Looking at the life and career of Prof. Chinedum Peace Babalola, one can easily deduce that she is a pacesetter, a woman of many firsts. Wherever she’s been, she has never shied away from breaking boundaries. Little wonder she has been able to come this far.

Prof. Babalola is a professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry/Pharmacokinetics, Principal Investigator, Centre for Drug Discovery development and Production (CDDDP), a MacArthur Centre of Excellence, University of Ibadan. She is currently the Vice Chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria - a private University.

She is a fellow of Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS), Fellow of African Academy of Sciences (FAAS), Fellow of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN) and other fellowships such as FPCPharm and NAPharm. She is the first female pharmacist in Nigeria to be elected into the Nigerian Academy of Science.

Professor Babalola started her teaching and research career in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, OAU, Ile-Ife in 1985 as a Junior Trainee Fellow, walked her way up the ladder and transferred her services to the University of Ibadan, in 1998 as a Senior Lecturer. She got promoted to grade of Associate Professor in 2003 and full Professor in 2006. This ensured that she became the first female Pharmacist Professor in the University of Ibadan and the first female professor to deliver an inaugural lecture from Faculty of Pharmacy in 2011.

She was two-term Head of Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry before her appointment as Dean of the faculty of Pharmacy and the first female substantive Dean of the faculty.

She is the first pharmacist to be appointed as a specialist adviser and consultant in a Nigerian hospital – University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. She is also an adjunct Professor Institute of Advanced Medical Research and Training (IAMRAT) College of Medicine, UI where she collaborates with several other medical researchers within and outside Nigeria.

Babalola is an experienced administrator and an agent of positive change. She has been Head of Department (first female) of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (2003-2005 and 2012 – 2013), and Director, General Studies Program (GSP) Unit, University of Ibadan, (2005-2010), where she introduced a new course called “Drugs and Mankind” and also brought several innovations including running malpractice-free processing of examinations which the university has adopted for the process of post-UTME till date.

Professor Babalola is a member of many international/national organisations such as International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX), International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (IATDM-CT), African Organisation Research Training in Cancer (AORTIC), Pharmacists Society of Nigeria (PSN), Sickle Cell Hope Alife Foundation (SCHAF) and Institute of Public Analyst of Nigeria (IPAN) to mention a few.

In 2016, she was selected as one of 10 most influential female scientists in Nigeria. She was recently selected as the only African (out of 11 persons world-over) member of the Strategy Working Group (SWG) of the joint committee of International Council for Science (ICSU) and International Social Science Council (ISSC) globally.

In her present position as the Vice Chancellor of Chrisland University, Prof. Babalola has used her vast administrative experience to good effect to position the university as the choice institution for prospective students seeking to unlock their boundless potential.