Charles Okechukwu Esimone (born 31 December 1970) is a Nigerian professor of biopharmaceutics and pharmaceutical biotechnology who currently serves as the vice-chancellor of

Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also called UNIZIK or NAU in short is a federal university in Nigeria. It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is in Awka (the capital of Anambra State), while its other campus is in Nnewi. ...

Awka, Nigeria. He is the first professor of

pharmaceutical microbiology Pharmaceutical microbiology is an applied branch of microbiology. It involves the study of microorganisms associated with the manufacture of pharmaceuticals e.g. minimizing the number of microorganisms in a process environment, excluding microorgan ...

in South-Eastern Nigeria.

Early life and education

Esimone hails from Akwaeze in

Anaocha Anaocha is a Local Government Area in Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in ...

LGA of

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

and was born on 31 December 1970 in

Tiko Tiko, originally called ‘Keka’ by the Bakweris, is a town and important port in the southwest region of Cameroon. The settlement grew as a market town for Duala (or Douala) fishermen, Bakweri (Kpwe people) farmers and hunters from Molyko, ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He attended St Joseph's Primary School Tiko, Cameroon from 1976 to 1982 and proceeded to St. Joseph's College, Sasse, Buea, Cameroon where he acquired his secondary school certificate in 1987. Esimone had another academic tutelage at the Cameroon College of Arts and Science Kumba, Cameroon and obtained a General Certificate in Education (Advanced Level ) in 1989. He obtained Bachelor of

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

(B.Pharm.) in 1995; Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm.),

Pharmaceutical Microbiology Pharmaceutical microbiology is an applied branch of microbiology. It involves the study of microorganisms associated with the manufacture of pharmaceuticals e.g. minimizing the number of microorganisms in a process environment, excluding microorgan ...

in 1998; and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Pharmaceutics in 2002 all from the

University of Nigeria Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

. Professor Esimone speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Igbo languages fluently.

Professional career

Esimone started his career as internee pharmacist and then became a laboratory instructor, all in the Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria Nsukka. He becomes a professor of biopharmaceutics and

at the age of 37 years and was the pioneer Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Agulu Campus of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. He also served two terms of 2 years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He is a researcher with well over 100 publications and in May 2019 was ranked 18th on the list of 28 Most Published Scholars in Nigeria. Prof. Esimone was also the Director of Confucius Institute of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. On the 14 of May 2019 he was elected the new Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He is the State Campus Coordinator for Deeper Life Campus Fellowship, Anambra State and also a member, BOT (Board of Trustees) of

Anchor University The Anchor University is a private Christian university owned by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. The university is located at Ayobo, Ipaja, Lagos State, southwestern Nigeria. History The process of founding Anchor University billed for Sep ...

, Lagos.

Awards and recognition

Prof Esimone is a recipient of several awards. They include: * The

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

Fellowship to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(2003–2005) * Visiting Scientist to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, (2007–2008) * The ANDI Bright Contest Award for the Best African Innovative Researcher, South Africa (2009) * Young Scientist (representing Nigeria) at the "Summer Davos" Annual Meeting of New Champions,

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(2010) * CV Raman Senior Fellowship, India (2013) *Fellow of the

Nigerian Academy of Science The Nigerian Academy of Science is the official science academy of Nigeria. The academy of science was established on 18 January 1977, as an association of Nigeria's foremost scientists, but incorporated in 1986. It is the apex scientific orga ...

(2017) * Member of the Governing Council of the

Pharmacists Council of Nigeria The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) is a Federal Government Agency of Nigeria, established by Decree 91 of 1992 (now Act 91 of 1992)—due to transfer of power from military to civilian in 1999—to regulate and control the practice of pharmac ...

, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the Nanomedicine Society of Nigeria *Pioneer national president of the Nanomedicine Society of Nigeria *Recipient of various national and international grants and a reviewer to several national and international journals. *Member of several professional bodies including the Global Young Academy and the

American Society for Cell biology The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.Living people 1970 births Nigerian academic administrators Nigerian pharmacists Nnamdi Azikiwe University alumni Academic staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities