By Meeri Kim<\/p>\n
Growing up as a young girl in Lagos, Nigeria,\u00a0Nkem Torimiro<\/a>\u00a0had a dream of becoming a doctor to save lives. But she hit a bump in the road after high school, when the\u00a0University of Port-Harcourt<\/a>\u00a0offered her admission to study botany instead of medicine. She accepted the offer, but with her heart still set on a career in human health.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was during my final year while working on a project on isolating bacteria from a diseased plant that I got fascinated by the world of microorganisms,\u201d says Torimiro. \u201cSubsequently, I furthered my graduate studies in microbiology, and it has been a worthwhile experience ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n She realized that expertise in microbiology \u2014 and specifically, infectious diseases \u2014 could lead to a career that would help fulfill her childhood aspirations. After graduating with a B.Sc. in Botany, Torimiro received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Microbiology as well as her Master\u2019s in Public Health (MPH) from\u00a0Obafemi Awolowo University<\/a>. Now, as Acting Head of the\u00a0Department of Microbiology<\/a>\u00a0at Obafemi Awolowo University, Torimiro specializes in medical and public health microbiology, detection of infectious agents, and antimicrobial resistance.<\/p>\n She\u00a0was awarded three patents\u00a0by the Federal Republic of Nigeria for research innovations that leverage nanotechnology to solve pressing issues in medicine and agriculture. One of her inventions is a\u00a0nanoparticle-based biosensor<\/a>\u00a0that can detect the onset of post-harvest spoilage in fruit before it becomes evident to the naked eye. For example, fruit handlers\u00a0cannot see the signs of\u00a0early-stage deterioration that will lead to\u00a0their produce exhibiting\u00a0visual symptoms of quality loss during storage \u2014 by which point they become unsellable.\u00a0\u00a0The biosensor uses a solution of\u00a0Bacillus subtilis-<\/em>synthesized silver nanoparticles, which are highly sensitive to the gas metabolite released by many types of fruit when undergoing deterioration. Her invention is a simple and environmentally safe way to ensure that timely actions can be taken before spoilage occurs.<\/p>\n \u201cFood insecurity is on the high side in Nigeria and most\u00a0sub-Saharan African countries, not just because food production levels are low, but because more of what is being produced is usually lost to post-harvest spoilage,\u201d she says. \u201cHence, it is highly important not only to grow more food but also to save what is grown.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, her laboratory is looking for means of addressing antibiotic resistance in infectious pathogenic bacteria. She is also passionate about global health security and advocates for the safe, secure, and responsible use of biological agents. Torimiro holds professional certifications in Biorisk Management, Biosecurity, and Biological Waste Management from the\u00a0International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n As part of a research team based in the United States and Nigeria, Torimiro is\u00a0also working on a project funded by the\u00a0Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety<\/a>\u00a0to mitigate and prevent household foodborne illnesses in Nigeria.<\/p>\n \u201cAfrica has the highest prevalence of foodborne disease globally, with 2,420 cases per 1 million people occurring every year,\u201d she says. \u201cBut most of the research on food safety doesn\u2019t look at households, which is where foodborne disease often originates from, especially in Nigeria and other resource-poor settings.\u201d<\/p>\n She serves as the microbiologist of the interdisciplinary team, which is co-led by\u00a0Andrea Bersamin<\/a>, professor of biology and wildlife at the\u00a0University of Alaska Fairbanks<\/a>, and\u00a0Bolanle Otegbayo<\/a>, professor of food science\u00a0and technology at\u00a0Bowen University<\/a>. Her role focuses on environmental sanitation assessments, such as isolating and identifying pathogens from food contact surfaces and non-food contact surfaces in households.<\/p>\n The project, targeting Nigerian families with children under five years old, aims to understand what factors and conditions make households vulnerable to food safety risks. Torimiro and her colleagues are now in the final stages of the project, which involves a participatory approach and cross-sector collaboration with key stakeholders, including mothers,\u00a0to prioritize programs and policy actions to improve household food safety.<\/p>\n From her perspective, the biggest challenge in food safety is that people don\u2019t take it seriously enough as a major public health problem. Even the\u00a0United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which tackle global issues like hunger, clean water, and climate change \u2014 do not include food safety, despite\u00a0the estimated 420,000\u00a0deaths from foodborne illness every year.<\/p>\n \u201cMost times people are reactive, and when it comes to food safety, we don’t prepare ahead. Only when there is an undesirable event, that’s when people mobilize to look for solutions,\u201d Torimiro says. \u201cBut planning efforts should be intensified towards prevention, and\u00a0to do that we\u00a0need to start addressing food safety from farm to fork.\u201d<\/p>\n Meeri Kim is a freelance writer with the\u00a0<\/em>Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0The Innovation Lab is one of a network of 20 such labs led by U.S. universities under\u00a0<\/em>Feed the Future<\/em>, the U.S. government\u2019s global hunger and food security initiative led by\u00a0<\/em>USAID<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Meeri Kim Growing up as a young girl in Lagos, Nigeria,\u00a0Nkem Torimiro\u00a0had a dream of becoming a doctor to save lives. But she hit a bump in the road after high school, when the\u00a0University of Port-Harcourt\u00a0offered her admission to study botany instead of medicine. 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