Six Nigerians have been named among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on exceptional young scientists and engineers.
The awardees include Azeez Butali, a professor at the University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, an associate professor at Yale University; and Eno Ebong, an associate professor at Northeastern University.
Others are Oluwasanmi Koyejo, an assistant professor at Stanford University; Abidemi Ajiboye, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University; and Oluwatomi Akinlolu, a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The PECASE, created in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton, recognises individuals who demonstrate innovative research, leadership potential and commitment to community service.
To qualify, nominees must be US citizens, nationals or permanent residents engaged in independent research. Candidates are first nominated by federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The White House makes final selections and recipients receive a plaque, a citation and research funding for up to five years.
Azeez Butali, honoured under the NIH category, is known for his research in cleft genetics. He has research centres set up in Nigeria to identify critical genetic links such as PAX7 and VAX1. Butali has also worked to support caregivers of children with cleft conditions.
Ijeoma Opara, also recognised by the NIH, focuses on substance abuse prevention and youth mental health. She leads research projects addressing HIV/AIDS and neighbourhood impacts on young people in Paterson, New Jersey.
Eno Ebong, an NSF awardee, studies the impact of blood flow and tissue stiffness on vascular health, aiming to develop treatments for diseases like atherosclerosis.
At Stanford, Dr Oluwasanmi Koyejo leads the development of trustworthy machine-learning models for healthcare and neuroscience. His work, backed by the NSF, centres on fairness and robustness in artificial intelligence.
Abidemi Ajiboye is breaking ground in brain-computer interface technologies to restore mobility for individuals with spinal cord injuries. He was named as an awardee through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Oluwatomi Akinlolu contributes to cutting-edge scientific research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
