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Iruka N. Okeke, Ph.D., is professor of pharmaceutical microbiology and a Calestous Juma Science Leadership fellow at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research group uses microbiology, genetic and genomic methods to investigate the mechanisms bacteria use to colonize humans, cause disease and gain drug resistance. She also studies laboratory practice in Africa, and her group contributes to antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Nigeria.   

Okeke received B.Pharm., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), Nigeria, post-doctoral training at the University of Maryland and Uppsala Universitet, Sweden, and has previously taught at the University of Bradford, U.K., and Haverford College. She joined the American Society for °®¶¹´«Ã½ in 1997, as a Ph.D. student and Junior Fulbright fellow. She has also held International Federation for Science, Branco Weiss (Society-in-Science), Institute for Advanced Studies (Berlin) and MRC African Research Leader fellowships.

Okeke is a fellow of the Nigerian and African Academies of Science and is the 2023 recipient of the U.K. °®¶¹´«Ã½ Society’s Peter Wildy Award. She is author or co-author of several scientific articles and chapters, as well as the books Divining Without Seeds: The case for strengthening laboratory medicine in Africa and Genetics: Genes, Genomes and Evolution. Okeke has mentored over a 100 research students, the majority of whom continue to work in science and health.