Professor Elijah Irmiya Nep is a Professor of Biopolymers and Formulation Development and Head, Department Pharmacognosy Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Jos

Research Interests

• Modification and pharmaceutical applications of biopolymers
• Pharmaceutical formulation development
• Transdermal drug delivery and advanced drug delivery technologies
• Particle engineering and solubility enhancement of poorly soluble drugs
• Pharmaceutical and bioequivalence studies

Professor Nep is a distinguished pharmaceutical scientist and Professor of Biopolymers and Formulation Development, with active research interests in the development and application of biopolymers for pharmaceutical products. His work focuses on the design of innovative drug delivery systems, formulation optimization, particle engineering, and the utilization of renewable natural materials as pharmaceutical excipients.

He obtained both his Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) degree and Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Jos, Nigeria. He was awarded a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue doctoral studies at Aston University, United Kingdom, where he served as a Commonwealth PhD Scholar from 2007 to 2010. Under the supervision of Professor Barbara R. Conway, his doctoral research focused on the development of a pharmaceutical-grade excipient from the polysaccharide of Grewia mollis.

Following the completion of his PhD, Professor Nep returned to the University of Jos, where he continued his academic and research career. Between 2013 and 2015, he was awarded the highly competitive Newton International Fellowship, sponsored by the Royal Society, United Kingdom. During this period, he undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Huddersfield under the supervision of Professor Alan M. Smith, focusing on the development of renewable resources for pharmaceutical applications.

Professor Nep has received several prestigious research grants and awards in recognition of his contributions to pharmaceutical sciences. These include the Fulbright Research Scholar Award (2020), tenable at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, the Support for Training and Mentoring in Nigeria for Academics (STAMINA) grant, and multiple grants from Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the Institution-Based Research (IBR) and National Research Fund (NRF) schemes.

Through his research, teaching, and mentorship, Professor Nep continues to advance the frontiers of pharmaceutical technology, particularly in the areas of biopolymer development, drug delivery systems, particle engineering, and pharmaceutical product evaluation.