PhD Candidate
University of Toronto, Canada
Chukwunonso Nwabufo, MSc, MBA, is a PhD Candidate and CIHR Scholar in pharmaceutical sciences at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Canada. He is a multiple award-winning clinical pharmacologist with over six years of experience in drug development across academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Nwabufo contributed to the development of Remdesivir and Lenacapavir approved for the treatment of COVID-19 and HIV respectively, during his tenure at Gilead Sciences. He also contributed to the development of novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment and/or diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease during his MSc program.
Nwabufo’s current research work is focused on deploying pharmacological strategies to improve the clinical efficacy and safety profile of promising COVID-19 drugs. His research work has received the prestigious Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award ($105K), and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements Award ($6K), as well as $121K in funding from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.
Nwabufo has received numerous prestigious awards including the Emerging Academic Scholars Award, and Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award for his contribution to drug development programs. In general, he has received more than 20 international and national awards and recognitions worth more than C$400K in funding due to academic, research, and leadership accomplishments. Nwabufo is the author of 17 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 11 industry-standard peer-reviewed reports in support of drug development programs.
Nwabufo serves as an editorial board member of Drug Metabolism Reviews and Journal of Applied Bioanalysis. He is an abstract screener for PharmSci360 conference, and Chair for the Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Drug Metabolism Community of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA. He is also a member of the Student, Trainee & Early-stage Professional Committee of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.