Dr Aishatu Shehu

Dr Aishatu Shehu, B.Pharm, PharmD, MSc, PhD, is a pharmacist, academic and researcher whose work spans pharmacology, nutrition, African foods and medicinal plants. She is an Associate Professor and has built her career around pharmaceutical research, academic mentorship and the scientific investigation of indigenous resources. Dr Shehu obtained her BPharm from Ahmadu Bello University in 2009, followed by an MSc in 2014 and PhD in 2018 from the same institution. She also obtained a PharmD from the University of Benin in 2017. Her PhD thesis received the best thesis award in 2018, according to her profile. She began her academic career as an Assistant Lecturer in 2013 and rose through the academic ranks to become an Associate Professor in 2023. Her professional interests include the scientific validation of African foods and medicinal plants and their potential contribution to preventive and therapeutic healthcare. Her research philosophy is captured in her programme, “African Foods as Medicines: Targeting Prevention Rather Than Cure.” Dr Shehu is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), British Pharmacological Society (BPS), West African Society of Pharmacology (WASP-SOAP), Nigerian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (NISPET), Nigerian Association of Pharmacists in Academia (NAPA), and Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPS). She serves as Financial Secretary of NISPET. Her scientific engagements have taken her to professional and academic meetings in Ghana, Cotonou, Glasgow, Melbourne and Manchester, among others. Through her research and academic work, Dr Shehu advocates for greater investment in African pharmaceutical research and stronger pathways for translating scientific discoveries into useful healthcare innovations. Her work on Adansonia digitata contributed to the development of KASUTAB-500, a tablet supplement produced under Kaduna State University's African Food as Medicine Series. Beyond her research, she places strong emphasis on mentorship, collaboration and encouraging young pharmacists and researchers to remain curious, investigate the resources around them and subject traditional claims to rigorous scientific evaluation.