kcsPlenary Speakers

<span class="_3a963eb0 ecc023c9" tabindex="-1" data-testid="expandable-text-box">Inducted to "Hall of Fame" as a 2012 ACS Hero of chemistry for the discovery of Victrelis, the first Hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor approved by FDA Directed discoveries of hepatitis C drugs Victrelis™ (BOCEPREVIR®) that was approved by FDA on May 13th 2011 as the first HCV protease inhibitor and NARLAPREVIR® a second generation HCV protease drug licensed to a Russian company, R-Phama. Spearheaded the discovery of the anti-cancer drug SARASAR®, this drug was approved on the 24th of November 2020 as Zokinvy for the treatment of progeria. Published 104 US granted patents and 136 papers in reputable journals. Received Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for US patent work on Boceprevir®. Received Emerald Award from Career communication group for leadership excellence in drug discovery. FIRST AFRICAN TO BE GRANTED OVER 100 PATENTS BY US PATENTING AGENCY</span> Dr. Njoroge is Honorary Professor of Medical Education at the prestigious University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, a member of Board of Directors at and committee chair of Research and Innovation. He is Chief Scientific Officer at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital and Director of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dr. George Njoroge is the Founder and Chairman of Centre of Africa’s Life Sciences (C.O.A.L.S.), a premier institution that is being established in Naivasha, Kenya, with the primary goal of searching and developing novel medicines in the continent of Africa. Previously he was a Senior Research Fellow at Eli Lilly and Company and a former a Director in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories where he oversaw chemistry program in infectious diseases platform. Through his research leadership at Merck Research Laboratories, an anti-HCV viral drug Victrelis™ (also known as Boceprevir or SCH 503034) was discovered – this medicine was approved by FDA on 13th, May 2011 as the first-in-class therapy for HepC treatment. Dr. Njoroge led his Chemistry in the discovery of the second-generation HCV protease inhibitor Narlaprevir® that has completed Phase IIb clinical trials and is currently marketed in Russia as Arlansa. He has also worked extensively in the oncology area, especially in the discovery of therapeutic agents geared towards intervention of signal trunsduction process in proliferating cells. This work led to the discovery of Sarasar®, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor that has been approved for treatment of Progeria – a life threatening disease that causes accelerated aging in children. A first class honours graduate of the University of Nairobi, George completed his PhD in organic Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio in 1985, and joined Schering Plough Research Institute (SPRI) in 1988. Dr. Njoroge has published extensively in professional journals on synthetic organic chemistry and drug design. He is an author or co-author of 134 scientific publications and 104 USA granted patents. Dr. Njoroge was inducted into the “Hall of Fame” as the latest Hero of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society (ACS) at a ceremony held in Philadelphia on 19th August 2012. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including Emerald Award for Professional Achievement in Industry and Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for emerging therapies. In the summer of 2014, Dr. Njoroge was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Pharmaceutical Science by Mount Kenya University and Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by KCA University in 2021. On 14th July 2018, Dr. Njoroge was honoured with Pioneer Award for Impact in Science and Medicine by Face-to-Face Africa organization in New York.

Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary is the <strong>Coordinator General of OIC-COMSTECH </strong>(Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation), <strong>Distinguished National Professor </strong>of Bioorganic and Natural Product Chemistry and <strong>Senior Honorary Advisor </strong>at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry and Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research). He is also serving as the <strong>Vice President (Central & South Asia) </strong>The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) since 2022. Prof. Choudhary has, since 1990, been among the world leaders in the fields of natural product chemistry and bioorganic chemistry, and has made pioneering contributions to the discovery of novel natural products, including evidence-based traditional medicine. He has discovered many potent anti-epileptic and anti-leishmanial compounds from indigenous medicinal plants that are under clinical trials. His contributions to reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics represent seminal contributions in this important field. He leads the developing world's finest research center of natural product chemistry (H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry) since 2002, and has trained hundreds of young researchers, especially women, from across the Afro-Asian region in natural product chemistry. He has established several research centers in Pakistan, and helped to setup research units in Africa, and South and Central Asia. His scientific, and capacity building contributions have been recognized by prestigious national and international awards and honors, and fellowships of several academies of science. Prof. Choudhary has over <strong>1,520 publications</strong>, impact factor of publications is over 4,000 (Citations <strong>50,875</strong>, <em>h </em>index <strong>90, </strong><em>i</em>10 index <strong>1078</strong>) in the fields of organic and bioorganic chemistry, along with <strong>95 patents (64 US Patents), 98 books </strong>and <strong>40 chapters in books</strong>, published by major U.S. and European presses. On the basis of his researches over <strong>110 students have been awarded Ph. D. degrees </strong>in various areas of natural products, bioorganic chemistry, and molecular medicine.

Evelina Colacino is Associate Professor of Organic and Green Chemistry since 2013, at the University of Montpellier, France, her main research activities concern the development of eco-friendly methodologies for the preparation of biomolecules, heterocyclic compounds, and hybrid materials by mechanochemistry, with a main focus on value-added compounds for the industry and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (medicinal mechanochemistry). She also investigates sustainable approaches to homogeneous or heterogeneous metal-catalyzed processes by combining enabling technologies with non-conventional media. Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the International Mechanochemical Association (IMA), she is also a promoter of sustainability in Higher Education by integrating green chemistry at the undergraduate level in organic chemistry courses, teaching laboratories and across the sub-disciplines of chemistry, with a special focus on the fundamentals and the practice of mechanochemistry. Since 2019, she leads the European Programme <a href="https://www.cost.eu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COST Action CA18112</a> (MechSustInd) – ‘<a href="http://www.mechsustind.eu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mechanochemistry for Sustainable Industry</a>‘

Vincent Nyamori is a Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. He is the Coordinator of the UKZN Nanotechnology Platform, an Executive and Council member of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI), and a former SACI President. He is a Fellow of SACI and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is South Africa’s representative to the Federation of the Commonwealth Chemical Sciences Societies. Prof. Nyamori received his PhD from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand. His research interests include Green and Sustainable Chemistry, particularly ionic liquids and renewable materials. He has extended his interest to Nanotechnology and Materials Science to develop advanced nanomaterials for water remediation, catalysis and solar energy devices. He has presented his work at numerous conferences and published at least 150 journal articles, three book chapters, and one patent. In 2020, he was the SACI Merck Medal awardee for a paper published in the South African Journal of Chemistry, adjudged then to have made the most significant contribution to the discipline. He has received the UKZN Top 30 Published Researchers’ Award and the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award, recognising his exceptional research activities.

Prof Martin O. Onani is an associate professor of inorganic chemistry and nanochemistry at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town South Africa. He supervises PhD and MSc candidates for both inorganic and nanochemistry in the area of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, and cancer in South Africa. He is the chemist for the DST/Mintek NIC Biolabels Platform, which is basically tasked with the development of diagnostic and therapeutic nanotechnology-based systems. This is a South African national initiative in nanotechnology started over 10 years ago. He has served as a lecturer at both the Jomo Kenyata University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya and Walter Sisulu University of Technology and Science, South Africa. He holds BSc (Hons) from Kenyatta University, Kenya, MSc Kenyatta University and PhD in the then University of Natal, South Africa. He is a member of the South African Chemical Institute, African Academy of Sciences (FAAS), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). Asso. Professor Onani has published well over 70 peer-reviewed articles.

Chrispin O. Kowenje is an academic researcher from Maseno University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Faujasite & Adsorption. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 32 publications. Previous affiliations of Chrispin O. Kowenje include Binghamton University & University of Tokyo.