Chukwunonso Nwabufo, MBA, PhD
Pharmacologist, Entrepreneur, Transformational leader
I am a Pharmacologist
I am an Entrepreneur
I am a Transformational Leader
What I do
I deploy pharmacological principles to develop safe and effective drugs for unmet medical needs
I am advancing the implementation of precision medicine in global healthcare through OneDrugâs innovative medical devices
I use my creative and innovative skills to solve the worldâs most pressing problems in global healthcare
My Services
Drug development consultation
Research and development consultation
Business management and administration
Public speaking
Executive governance
Entrepreneurship
I am the founder and CEO of OneDrug, an innovative biotech startup that is advancing the implementation of precision medicine in global healthcare by developing smart point-of-care diagnostic devices to support individualized treatment.
Transformational Leadership
I have used my visionary, effective communication, and innovative skills to transform several organizations including Purpose Driven Men, Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Drug Metabolism Community of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, New Investigators Forum of the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, and Drug Metabolism Reviews Journal
Research and Development
I contributed to the development of approved live-saving medicines including Remdesivir and Lenacapavir for the treatment of COVID-19 and HIV respectively. I uncovered the preclinical safety and efficacy of 3 novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment of Parkinsonâs disease. I am currently using COVID-19 drug development as a case study to unravel strategies for developing safe and efficacious drugs for respiratory diseases. Google scholar.Â
Portfolio
Research and Development
Entrepreneurship
Transformational Leadership
Impact Highlight
Approved and commercialized drugs
0
startups
0
NGO
0
Funding
$
0
k+
Scientific papers
0
Dr. Chukwunonso Nwabufo
Live. Powerful. Impactful
Dr. Chukwunonso Nwabufo is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Bioengineering, School of Medicine and College of Engineering, University of Washington, where he is developing novel microdevices for precision medicine applications. Dr. Nwabufo is the founder and CEO of OneDrug Inc., an innovative medical technology startup that is developing smart point-of-care technologies to advance the clinical implementation of precision medicine across the globe. He is a multiple award-winning translational pharmacologist with over eight years of experience in drug development across academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Nwabufo contributed to the development of Remdesivir and Lenacapavir, approved for the treatment of COVID-19 and HIV, respectively, during his tenure at Gilead Sciences. He also contributed to the development of novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment and/or diagnosis of Parkinsonâs disease during his MSc program.
Dr. Nwabufoâs doctoral research work was focused on deploying pharmacological strategies to improve the clinical efficacy and safety profile of promising COVID-19 drugs. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship â Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements Award, Emerging Academic Scholars Award, Pfizer Canada Fellowship, Top 25 Canadian Immigrant for Healthcare Innovation, and 2024 Canadian CEO of the Year Award for Medical Technology Development. In general, he has received more than 35 international and national awards and recognitions with over $400,000 in funding due to academic, research, and leadership accomplishments. Dr. Nwabufo has authored 19 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 11 industry-standard peer-reviewed reports in support of drug development programs.
Dr. Nwabufo serves as an editorial board member of Drug Metabolism Reviews and Journal of Applied Bioanalysis. He has served as a Track Leader and Abstract Screener for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) PharmSci 360 Conference, and as Past Chair, Chair, and Vice Chair of the AAPS Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Drug Metabolism Community. In addition, he contributes to the advancement of clinical pharmacology education and mentorship as a member of the Student, Trainee, and Early-Stage Professional Committee of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.
Milestones
University of Toronto, Canada
- PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences, 4.0/4.0 â 2025
Quantic School of Business and Technology, USA
- Master of Business Administration, 93% â 2021
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
- MSc Pharmacy, 90.5% â 2019
University of Benin, Nigeria
- BSc Biochemistry, 91% â 2015
Postdoctoral Scholar
- Bioengineering, School of Medicine, University of Washington â 2025âPresent
OneDrug
- Founder and CEO â 2021âPresent
Gilead Sciences, Canada
- Senior Research Associate, Analytical Operations â 2019â2021
Approved Life-saving Drugs
- 2 approved and commercialized life-saving medicines
COVID-19 Drug Development
- 7 high-impact scientific papers supporting the development of transformative medicines for COVID-19
Drug Development for Parkinsonâs Disease
- 3 novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment and/or diagnosis of Parkinsonâs disease.
- 4 high-impact scientific papers supporting drug development for Parkinsonâs disease.
- 1 most-read paper, 2 trending papers, and 1 paper with over 12k readership.
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Served as Guest Editor for a special issue of Drug Metabolism Reviews focused on improving predictive power of preclinical models for expedited drug development, featuring nine contributions from leading experts.
- The 9 published articles achieved strong metrics: 16,512+ total reads, 22 total altmetric score, and 144+ citations.
Drug Metabolism Reviews
- Editorial Board Member
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA
- Chair, Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, & Drug Metabolism Community
Journal of Applied Bioanalysis
- Editorial Board Member
Science Rendezvous
- Judge, SRHacks Hackathon
Western Canadian Medicinal Chemistry Workshop
- 2018 Session Co-chair
COVID-19 Drug Development
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ (2025) Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2âmediated dysregulation of drug processing genes is dependent on pathogenic variants, target site of infection, age, and sex. Drug Metab Dispos. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dmd.2025.100152
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ (2025) COVID-19 Alters Inflammatory, Mitochondrial, and Protein Clearance Pathway Genes: Potential Implications for New-onset Parkinsonism in Patients. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 20, 58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-025-10215-4
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ (2025) Uncovering the Impact of COVID-19 Mediated Bidirectional Dysregulation of CYP3A4 on Systemic and Pulmonary Drug Concentrations Using Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling. Drug Metab Dispos. https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.124.001893
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ et al. (2024) COVID-19 severity gradient differentially dysregulates clinically relevant drug processing genes in nasopharyngeal swab samples. Br J Clin Pharmacol. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.16124
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ et al. (2023) SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dysregulates Clinically Relevant Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters. Front. Pharmacol. link
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Reina Bendayan (2022) Pharmacokinetic Considerations to Optimize Clinical Outcomes for COVID-19 Drugs. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2022.09.005
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Omozojie P. Aigbogun (2022) Potential Application of Mass Spectrometry Imaging in Pharmacokinetic Studies. Xenobiotica. https://doi.org/10.1080/00498254.2022.2119900
Drug Development for Parkinsonâs Disease
- Omozojie P. Aigbogun, Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo et al. (2022) An HPLC-UV validated bioanalytical method for α-synuclein binding compounds. Xenobiotica. https://doi.org/10.1080/00498254.2022.2140315
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Omozojie P. Aigbogun (2022) Diagnostic and Therapeutic Agents Targeting Alpha-synuclein. J Neurol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-022-11267-9
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo et al. (2021) PET Probe Design for α-synuclein Binding Compounds. Xenobiotica. https://doi.org/10.1080/00498254.2021.1943566
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Ed S. Krol (2019) Metabolic Fate of Novel Dimer Compounds for Parkinsonâs Disease. Drug Metab Pharmacokinet. 10.1016/j.dmpk.2018.09.208
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo et al. (2019) Tandem MS Analysis of Novel Caffeine Scaffold Compounds. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8540
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Gurveer Kaur & Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo* (2024) Pharmacogenetic-Guided Treatment Implementation. Pharmacogenet Genomics. link
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo§ (2023) Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in Ovarian Cancer Therapy. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-023-04575-y
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo (2022) Relevance of ABC Transporters in Drug Development. Curr. Drug Metab. 10.2174/1389200223666220621113524
- Aarzoo Thakur et al. (2021) Bioanalytical Strategies in Drug Discovery and Development. Drug Metab Rev. https://doi.org/10.1080/03602532.2021.1959606
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo (2021) Introduction to Next Generation Drug Discovery. Drug Metab Rev. https://doi.org/10.1080/03602532.2021.1909614
- Laura E. Russell et al. (2021) Pharmacogenomics in the Era of Next Generation Sequencing. Drug Metab Rev. https://doi.org/10.1080/03602532.2021.1909613
- Laura E. Russell et al. (2020) Advances in the Study of Drug Metabolism â Symposium Report. Drug Metab Rev. https://doi.org/10.1080/03602532.2020.1765793
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Olusanya Olasehinde (2017) Biochemical Effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa on Male Reproductive Hormones. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res. 8(2), 38â41.
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo & Ugbogbo, C. (2016) Designing Life: The Future of Genetic Engineering. Microbiology World 3(6), 51â55.
- Chukwunonso K. Nwabufo (2014) Hybridoma Technology: A Tool in Immunotherapy. Microbiology World 8, 29â37.
Opinion Editorials
- Prescription for Change: Diversityâs Missing Link in Canadaâs Healthcare System. The Hill Times, Mar 7, 2024. link
- COVID-19 May Affect Patient Response to Medicines. The Hill Times, May 29, 2023. link
- Donât Let the Next Pandemic Meet This Pharmaceutical Sector. The Hill Times, Jun 2, 2021. link
Milestones
-
University of Toronto, Canada
PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences, 4.0/4.0 â 2024Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
-
Quantic School of Business and Technology, USA
Master of Business Administration, 93% â 2021
-
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
MSc Pharmacy, 90.5% â 2019
-
University of Benin, Nigeria
BSc Biochemistry, 91% â 2015
-
OneDrug
Founder and CEO â 2021-Present
-
Gilead Sciences, Canada
Senior Research Associate, Analytical Operations â 2019-2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Approved Life-saving Drugs
- https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/press-room/press-releases/2022/12/sunlenca-lenacapavir-receives-fda-approval-as-a-firstinclass-twiceyearly-treatment-option-for-people-living-with-multidrug-resistant-hiv
- https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/press-room/press-releases/2020/10/us-food-and-drug-administration-approves-gileads-antiviral-veklury-remdesivir-for-treatment-of-covid19#:~:text=(Nasdaq%3A%20GILD)%20today%20announced,virus%20that%20causes%20COVID%2D19.
COVID-19 Drug Development
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2022.09.005
- https://www.eventscribe.net/2022/PharmSci360/index.asp?posterTarget=528858
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00498254.2022.2119900
Drug Development for Parkinsonâs disease
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00498254.2022.2140315
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00498254.2021.1943566
- https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rcm.8540
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-022-11267-9
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03602532.2021.1909613
- https://doi.org/10.2174/1389200223666220621113524
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03602532.2020.1765793
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03602532.2021.1909614
-
-
Drug Metabolism Reviews
Editorial Board Member
-
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA
Vice Chair, Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, & Drug Metabolism Community
-
Science Rendezvous
Judge, 2022 SRHacks Hackathon
-
Western Canadian Medicinal Chemistry Workshop
2018 Session Co-chair
-
Awards and Honors
CIHR CGS âD $105K
CIHR CGS – MSFSS $6K
Doctoral Fellowship $250K
Ontario Graduate Scholarship $15K
Pfizer Canada Fellowship in Health Outcomes Research $6K
Shoppers Drug Mart Deanâs Trust Scholarship $1K
Conference Travel Grant 750 USD
Conference Travel Grant ~â¬340
Graduate Research Fellowship $7,620
Deans Fellowship $10K
Research Fellowship $17K
University of Toronto Fellowship $12K
Norman Stuart Robertson Fe5Kllowship $5K
Conference Travel Grant $2.6K
Gilead Alberta ULC Conference Grant 750 USD
Frederick Hudd Scholarship $8K
Lupina Foundation Bursary $2.7K
Massey College Bursaries $6.8K
Catherall Travel Bursary $2.8K
Pharmacy and Nutrition Graduate Student Scholarship $ 34K
Conference Travel Grant $750
University of Saskatchewan Student Travel Award $450
MBA Student Funding 9.6K USD
Certificate of Appreciation for Valuable Service 2019, 2020, & 2021
Media Appearance
Leading Scientific Associations
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA
- https://www.pathlms.com/aaps/webinars/30233
- https://www.pathlms.com/aaps/webinars/28262
- https://www.pathlms.com/aaps/webinars/22091
- https://community.aaps.org/communities/community-home?communitykey=ade5a244-0faa-4ae7-a531-6af18b632f37&tab=groupdetails
International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, USA
https://www.issx.org/page/MeetNewInvestigators
Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences – Young Scientists Network
Renowned Academic Institutions
- https://www.masseycollege.ca/2022/05/16/news-and-events-10/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfcU3qknHWc&t=1003s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAZBNnozq2Q&list=PLZPXYnb596cb_fa6SZT33TmhRgx9o7XR_&index=2
- https://www.masseycollege.ca/junior-fellows-listing/
News Outlet
https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2021/06/02/dont-let-the-next-pandemic-meet-this-pharmaceutical-sector/269104/
- https://www.alzforum.org/papers/diagnostic-and-therapeutic-agents-target-alpha-synuclein-parkinsons-disease
- https://www.alzforum.org/papers/employing-vitro-metabolism-guide-design-f-labelled-pet-probes-novel-synuclein-binding
- https://www.alzforum.org/papers/hplc-uv-validated-bioanalytical-method-measurement-vitro-phase-1-kinetics-synuclein-binding
https://goodnigeria.com/chukwunonso-nwabufo-nigerian-man-with-amazing-academic-history/
Latest News
PHARMSCI PHD STUDENT MOTIVATED TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
RESEARCHERS OUTLINE POTENTIAL STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF COVID-19 DRUGS
PHARMSCI PHD STUDENT MOTIVATED TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES
Latest Blog
Further information can be found on our website. The link below will take you to a page containing a wealth of interesting and useful information.