Professor John Ibhagbemien Anetor Brief Bio
Prof. John Ibhagbemien Anetor was born on May Day, Sunday, 1 May 1955 at St. Camillus Catholic Hospital, Uromi, Edo State, to Mr. Aimakhu Ogudo and Mrs. Magdalene Omobhakhamen Anetor (Nee Eimunjeze). He enjoyed a very healthy upbringing in his maternal grandfather’s large compound, which housed an orchard, and an ambience he cherishes to this day. He is very grateful for the closely knit family setting in which he was raised.
In 1963, he began primary education at the Local Authority (L.A.) School in Utako, Uromi. He could not start earlier because he did not meet the entry criterion as of then; he could not reach out his right hand to touch his left ear. He studied Medical Laboratory Science at the University College Hospital (UCH), obtaining the Associate Membership of the Institute of Medical Laboratory Science of Nigeria (AIMLS) in June 1981.
Prof. Anetor joined the Medical Centre of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), November 28, 1984, where he rose through the ranks to become Manager in charge of clinical laboratory services. He later completed the Master of Science(MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Chemical Pathology, College of Medicine, of the University of Ibadan. He had his postdoctoral training in the Pathology Department at the Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan, under the supervision of Professor Shoji Fukushima, MD, PhD, in 2005. His research was on chemical carcinogenesis and chemoprevention.
Prof. John Anetor joined the services of the University of Ibadan on 15th December 1998 as Lecturer II and rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Chemical Pathology on October 1, 2010. He has been an external examiner at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in almost all the major universities in Nigeria and several in West, East, and Southern Africa. He has also served on accreditation panels of the National Universities Commission and the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria. He has enjoyed many travel grants/ fellowships.
He is a member of many professional and learned societies locally and internationally such as, Association of Clinical Chemists of Nigeria (ACCN); a registered fellow with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN); Fellow, Academy of Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (FADLM), (previously American Academy of Clinical Chemistry (FAACC, FACB); and Fellow, Academy of Toxicological Sciences (ATS, F-ATS) (an internationally certified toxicologist); a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (FIBMS) of the United Kingdom (UK), Member, Association Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (ACB) of the United Kingdom. He represented Africa on the Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (C-TLM) of the Scientific Division (SD) of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) for six years. He is a Member of, Society of Toxicology (SOT) of the United States of America. He is both an Italian-certified toxicologist (RANTIC) and a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT). In addition, he is a Life member of the Environmental Mutagen Society of India (EMSI) and an honorary Fellow, Institute of Industrial Administrators of Nigeria (FIIA). He has published extensively, a total of one hundred and sixty-seven (167) papers at the last count, (not counting published abstracts) including several book chapters and two co-authored books, Urinalysis in Clinical and Laboratory Medicine’ and a TETFUND funded book ‘The Biomedical Explorer: A Textbook of Biomedical Research Innovation’. He has supervised and co-supervised 15 PhD candidates, many of whom are occupying several senior positions or the professorial cadre; over 35 MSc candidates, 5 Fellowship candidates, and several BMLS projects.
He is a reviewer for many national and international peer-reviewed journals and sits on several editorial boards, and is currently the Section Editor, Chemical Pathology, African Journal of Laboratory Medicine (AJLM) based in Cape Town. John Anetor is the current Chair of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Taskforce on Environmental Impact of Laboratory Medicine (TF-EILM). He is the National Coordinator of the Mercury pollution surveillance team for Nigeria in collaboration with the National Institute of Minamata Disease in Japan.
Professor Anetor has also served the University of Ibadan, the College of Medicine, and the University College Hospital (UCH) in several capacities. He was the Vice-Chairman of the University College Hospital Research Committee, Chairman of the college of Medicine University of Ibadan Postgraduate committee, pioneer chair committee for the consortium of medical laboratories at the college of medicine, a 2-term member of the management committee of the Multidisciplinary Central Research Laboratory (MCRL), member of the senate curriculum committee to mention a few. He delivered an inaugural lecture entitled ‘In Search of Antidote for a Poisoned World’ on behalf of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ibadan.
John is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and has been an invited speaker/keynote speaker at over 50 conferences globally. He has presented over 150 papers at conferences both nationally and internationally. In recognition of his contribution to medical sciences and science generally, John Anetor was elected Fellow, Academy of Medical Sciences of Nigeria (previously Academy of Medicine Specialties (FAMedS) and Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS).
Prof. Anetor is a confirmed and committed Catholic who is extremely grateful to God for the gift of his Catholic Faith. He is married to Professor Gloria Anetor, a Professor of Public Health Education and Director, Centre for Global and Migration Studies of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Abuja, and the union is blessed with four children, their spouses, and grandchildren. He enjoys general reading, gardening, photography, traveling, hiking, as well as national and international issues discourse analysis. He particularly loves green environments, very well-trimmed hedges, and manicured lawns.