FACULTY OF
BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES
COLLEGE OF
MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
5TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND SCIENTIFIC
CONFERENCE
Being the welcome address at the 5th scientific conference of the faculty of basic
medical sciences by professor Fatimah Abdulkareem, chairman, scientific
conference committee, faculty of basic medical sciences, college of medicine of
the university of Lagos held at the old great hall, college of medicine
university of Lagos on Thursday 2nd June 2016.
Protocols….
I welcome you all to the 5th
scientific conference of the faculty of basic medical science of the University
of Lagos. The faculty being the bedrock of medicine is involved in various
collaborative research aimed at improving the health of Nigerians. The annual
scientific conference therefore serves as an avenue to showcase these research
activities.
In the last few decades, several
infectious diseases have emerged and are re-emerging; over 70% of which are
zoonotic. This emergence has been attributed to changes in human and animal
characteristics, climate, ecosystem, socio-economic and political development,
inadequate public health control, movement of animal and man amongst others.
These diseases are clinically distinct and therefore prevention and control as
well as management require more unique strategies based on fundamental research
rather than the traditional approach used for diseases transmitted from human
to human.
In Nigeria, some lessons have been
learnt from Ebola and Lassa fever virus infections; yet many more of these will
emerge and so we should be prepared. Researchers in the area of emerging
zoonotic disease are usually brave and committed professionals. We have
therefore invited a renowned academic and astute researcher with over 25years
experience and research contribution on gaemorrhagic fever and arthropod borne viruses. Prof David
Olaleye, Prof & Head, Virology
department of the college of medicine, university of Ibadan as the guest
lecturer at this conference.
Also over 50 abstracts are being
presented at this conference as oral and posters and these are from all the
departments in the faculty, but also from faculties of clinical sciences,
pharmacy and from outside the university of Lagos.
A preconference held yesterday on
manuscript writing for postgraduate students, resident doctors and junior
academic staff in the college. According to Albert Einstein. “The whole of
science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking” but no matter
how excellent a research work is, it must be written and published to have
better impact of scientific community. With the success recorded at the
workshop, it is our hope the barriers to effective writing have been broken and
many more peer-reviewed publications will begin to emerge henceforth.
It has become a norm in our faculty
to honor notable and renowned persons or institutions that have contributed to
the faculty or the college of medicine. Thus today we want to honor Professor
Babajide Alo, the immediate past deputy vice chancellor, academic &
research who successfully completed his tenure and has impacted positively on
our faculty.
This year, we have also decided to
acknowledge excellent in teaching, research and service amongst academic
members of the faculty. it is hoped to encourage and motivate academic staff
and spur all to do better. It should be noted that an academic staff is not
only expected to teach, do research and attend conferences, other contributions
within and outside the university are also statutory responsibilities that must
be taken seriously. We are therefore instituting two different awards
today:
1.
“best teacher award” for the faculty
of basic medical sciences(through students’ assessment)
2.
“faculty of basic medical sciences
award of academic excellence”(junior and senior categories)
Our appreciation goes to the special
guest of honor, DR. A.G.O . Labinjo, an alumus of this great institution and a
successful private medical practitioner who has contributed immensely to
medical practice. He graciously accepted the invitation at short notice and did
so with no conditions attached. God almighty shall continue to honor you.
The chairman of this occasion, the Vice
Chancellor, Prof Rahaman A Bello, ably represented by director of academic support
to the faculty, we are grateful for your financial and moral support. The
provost college of medicine is a member of this faculty and has contributed to
make us proud for the various achievements in research and innovation, she is
ably represented by the deputy provost, Prof SRA Akinbo, you are
appreciated.
The guest lecturer of today, Professor David
Olaleye, a virologist of international repute, I thank you for bailing us out
when it became clear that Prof Januzs Paweska, from south Africa could not make
it as originally planned. May god always be there for you at your point of
need.
My Dean, Professor Olufunmilayo
Adeyemi has brought a lot of innovation into the faculty; this annual
conference has continued to improve in quality and content, she has solidly
given financial and moral support to the committee. We are very grateful to you
ma.
On behalf of the committee, I give
special thanks to all heads of department as well as members of staff of the
faculty who have contributed financially to the success of this conference. We
thank other faculty deans, heads of department from other faculties, members of
staff from the college and the university community. I also specially
appreciate Prof Sunday Omilabu, who was personally involved in getting the
guest lecturer of today. I recognize all our donors; laboratories and
pharmaceutical companies; your contribution is highly appreciated.
Finally, I express my profound
gratitude to all the members of the faculty scientific conference committee for
the sleepless nights towards the success of this conference, may god reward all
of you.
Members of the audience, the press,
ladies and gentlemen, I welcome and thank you very much for honoring us at this
event.
PROF .F.B.ABDULKAREEM
Chairman, Faculty Scientific
Conference Committee
