The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund has awarded a ₦34 million grant to a Yaba College of Technology research team for cancer treatment.
The grant aims to support the researchers in developing an artificial intelligence-based precision medicine solution for prostate cancer treatment, potentially improving outcomes for patients in Nigeria and globally.
A statement released by the management explained that the project is intended to “develop a technique that uses AI to predict optimal drug combinations for individual prostate cancer patients based on analyses of biopsy tissue samples.”
The project involves experts in Computer Engineering, Medical Biochemistry, Oncology, Pathology, Zoology, Pharmacognosy and Ethnopharmacy, Toxicology, and Pharmacology. These specialists are collaborating with college researchers and will have access to biopsy samples from consenting prostate cancer patients in Nigeria, which has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world.
The research team is led by the Principal Investigator, Mrs. Amolegbe Oluwatosin Aishat of the Department of Biological Science at Yaba College of Technology, and includes co-researchers from Yaba College of Technology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and the University of Lagos.
The Rector of Yaba College of Technology, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, expressed his excitement and pledged the college’s full support for the team’s innovative work.
He said, “We are excited to support Mrs. Amolegbe and her team in this innovative work,” and congratulated the team members, Mrs. Oluwatosin Amolegbe, Dr. Mustapha Imam, Dr. Funmilayo Doherty, Dr. Ibrahim Malami, Dr. Idowu Aneyo, Engr. Adebayo Adebari, and Dr. Waidi Abiodun Ashiru, on receiving the well-deserved grant.