EDCTP-AREF Joint Preparatory Fellowship awarded to Dr Peter M. Eze

Dr Peter M. Eze is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of Environmental Health Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. On March 25, 2019, Dr Eze received the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership-African Research Excellence Fund (EDCTP-AREF) Joint Preparatory Fellowship Award [Grant amount: 30,038 GBP; Grant Reference: MRF-157-0034-F-EZE(A)/C0763] through which he enjoyed a 15-month research placement (July 2019 – September 2020) at Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf. As part of his Fellowship, Dr Eze sought to identify and exploit endophytic fungi of Nigerian plants with the ability to produce novel biologically active compounds with antimicrobial and anticancer potentials. During his placement at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich Heine University (HHU) in Düsseldorf, Germany, Dr Eze worked with Professor Rainer Kalscheuer who provided laboratory space, guidance and research materials. At the end of the placement, Dr Eze’s home institution, through Professor Charles Esimone and Professor Festus Okoye, provided the platform for his re-integration, including the support needed for further experimentation or analyses of results, reporting and publication of findings.