Nok Wins NLNG Science Prize

One of the top three most productive scientists in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and national honours recipient, Prof Andrew Nok has won this years Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) prize in Science.

Contrary to wide expectation however, no winner emerged in the literature category as the Nigeria Academy of Literature who are the judges faulted all entries for the award as not up to the required standard needed for such prestigious award.

Nok, a professor of biochemistry and recipient of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) won the 2009 (NLNG) prize for science through his work on the discovery of a gene responsible for the Creation of Salidase (SD), an enzyme which causes sleeping sickness a critical link in the eventual production of trypanosomiansis vaccines.

In presenting the prize to him Saturday night in Abuja, the committee for the Nigerian Prize for Science 9from the Nigerian Academy of science0 said his work has the potential of leading to the development of a scientifically elegant and sophisticated solution to a predominantly African problem.

Prof Nok was also described as a very successful researcher who has won world recognized grants for his research in trypanosome parasites and malaria. He is the first African to win a grant from the Japan-based  Mizutani foundation for glycoscience for which he received three million yen ¥3,000,000 in 2004 and from ABU two million dollars ($2million) for the development of DNA vaccine encoding Cysteine Protease Gene against Malaria.