Professor Adanze Onyenonachi Asinobi Brief Bio
Professor Adanze Onyenonachi Asinobi was born on April 29, 1955, into the royal family of Chief George Nwachuku. Her formative years were influenced by her parents, both missionary teachers, and they raised her against a family background that valued service, hard work, and academic excellence. Her educational journey began in 1960, and despite interruptions due to the civil war, she excelled academically.
Prof. Adanze Asinobi graduated MBBS Ibadan in 1981, winning the Gold Medal in Psychiatry. She was the first runner-up for the Ekpo-Eyo Prize in Medicine and Radiology. She started her Residency in Paediatrics at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in 1985. With the mass emigration of the lecturers, she started giving formal lectures in General Paediatrics as a Senior Registrar in 1988. Dr. Asinobi obtained the Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College in the Faculty of Paediatrics in May 1991 and also obtained a Master's in Chemical Pathology from the University of Ibadan (UI).
She was appointed as Lecturer 1 in Paediatric Nephrology at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, in October 1991, at a time when there were no lecturers in the sub-specialty. Despite the economic challenges in Nigeria, she chose to remain in the country and diligently worked to rebuild the Unit, significantly contributing to the field of Paediatric Nephrology. Her dedication led to the development of innovative techniques that made peritoneal dialysis more accessible to economically disadvantaged patients. She has trained numerous medical students and professionals, many of whom have become leaders in Nephrology worldwide. She became the first indigenous Professor of Paediatric Nephrology at the University of Ibadan in 2020.
Prof Asinobi is a Fellow of the International Society of Nephrology, a member of the American Society of Nephrology and the International Paediatric Nephrology Association and their African counterparts. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Professor Brenner's Nephrology Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; the Centre for Chronic Disease, University of Queensland, Australia; and the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, New York (MacArthur Foundation Sponsored). She obtained a Fellowship in Nephrology from the Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacologic Research in Bergamo, Italy. She also has an MD from the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (2021).
She has served as an External Examiner in Institutions within and outside of Nigeria and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, most of which are in Paediatric Nephrology. She is married with children and grandchildren, and one of her children, following in her steps, is an Alumna of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. Her personal life is marked by her strong Christian faith and love for music and sports.
Professor Asinobi's legacy is one of resilience, determination, dedication and unwavering commitment to paediatric nephrology and medical education in Nigeria.
If you ask her, she believes that her achievements are by the grace of God.
