Lawrence Adegbule

 

                                                                I worked for three semesters in the University  as an undergraduate researcher. My duty was to culture        the                                                          the parasite that caused sleeping sickness in animals, Trypanosoma brucei brucei.  It was always interesting to me                                                          whenever I saw the reduction in parasite load among infected mice after treatment with a dosage of herbal ex  tracts.                                               These interesting results opened my eyes to herbal alternatives for treatment of diseases.  I soon made up my   mind                                                      to become involved in research full time.  At my graduate college,  I became fascinated with Environmental Toxicology,                                             Toxicology and I did not hesitate to immerse myself in it. 

My plans                                              are to ultimately become a full time researcher.  After completion of my Doctoral degree, I see myself continuing                                            my research and educating communities on anthropogenic stressors in the environment.  I will seek out employment                                       em ployment at organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency where I shall work as a toxicologist                                           researcher. Besides research, I will become active as a volunteer in various local and regional conservation groups.                                                  Most importantly, I will become involved in the creation of a Non-Governmental Organization.  My main goal for setting this up is to be involved in Research on Molecular and environmental causes of cancer, support cancer patients emotionally, and stand by them at the critical times of their lives, and to just see them smile!

I have always been known for initiating progressive movements in any field I find myself.  My high school was one of the lowest ranked in the community where I grew up. The reason was that out of the two hundred students who sat for final external examination every year, only about two or three students received high marks.  I was advised to change school by my parents and friends, but I made up my mind I was going to finish strong from the same school with flying colors in all my external examinations. This decision was not without its challenges like making sure I read my books ahead of class, set-up tutorial teams, solved some past questions, and made friends with students from other schools who had good track records.  By doing this I passed all my external examinations at distinctions level and won the cash award for the best student in Mathematics and English Language in the same school. 

I have influenced communities in various ways.  One way I have done this was by linking Army Day Secondary School (the high school in my neighborhood) with the Department of Biology at Bayero University in Nigeria. This collaborative work was designed to raise the standard of teaching Biology in the high school, and to help improve the overall performance of the students in the annual external examinations.  On some occasions, I, with the other members of staff, planned tours for students to various Education Resource centers.  I made it a point to teach my students the importance of conservation of natural resources. As a Doctoral student, I currently mentor students, enlightening them with my knowledge and experience to help them gain their promising future and career as life scientists.