Postdoctoral Scholar, Bioengineering, School of Medicine
University of Washington
Dr. Chukwunonso Nwabufo is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Bioengineering, School of Medicine and College of Engineering, University of Washington, where he is developing novel microdevices for precision medicine applications. He is a multiple award-winning translational pharmacologist with over seven years of experience in drug development across academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Nwabufo contributed to the development of Remdesivir and Lenacapavir, approved for the treatment of COVID-19 and HIV, respectively, during his tenure at Gilead Sciences. He also contributed to the development of novel compounds under basic science research for the treatment and/or diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease during his MSc program.
Dr. Nwabufo’s doctoral research work was focused on deploying pharmacological strategies to improve the clinical efficacy and safety profile of promising COVID-19 drugs. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements Award, Emerging Academic Scholars Award, Pfizer Canada Fellowship, Top 25 Canadian Immigrant for Healthcare Innovation, and 2024 Canadian CEO of the Year Award for Medical Technology Development. In general, he has received more than 35 international and national awards and recognitions with over $400,000 in funding due to academic, research, and leadership accomplishments. Dr. Nwabufo has authored 19 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 11 industry-standard peer-reviewed reports in support of drug development programs.
Dr. Nwabufo serves as an editorial board member of Drug Metabolism Reviews and Journal of Applied Bioanalysis. He is a track leader and abstract screener for the PharmSci360 conference, past chair for the Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Drug Metabolism Community of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, USA. He is also a member of the Student, Trainee & Early-stage Professional Committee of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.