Iruka N. Okeke

Iruka Okeke is a Nigerian pharmaceutical microbiologist. Iruka is a professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and an adjunct professor in the College of Medicine, both in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Iruka's career is the study neglected enteric bacteria such as E. coli, known for their potential to cause fatal bloodstream and diarrheal infections. She advocates for the utilization of Genomics approaches to enhance surveillance and gain a better understanding of pathogen virulence. Okeke's research interests extend to combating antimicrobial resistance and investigating bacterial pathogenesis, epidemiology, and antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria. Iruka's contributions to the field have earned her recognition as a fellow of esteemed institutions such as the Nigerian Academy of Sciences, and African Academy of Sciences.

Okeke has received multiple awards including awards such as the American Society for Microbiology Moselio Schaechter Award 2023 in Recognition of a Developing-Country Microbiologist, The Peter Wildy Prize from the UK Microbiology Society 2024, and in 2025 was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Life and education Okeke was born in England to Nigerian parents, and later moved to Nigeria to pursue her secondary education. She earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy from Obafemi Awolowo University, in 1994, followed by her Master of Science in Pharmaceutics in 1998 at the same university. She later completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in collaboration with the University of Maryland, USA, in 2000. Okeke later pursued a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, spending a year at the Center for Vaccine Development, as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Maryland.

Okeke is married and has a daughter. During her time at Haverford she was a Branco Weiss Fellow of the Society of Science between 2004 and 2009, and a Fellow of the Institute for AdvancedStudies, Berlin from 2010 to 2011. She has studied the surface proteins of E. coli and described how these proteins help the bacteria colonize the gut.

In 2014, Okeke moved to the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, supported by the UK Medical Research Council and UK Department for International Development as an African Research Leader. She is also working on low-cost technology solutions to monitor antimicrobial resistance in low-income settings, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2017 she was appointed editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Laboratory Medicine.

Awards and honours

2025 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology American Society for Microbiology Moselio Schaechter Award in Recognition of a Developing-Country Microbiologist, June 2024 The Peter Wildy Prize. UK Microbiology Society, April 2023 Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2021–2026 Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science in 2018 Pharmacy Ambassador in the Diaspora Award. Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, 2014 Mellon 23 Life Cycle of the Student Scholar Award for early curricular initiatives that serve to build the foundations of student scholarship, 2009