EA - Unveiling the Challenges and Potential of Research in Nigeria: Nurturing Talent in Resource-Limited Settings by emmannaemeka

The Nonlinear Library

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Unveiling the Challenges and Potential of Research in Nigeria: Nurturing Talent in Resource-Limited Settings, published by emmannaemeka on June 7, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Summary This essay sheds light on the challenges faced by academics working in public institutions in Nigeria, aiming to provide insight into the limited impact of research in the Nigerian context. Aiming to answer the question, why are we not as impactful as expected? It emphasizes the experiences of researchers from resource-limited situations, with a focus on my personal journey as a Nigerian researcher. Background I graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka with a Ph.D. in medical microbiology. Currently, I am a lecturer at Plateau State University, Bokkos, Nigeria. In order to finish my Ph.D. study, I spent three months conducting Ph.D. benchwork at Duke University in the United States. I was fortunate to get local funding for my doctorate from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, which enabled me to travel to Duke for my doctorate. Not everyone is that fortunate. People just very rarely receive sponsorship for post-graduate education in our Nigerian setting. Most people finance their postgraduate education on their own. You must pay both your school fees and your research expenses as a postgraduate student in Nigeria. I've begun supervising both undergraduate and graduate students. What I saw at Duke and what I have heard from developed universities is that university supervisors provide their students with research labs and consumables through grants They also offer assistance through post-doctoral training programs after receiving a PhD. The ordinary postgraduate student here is not like that. What ground-breaking outcomes or depth of study will self-funding enable? On the other hand, few students are fortunate enough to receive collaboration for their projects either directly or through the assistance of their supervisors. In my experience as a supervisor, the university system offers me zero financial assistance for my students' projects. What is it like to do research here? Although my experience might not be representative of all academics in Nigeria. It can be used to illustrate what it's like to conduct research in a Nigerian university and what it's like to hold a professorial position there. Very few scholars focus on a certain topic or element. For example. specialist in the development of bacterial cell walls. or something else. The majority of the time, you will find a lecturer's research articles dispersed throughout many areas. What causes this? As a medical microbiologist, I have published in the fields of mycology, virology, and global warming. At the beginning of my work, while pursuing my Masters degree, I isolated Candida africana with the intention of concentrating on it and thoroughly examining its biology and pathology. Because there are no labs in the nation that can do this kind of research, it was not possible. I so gave up on the research part. I then proceeded on to my doctoral work, where I examined the molecular characterization of the environmental Cryptococcus neoformans. This research was at Duke University. When I got home, I had a ton of questions, such as: What causes the genetic diversity of C. neoformans in Nigeria? What impact has rising temperatures had on this species' evolution of virulence? . Rarely will you find a lab where "ordinary" PCR can be performed. How are consumables purchased? Electricity is a problem. I came to the realization that I could neither pursue these inquiries in Nigeria nor the biology of this fungus. If I must continue studying this pathogen, I will be limited to studying its genotype and epidemiology (which requires cooperation with international labs). I started looking at how environmental infections are r...