Dr. Temitope Olawale Jeje

Biography

Dr. Temitope Olawale Jeje is a biochemist, researcher, and university lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Nigeria. His academic and research interests lie at the interface of molecular biochemistry, pharmacology, and natural product drug discovery, with a particular focus on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of medicinal plants against infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and cancer. Dr. Jeje's research integrates biochemical, molecular, and computational approaches, including network pharmacology, molecular docking, bioinformatics, and experimental validation, to identify and characterise bioactive phytochemicals with therapeutic potential. His work has investigated medicinal plants such as Phyllanthus niruri and Bridelia ferruginea, examining their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimalarial, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities. His studies particularly explore the modulation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammatory signalling, and other molecular pathways implicated in disease pathogenesis. A significant aspect of his scholarly work is the development of innovative platforms and strategies for natural product-based drug discovery. He has proposed the establishment of Naija-OncoDB, a comprehensive database of Nigerian medicinal plants for anticancer drug discovery, integrating ethnopharmacological knowledge with computational biology to accelerate lead identification and translational research. Dr. Jeje has acquired international research experience through bench research at Tohoku University, Japan, where he conducted advanced studies in malaria research under the mentorship of Professor Kentaro Kato. He is also actively engaged in postgraduate supervision, curriculum development, and the teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in biochemistry, immunology, and cell and tissue culture techniques. His long-term research vision is to translate discoveries from African medicinal plants into evidence-based therapeutic interventions through multidisciplinary collaboration, advanced molecular techniques, and artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery, while contributing to scientific capacity building and improving healthcare outcomes in Africa and beyond.

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms of disease; natural product-based drug discovery; cancer biochemistry; infectious diseases; oxidative stress and inflammation; apoptosis and cell signalling; network pharmacology; molecular docking; bioinformatics; artificial intelligence in drug discovery; and translational biochemistry.

Qualifications

Membership of Professional Bodies

Postgraduate M.Sc Supervision

Undergraduate Project Supervision

Course Teaching

Selected Publications