My plea to FGN: What does the future hold for biochemistry?

I am a biochemist who is saddened with what our health workers, my fellow colleagues in the field practicing are facing in this Covid-19 pandemic. I am making this plea to the Federal Government of Nigeria to develop biochemistry as a better alternative to solving problems in the field of medicine and not just developing the practical application of biochemical research "medicine".

Biochemistry is rapidly expanding, possibly one of the most influential areas of science. It combines the core tenets of biology and chemistry. This field plays a huge role in the development of novel new scientific approaches. But just how important is it to medicine?

Note: Medical science cannot really exist without biochemistry.

Importance of Biochemistry to Medicine

Without the ongoing flurry of scientific breakthroughs made by biochemists, we wouldn’t have the precise chemical knowledge to create the vital drugs, therapies and diagnostic tools that are used every day.


What is the goal of Biochemistry

Much like medical science itself, biochemistry is a vast area of research that yields profound discoveries each year. Biochemical techniques advance our understanding of the chemical structures and processes that underpin human health and disease, revealing the underlying transformations between these two physiological states.


Significance of Biochemistry to healthcare

The implications of uncovering the causes of pathologies on a cellular level are huge. By being able to call on a working knowledge of biochemistry and other related disciplines such as molecular biology and immunology, those working in medical science have the potential to transform global healthcare.

And with the rise of public health threats such as this recent Covid-19 pandemic, air pollution and climate change, noncommunicable diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, the research of biochemists is needed more than ever.

The question now is how does biochemistry plays the central role in the life sciences — particularly in medicine.

What is biochemistry?

As the name may suggest, biochemistry is a field of science that broaches the two traditional disciplines of biology and chemistry. If chemistry is the science of matter, then biochemistry is the science of living matter.

Practitioners of biochemistry study the biochemical reactions that occur at the molecular level within living organisms. In medical biochemistry (also known as molecular biology), biochemical techniques are applied to human health and disease. The typical scope of medical biochemistry can encompass the following:

The chemical components of the human body, including carbohydrates and lipids; amino acids and proteins; blood and plasma; biological membranes; nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).

Now note, in this Corona virus pandemic (Covid-19), biochemist who are trained in using electron microscopes, lasers and state-of-the-art laboratory instruments can help conduct rapid experiment testing by performaning nucleic acid test with the use of polymerase chain reaction analysis in human blood and tisue fluid to detect infected people with coronavirus. This will help medical doctors to effectively treat mild case and speed up recovery rate while maintaining low death cases. As a matter of fact, the use of PCR machine for testing is a major area in biochemistry.

Benefits of biochemistry

Medicine is just one area that has benefited from biochemistry. Biochemistry has made vital contributions to the fields of including cell biology, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology, nutrition, forensic medicine, and toxicology, as well as the fields of inflammation, cell injury, and cancer.

Aside from medicine, biochemical research is also applied in industry, agriculture and food production. When taking all these applications into consideration, it’s clear that biochemistry is far from a single, monolithic discipline. In Nigeria for instance, this Covid-19 pandemic has affected food production by farmers, within a short time these food supplies may run out lead to famine and starvation. By with the knowledge of crop improvement such as hybridization developed from biochemical techniques, crop with high yield within a short while would have been developed in Nigeria, development of seedlings/seeds that are resistant to diseases and pests, etc

What does a biochemist do?

On a day-to-day basis, biochemists typically carry out research projects, manage laboratory teams, prepare technical reports and present research findings to scientists and key stakeholders in the Ministry of health, Agriculture, etc.

They conduct laboratory experiments which cover a range of subjects, from extracting cell samples from plants and animals for genetic research to developing effective new medicines for the pharmaceutical industry. Once complete, the results are then analysed in an office environment using advanced data modelling software.

Working in research teams alongside experts from other scientific fields, biochemists are predominantly employed across the life sciences sector (including pharmaceuticals, biotech, toxicology, food technology and vaccine production). They are also frequently employed in research roles in academic and government institutions.

Significance of biochemistry to medicine

The question you would like to ask is what impact has biochemical research had on medical science?

Ever since Eduard Buchner’s 1897 discovery that a cell-free extract of yeast can ferment sugar (widely considered to be the birth of biochemistry), biochemistry has enjoyed an intimate relationship with medicine — illuminating many aspects of human health and diseases.

For anyone working in medicine or a related field, accruing sufficient biochemical knowledge is needed in order to properly understand the metabolism, function and growth of a healthy human body.

In physiology, the study of body function, biochemistry has broadened our understanding of how biochemical changes relate to physiological alteration in the body. It helps us understand the chemical aspects of biological processes such as digestion, hormonal action, and muscle contraction-relaxation.

In pathology, the study of how aberrant biochemistry relates to disease conditions in the human body, physicians can use biochemical analysis to confirm predictions based on patient testimony.

For example, if a patient complains of sudden, severe pain in one or more joints, the physician may predict the problem to be gout — a form of arthritis caused by an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream. By measuring uric acid levels, biochemistry can then confirm whether gout is the root of the problem.

All diseases have a molecular basis, so biochemistry enables us to understand the chemical processes involved in conditions as varied as:

diabetes
hyperammonemia, hypo- and hyperthyroidism
hypo- and hyperparathyroidism
jaundice
kidney dysfunction
hypercholesterolemia
phenylketonuria
sickle cell anaemia
dental fluorosis
rickets
acidosis and alkalosis
lysosomal storage diseases
atherosclerosis

With information gleaned from the chemical nature of pathologies, biochemists working in medicine are able to investigate potential treatments for diseases.

The action of a drug almost always involves some change in the biochemical processes taking place in the body. As such, pharmacologists must also be acquainted with the biochemical aspects of the human body. In pharmacy, biochemical testing provides indispensable insights into a drug’s:

mode of action
half-life
storage conditions
metabolism
potential toxic or adverse effects
Biochemistry is also the sole field that accurately describes the function and role of vitamins in the body. With millions of people taking daily vitamins and mineral supplements, the ongoing discoveries made my biochemists will continue to exert a huge impact on the field of nutritional deficiency.

In all, the real impact of biochemistry is hard to quantify. From lab-grown placentas that “will transform pregnancy research” to new drugs that wipe out antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the trailblazing work of biochemists continues to expand the horizons of medical science.


What does the future hold for biochemistry in Nigeria if it is developed?

They are many subfields of biochemistry.
Genomics — the study of an organism’s complete set of DNA — is one related field of biochemistry that carries long-term implications for drug development and clinical workflows.

Genome sequencing, for example, is causing a ‘revolution’ in early diagnosis — a breakthrough that could fast-track the development of vital new treatments for a range of health conditions.
This can be a useful way of developing a better testing kits for Covid-19, since coronavirus testing in done using PCR analysis.

And with biochemical research being augmented by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the ability to quickly and efficiently analyse vast pools of data enables scientists to chart previously unexplored areas of biochemistry.

Given its central role in the life sciences as a sustainable way to solve a myriad of science, health and industrial problems, employment opportunities in biochemistry are expected to skyrocket in Nigeria if this discipline is developed in Nigeria.
Of course, medical science does not exist solely to expand our knowledge of the nature of life. It exists to have a practical application: to improve clinical practice. That is to say: medical doctors or medical laboratory scientist cannot alone explore the molecular nature of cells and the chemical processes involved, since this is the core knowledge of biochemistry.
Every year, Nigeria Universities churn out graduates in the field of biochemistry and microbiology, yet they are not place in a clinical lab to develop in human capacity like Medicine, Medical lab scientist, Pharmacy, Nurses, etc. Most of these sets of basic medical health sciences graduate are not taking care off. Majority of them take up job in other professions thereby underdeveloping the health and research sector.

The molecular phenomena discovered through biochemical analysis help to facilitate this — providing research that gives on-the-ground health professionals greater scope to fulfil their duty of care.

In fact, the trajectory of medical science in the next decade rests upon the discoveries made by biochemists in the laboratory setting.

All life on Earth depends on biochemical reactions and processes. By integrating this scientific knowledge with practical strategies to maintain health, understand diseases, identify potential treatments, and enhance our understanding of the origins of life on earth, biochemistry is and will remain one of the most important areas of science.
With an increasing development of the human capacity of biochemists in Nigeria, and the World at large, novels diseases such as coronavirus (Covid-19), can easily be understood, controlled and eradicated. Since the molecular functioning of humans and all organisms, including viruses a non-liveling agent can be well understood. The pathways of drugs in eradicating such diseases can also be developed. Cure comes when the root cause is known, stopped and altered processes are corrected in the molecular level.

Mod please push this to front page, I want everyone to contribute to this topic, let's make the nation great together

The time you spent in writing this epistle could have been used in a lab to get us something that will help fight this virus.
Na Grammer school u go?

Orubebe01:
The time you spent in writing this epistle could have been used in a lab to get us something that will help fight this virus.

True, only if the Nigerian medical association and association of Medical lab scientist of Nigeria would allow me to practice in the clinical lab. They should stop the competition, and discrimination so that we can achieve a single goal. Biochemist should be given the required licenced needed to practice in the health sector. Medical lab scientist should not be the only scientist in the country, in terms of number, biochemist are more in Nigeria

Nicely said, this country really needs to invest more in medical research

Biochemistry and Biotechnology has been killed in Nigeria. However in developed countries their peers are collaborating with other experts producing vaccines. Here we forbid Bill Gates vaccine whatever that means but we are not ready to make ours. Nigeria killing visions since 19 kporogidi.

Well said brother, I'm a Biochemist too, I spent money from my pocket doing lots of research in the laboratory which I have to pay huge money to the Laboratories I used, at a point I had to stop and start investing my money in other things to establish myself , there should be an enabling environment for us to do research in different areas of our interest to solve problems, that's the joy of a Biochemist but the country we find ourselves doesn't create such opportunities and if you want to pursue it yourself you will go broke because it cost alot to do a research that's why many Biochemist abandon the practice, I believe things will be better someday and our politicians will look inward and explore what we have here .

@ op provisions has already being made for your suggestions, we have biochemist's working in NIMR, https://nimr.gov.ng/biochemistry/
and private research Institute like the lab where Ebola kit was discovered ( Africa Centre of Excellence, Genomic and infectious Diseases) which is graceful headed by Prof T Happi Christian a biochemist.
I would implore you make your findings well, many biochemists are making waves in academia and research in Nigeria environment.
Nb(No profession is well developed in Nigeria)

Meel:
@ op provisions has already being made for your suggestions, we have biochemist's working in NIMR, https://nimr.gov.ng/biochemistry/
and private research Institute like the lab where Ebola kit was discovered ( Africa Centre of Excellence, Genomic and infectious Diseases) which is graceful headed by Prof T Happi Christian a biochemist.
I would implore you make your findings well, many biochemists are making waves in academia and research in Nigeria environment.
Nb(No profession is well developed in Nigeria)

Thanks for mentioning NIMR. In my write up, it escaped my mind. Nigeria institute of medical research is a fantastic idea made a little potent, thanks to ebola. They have been doing greatly in the aspect of testing since this pandemic of Covid-19 invaded Nigeria. True, some of these scientists are biochemists. But they are grossly underfunded.

If Federal Government wants to fight diseases that affect the lives of it's citizens and development of it's economy, they would have expanded it's labs in all States of the country and make them in the form of primary, secondary and tertiary research centres, just like we have in hospitals.

Community transmission could have easily be averted with rapid testing, quick contact tracing and isolation where possible. This would have been a way NCDC expands it's centres all round the country.
Just creating a centre of NIMR in Yaba Lagos falls short of adequate preparation in the fight against infection diseases control or eradication. Thanks for your correction.
If you say no professional is adequately developed in Nigeria, should that justify why people who should be saddled with the responsibility of developing vaccines, testing kits, boosting agricultural revolution, discovering solutions to various health problems be left to their fate and take up jobs in other unrelated field. Statistically, I have not done a research but i can roughly estimate that more than 80% of biochemist today in Nigeria pick up jobs in areas outside what they are trained for.

This is not the case for other health workers who are given licenced to operate in the health sector. What I am saying in essence is that biochemistry is not well structured, and as such the end products (graduates) are given misplaced priority.

They could have empower them more by expanding research centres where biochemists would undergo one year program similar to housemanship for doctors, pharmacy, lab scientist, etc. to get more practical hands-on training and experience. This would have been a far more effective way of controlling and combating infectious diseases.

I like your thinking OP, I am a Biochemist too so I completely get your points. Our skills and knowledge have not been in demand so upon graduation, most of us find work in other sectors, continue Masters degrees in other fields or we veer off into entrepreneurship. It is the same story year in, year out.

A major reason why Nigeria is currently under-testing is because we do not have enough test kits, Biochemists and other scientists should have been at the forefront of developing testing kits, carrying out research on vaccines, etc. Sadly, this has not been so.

This is a wake-up call to the Nigerian government, scientists are vital to every nation.