association of Nigeria. Uche Esther FESTUS came first on the list of the top five awardees. Among the second positions on the list were Patrick Kilanga (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, United Republic of Tanzania) and Anushka Desai (Mithibai College, India). The third position was shared by Amir Yahaya (Usmanu Danfodio University, Nigeria) and Oluwapelumi Solagbade (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria).

Uche Esther FESTUS was one of the 2023/2024 undergraduate project students of the former Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Dr. Ben-Azu Benneth, the Principal Investigator of the DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Under the supervision and mentorship of Dr. Ben-Azu and his postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Aliance Romain Fokoua, Uche’s research project was centred on investigating the potential nephroprotective effects of naturally occurring flavonoids on kidney oxidative stress markers in mice exposed to alcohol-precipitated seizures following pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling.

Esther and her supervisor, Dr. Ben-Azu, believe that epilepsy and alcohol use disorder are increasingly prevalent and co-occurring, given the tension-relieving properties of alcohol, which notably serve as a coping mechanism against the anxiety and social stigmatization associated with epilepsy, a neuropsychiatric disease characterized by recurring, unprovoked seizures and often related to neurobiological sequelae such as cognitive impairment and social and organ damage. The team noted that, on the other hand, the understanding of how seizures exacerbate alcohol-related kidney impairment remains incomplete due to less well-characterized pathophysiological mechanisms, which inform their research hypothesis and methodological approach and highlight the need for novel therapeutic interventions.

Recently, Uche Esther FESTUS was awarded a travel grant from the DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory to present her interesting BSc research findings, “Alcohol Exacerbates Epilepsy-Related Kidney Oxidative Stress in Experimental Mice: Preventive Effects of Silymarin,” at the recently concluded Neuroscience Society of Nigeria conference in 2024.

Once again, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Andy Ogochukwu Egwunyenga, members of Delta State University, Abraka, and the Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Dr. Eduviere T. Anthony, we extend our very best wishes for your future endeavours and research career.

Also, in the news:

DELSU  VC Congratulates Miss Uche Esther Festus, Winner In  2024 NEURONEXUS Competition