Abstract
Background: Biomedical science has advanced drastically in developed countries in the last two decades with many health and economic benefits [1]. In Nigeria, biomedical science has not thrived and the contribution from Nigerian universities, indeed African universities, to publications in global high impact journals is low [2].
Objectives: The present work was based on the hypothesis that there is a lack of state-of-the-arts experimentation in Nigerian biomedical science experiments.
Methods: An investigation was carried out on the professional skills of biomedical science technical staff of the two (federal and state) public universities in Lagos, Nigeria using a closed-ended questionnaire survey. The 17 respondents were asked about their training, the frequency of utilization of 99 skills, and their expertise.
Results: The respondents were “untrained” more in state-of-the-arts skills (34% for electrophoresis, 28% for genomics, 22% for immunochemistry, and 34% for proteomics skills) than in general professional skills (5%), basic technical equipment skills (16%), or general biomedical science knowledge and skills (16%). Frequencies of responses were higher for general skills than for state–of-the-arts skills in the responses “utilizing frequently” (9.96%-31-61% versus 0.36%-4.2%), and “I’m expert” (9.55%-19.88% versus 5.88%-8.48%).
Conclusion: It was projected that with continued investment in modern equipment and infrastructure, there will be increased drive for training and usage of modern bioscience research skills and multidisciplinary approaches and production of high-tech scientific publications.
Keywords: State-of-the-Arts, biomedical science, technical staff, skills
Resume
La science biomédicale a énormément avancée dans les pays développés dans les deux dernières décennies avec les bénéfices en santé et en économie. Au Nigeria, la science biomédicale ne s’est pas affirmée et la contribution des Universités Nigérianes, bien que les Universités Africaines par des publications dans les journaux internationaux est faible. Cette étude est basée sur l’hypothèse qu’il y a un manque des expériences avancée et modern dans les recherches biomédicales au Nigeria. Une investigation était faite sur les aptitudes professionnelles du personnel technique en science biomédicale dans deux universités fédérale et provinciale à Lagos en utilisant un questionnaire fermé. Les 17 participants étaient questionnés par rapport à leur formation, la fréquence de l’utilisation des 99 aptitudes et leurs expertises. Les participants étaient non formés sur les techniques modernes (34% en électrophorèse, 28% en génomique, 22% en immunochimie, et 34% en
proteomique) qu’en techniques professionnelles générales (5%), techniques de base en équipements (16%), ou connaissance générale en science biomédicale (16%). Les fréquences des réponses étaient plus élevées dans les aptitudes générales que les techniques avancées ‘utilisées fréquemment (6%-31-61% contre 0.36%-4.2%), et “Je suis un expert” (9.55%-19.88% contre 5.88%-8.48%). Il était projeté que avec un investissement élevé dans les équipements modernes et infrastructures, Il y aura une augmentation dans la formation et l’usage des techniques modernes de recherché et des approches multidisciplinaires et la production des publications.
Correspondence: T. A. John, Department of Pharmacology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, 1 Oba Akinjobi St. GRA, PMB 21266, Ikeja, Lagos. Email: theresaadebola@yahoo.com; adebola.theresa@lasunigeria.org
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