UB-Center for Drug Discovery

On February 4, 2025, the University of Buea (UB) proudly inaugurated the UB Center for Drug Discovery (UB-CeDD) . This significant event marked the establishment of the first Drug Discovery Center in Central Africa and the second in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Distinguished guests included Professor Wilfred Gabsa, representing the Minister of Higher Education, and Professor Ngomo Horace Manga, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea, along with other university officials and faculty staff. Professor Gabsa conveyed the government's gratitude to donors, particularly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for their generous support. The UB Vice-Chancellor emphasized the UB-CeDD's potential to improve health outcomes, while Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Roland Ndip welcomed attendees to "Science and Innovation."

The university community extends particular recognition to Professor Ntie Kang Fidele for his leadership and contributions to the science community and drug discovery. A guided tour concluded the ceremony along with a research exposition led by Professor Ntie Kang Fidele, displaying the different research projects ongoing at the center.

The announcement of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is coming one week today. Join us when we break the news live on our page and at nobelprize.org.

Quick facts about the chemistry prize:
- Chemistry prizes: 115
- Individuals awarded the chemistry prize: 192
- Youngest laureate: 35
- Oldest laureate: 97
- Double chemistry laureates: 2

“I WAS IMMERSED IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT THAT FOSTERED BOTH LEARNING AND INNOVATION”

Training the next generation of drug discovery scientists is an integral part of our core mission. In some few words one of our interns, Marianka Dikande is sharing her experience with us at UB-CeDD.

“I had the privilege of interning at the UB-Center for Drug Discovery (UB-CeDD), an experience that was both enriching and transformative for my academic and professional growth. During my time at the center, I was immersed in a dynamic environment that fostered both learning and innovation.

Under the guidance of my supervisor, Mr. Jude Y. Betow, I gained invaluable insights into the fascinating field of natural products, honed my skills in using ChemDraw, an essential tool for any aspiring chemist, and delved into the basics of Python coding, a skill that I believe will greatly enhance my future research endeavours.
One of the highlights of my internship was the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research. I was introduced to several pivotal databases, such as ANPDB, on which I had the pleasure of working, as well as PubMed, among others. These resources have already proven to be indispensable to my academic studies, and I am confident they will continue to support my research pursuits.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend and assist in seminars. The knowledge and experience I gained during these sessions were truly inspiring. What stood out most to me, however, was the incredibly supportive atmosphere at UB-CeDD. The staff, particularly those in the molecular simulations lab and other sections of the center, were consistently friendly, approachable and eager to assist whenever I faced challenges. Their willingness to offer advice and guidance made a significant difference in my overall experience.

In summary, my internship at UB-CeDD was a remarkable experience that exceeded my expectations. The knowledge and skills I acquired, coupled with the warm and supportive environment, have left a lasting impact on me. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such a prestigious center and look forward to applying what I have learned in my future academic and professional endeavors.”
~Marianka Dikande

“By tapping into our own natural and human resources and applying new technologies like AI, we can develop homegrown solutions to our healthcare challenges.”
Read more on Prof. (assoc.) Ntie Kang Fidele ‘s thoughts on the role of AI in drug discovery in Africa.

Blog post :

AI sifts Africa’s natural remedies for drug discovery Researchers use AI to screen hundreds of natural compounds in a bid to develop new drugs for neglected diseases.

Thank you for passing by Costyl. Your talk on assymetric synthesis was enriching and captivating.

We will be thrilled to have Costyl Njiojob, Ph.D, who will be giving us a talk on the applications of asymmetric total synthesis in medicinal chemistry and renewable energy.

Save this link in your calendar to join us online
Google meet : https://meet.google.com/gzh-yiuq-ggg

Did you know that our body 'eats' itself to stay healthy?

Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy or ‘self-eating’ which refers to the way our cells destroy and recycle their own contents.

The concept of autophagy emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, forming sack-like vesicles that were transported to a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for degradation.

However, the phenomenon was difficult to study until the 1990s, when Ohsumi conducted a series of groundbreaking experiments with baker’s yeast to identify the genes involved in autophagy. He went on to explain the underlying mechanisms for autophagy in yeast and showed the similar machinery is used in our cells.

His discoveries accelerated understanding of how cells recycle their contents to stay healthy and laid the foundation for a better understanding of the ability of cells to manage malnutrition and infections, the causes of certain hereditary and neurological diseases, and cancer.

Read more about his work: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2016/ohsumi/biographical/

Last week (February 27-29), we held the Computational Approaches in Secondary Metabolites Discovery (CAiSMD) workshop.

Participants were exposed to key lectures and hands on sessions on computational tools applied in natural products research.

A special thanks to the speakers for their inputs and time taken to prepare and facilitate the sessions, and to the TMS team for their technical support.

Thankful for 2023. Our mission continues. Happy new year

2023 was quite a journey at UB-CeDD:

- We are proud of 4 of our Masters students who successfully defended their thesis and graduated.
- Biomedical Technician training (BTT) with 7 participants.
- AI/ML training in drug discovery with 10 participants.
- Seminar presentations of the trainees (BTT and AI/ML) on what they learned during their training
- A hybrid drug discovery workshop by the NiDNA with more than 80 participants both online and on-site.
- And much more…

The year was all about mentoring, capacity building and strengthening collaborations with our various partners.

Thanks for sticking with us and Merry Christmas 🎄🥳