Chijioke Elekwachi.
Lethbridge Research Centre
5403 - 1st Avenue South,
Lethbridge, Alberta, CANADA. T1J 4B1
E-mail: Chijioke.Elekwachi@agr.gc.ca
Phone: +1 (403) 317 2234
Professional info
A well rounded informatician with capacity for application of bioinformatics expertise to molecular biology - and to deliver high quality computational biology tools and methods to support research in the life sciences. Skilled in database (xml and relational) design and administration, algorithm development and general software development/programming. Able to analyze multi-omics (transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) and systems biology data. Interests also extend to applying bioinformatics and chemo-informatics to environmental microbiology, analysis of next-generation sequencing data, and the use of genomics for personalized medicine. An excellent team player; Suited to working in collaborative and multidisciplinary environments.
Languages
HTML/CSS
PERL
JAVA
SQL
MATLAB
R
Skills
Experience
POST DOCTORAL RESEARCHER (Comparative Metagenomics)
2014 -
Lethbridge Research Centre (AAFC) Lethbridge, AB. CANADA
*Investigating rumen microbial ecology via comparative metatranscriptomics/metagenomics - using next generation sequencing data.
*Workflow/pipeline development for microbiome-type experiments
DOCTORAL RESEARCHER
2008 - 2012
Multidisciplinary Centre for Integrative Biology, Univ of Nottingham, UK
*Bioinformatics Software Development.
*Comparative Metagenomics
*Database Design, Admin & Mgt.
*Biological Modeling.
*Analysis of multi-omics and systems biology data.
*Analysis of Micro-array and High-throughput sequencing data.
*Text/Literature mining.
*Geographic Information Systems.
*Bioinformatics for Bioremediation.
***Genesprings, Integrative Genomics Viewer, Savant Genome Browser, Galaxy, Qiime, Mothur, etc
2010 - present
2010 - present
*Bioinformatics software and algorithm development. *Developed and maintained a web portal for the bioremediation research community. *Developed three web based computational biology resources – a literature mining resource used to infer microorganism–contaminant relationships, a decision support resource that elucidates possible degradation pathways for named contaminants following construction of the global biodegradation network; and a case studies database. *Deployed a skill-set comprising various bioinformatics techniques including web programming for retrieval and integration of relevant and disparate datasets (chemical, enzymatic, pathways, ontologies, sequences, literature etc), database development and maintenance (mySQL & XML), data/network analysis and visualization (Cytoscape/GraphViz), text/data mining etc. *Software development done primarily in Perl, SQL, HTML and run within a Perl/CGI, Apache platform, in a Linux/UNIX environment. Training also included aspects of integrative systems biology and biological modeling.
SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
2001 - 2013
Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Abuja, Nigeria
*A public Service Position. *Assisted in supervising, coordinating, and monitoring Nigeria’s National Agricultural Research System made up of 14 agricultural research institutes and 10 Federal colleges of Agriculture. * Specifically, co-ordinated activities related to biotechnology & bio-safety, biodiversity conservation and genetic resources management, Agro meteorology & GIS/Remote Sensing issues. *Liaised with local and international research institutes, other departments and agencies on issues mentioned above. *Prepared memos, reports and research reviews in consultation with relevant divisions/units within and outside the Council. *Data collection, analysis and reporting – to support government policy directions. *Other duties as may be assigned.
[NB: This summary includes time during which I served variously, as Senior Scientific Officer, Principal Scientific Officer and Asst. Chief Research Officer in same organization]
Prior experience (synopsis):
* Information Technology Correspondent, Vanguard Media Ltd, Nigeria. (1998 - 2001)
* Research Associate, Dept of CPEB, Uni of Ibadan Nigeria. (1997 - 1998)
Education
University of Nottingham, UK
PhD, Bioinformatics
2008 - 2012
*Multidisciplinary Centre for Integrative Biology. *Worked with Prof Charlie Hodgman on the development of bioinformatics and computational biology resources to support Bioremediation Research. Developed and maintained a web portal for the bioinformatics research sector. Also developed and honed capacity for general bioinformatics techniques and applications, and aspects of integrative Biology and biological modeling.
*Thesis: Bioinformatics Resources for Bioremediation Research.
Cranfield University, UK
M.Sc, Applied Bioinformatics
2006 - 2007
*Major subjects include: Genomics/Genome organization & Transcriptomics; Proteome/Metabolomics informatics; Data Integration and Interaction networks; Exploratory data analysis & essential statistics; Structural Biology; Programming for Bioinformatics (Perl & Java); and Business of Bioinformatics.
*Worked with Dr Conrad Bessant (Cranfield Uni) and Dr Andrew Garrow of the Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC), Unilever UK, on a 4 month project placement leading to a dissertation titled "A pipeline for Expansion of human protein-protein interaction datasets by homology modeling between and across species" - ABSTRACT.
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
M.Sc Environmental Biology/GIS
1997-1997/2002 - 2003
*Two different programmes of study. *Developed capability for the application of GIS and remote sensing in decision making, for planning and management and in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Environmental Sensitivity Index mapping, Compliance Monitoring, Agricultural and Natural Resources Management, Population studies, Land use and land cover management etc. *Have also developed technical capabilities in Environmental monitoring and auditing, pollution studies, Ecosystem analysis and Eco-toxicology studies, Population/Numerical Ecology; general environmental/agricultural research methodologies
Theses: 1. An assessment of heavy metal contamination of cultivated mudflats on the floodplains of Eleyele Lake in Western Nigeria. (Environmental Biology)
2: A Change Detection Analysis of Lagos Metropolis using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques (GIS).
Awards
Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF -Nigeria)
PhD Research Scholarship, 2008.
- To work on the development of Bioinformatics tools and resources to support bioremediation research.
Canadian Government Laboratory Visiting Research Fellow, 2014.
- At the Lethbridge Research Centre, Rumen microbial genomics group.
Investing rumen microbial ecology from a metatranscriptomics/metagenomics standpoint; using next-gen sequencing data.