Email: Karniyus.Gamaniel@niprd.gov.ng
Professor Gamaniel, who is the immediate past DG of the Institute, is a Pharmacist, a Professor of Pharmacology and Founding Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Maiduguri. As Dean, responsible for all academic and non-academic activities of all the six departments in the faculty of Pharmacy; Developed and secured approval for the curriculum of the B.Pharm. Programme; Secured laboratory and classrooms for teaching and research; Recruited academic and non-academic staff, drew up the courses outlines, teaching time tables and commenced teaching; Facilitated the activation of the full faculty; Organized a successful faculty endowment fund to consolidate the six departments; Successfully graduated the first and second set of Pharmacy graduates of the University of Maiduguri.
He is also currently supervising students’ projects at the University of Maiduguri, Jos and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi in Nigeria as well as the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists. So far, he has trained over 1000 undergraduates in pharmacy and medicine, 23 graduate students including 7 PhDs.
He has made particular achievements in the research and development of phytomedicines. He has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals, one book, ten chapters in books and has three US patents on phytomedicines. One of these NIPRISAN (NICOSAN) has already been commercialized and is available on the market; He is a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN); Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists; Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Abuja FCT Merit Award 2004 winner; Nigerian National Honours Award 2003 with the rank of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) bestowed by the President, Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 16th December 2003; Third World Medical Research Foundation/Research Education Award 2003; Member, Governing Council of the National Agency for Food and drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC); Member, Governing Council of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).
He is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the International Foundation for Science (IFS). Prof Gamaniel is the Audit person and Scientific Advisor on the MacArthur Foundation, Rockfeller Foundation and Carnegie Corporation’s Scientific Equipment project for 15 African Universities. He is a well known leading international authority in ethical drug development and good laboratory practice. Prof. Gamaniel was profiled as a leading biomedical scientist in Africa AiBST (Newsletter Vol. 13:1 May 2006 www.aibst.com). He has served on many national committees including the Special Task Force (Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Manufacture) to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s (SGF’s) Committee on the supply situation of drugs and Medical consumables and availability of Pharmaceutical Raw Materials in Nigeria; Presidential Committee for the Articulation and Implementation of the Mandates and Functions of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria; Prof Gamaniel is an active member of several professional learned society and community organizations. He is Chairman, Gede AIDS and Infectious Diseases Research Institute’s (GAIDRI) Institutional Review Board/ Ethical Committee, Nigeria. Gede Foundation, www.gedefoundation.org, Member, Governing Council of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) Paris, Member African Regional Committee of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), President, Neuroscience Society of Nigeria (NSN), Council Member and National Coordinator, West African Network of Natural Product Research Scientists (WANNPRES) Member, Board of International Advisors of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) Sweden, and the South African Research Ethics Training Initiative (SARETI). President, Kilba Development Association (KDA), Abuja http://kda.kabissa.org.
He has served as Secretary-General, West African Society For Pharmacology 2001-2008; Secretary, National Association of Academic Pharmacists (NAAP) Kaduna State Branch, 1989; Financial Secretary, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Kaduna State Branch, 1987-89. Member National Universities Commission (NUC) comprehensive accreditation Panel for Nigerian Universities (2005) and PSN accreditation panel on Pharmacy programmes. NAFDAC Expert Committee on the regulations for the registration of herbal medicinal products; NAFDAC consultant on clinical trials.
Education
University of Pretoria, South Africa. SARETI Certificate of Distinction and Special Merit in Research Bioethics (August 2003)
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria Ph.D. (Pharmacology) (May 1989)
M.Sc. (Pharmacology) (January 1984)
B.Sc. (Pharmacy) (June 1980)
Grants
2003 SARETI Fellowship, School of Health Systems and Public Health, (SHSPH/CSIR) University of Pretoria, South Africa (1st African beneficiary).
2002 IBRO Grant for the investigation of the neuropharmacological activities of Ficus Platyphylla bark extracts.
2001 WHO Grant for Pilot Clinical Evaluation of NIPRD94/001/1-0 a herbal antimalaria phytomedicine.
1998 Raw Material Research and Development Council Research Grant for Development of Herbal Drugs for the treatment of Peptic Ulcer.
1986 Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Research Grant.
1986 May and Baker International Travel Fellowship Award.
1986 Visiting Res. Fellow, Univ. of Tampere, Finland
1983-1984 Federal Graduate Scholarship Award.
1977-1980 Gongola State Undergraduate Scholarship.
1976 North-Eastern State Scholarship Award (A-level).