In May 2025, Samuel Dada, a biomedical researcher at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research in Lagos, Nigeria, spent almost a month at Drexel University College of Medicine learning advanced CRISPR technology. The training was conducted within the College’s Center for Molecular Parasitology, under the leadership of Akhil Vaidya, PhD, professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. While based in the center, Dada spent most of his time working in the laboratory of Hangjun Ke, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, where he received hands-on training in CRISPR-based molecular techniques.
CRISPR is a powerful gene-editing tool often described as “genetic scissors.” It allows scientists to precisely locate a specific gene within an organism’s DNA and cut, remove or modify it. Originally discovered as a natural defense system used by bacteria to protect themselves from viruses, CRISPR has been adapted by researchers to study gene function, investigate disease mechanisms and develop new treatments by making targeted changes to genetic material.
Dada’s visit was part of a research training partnership between the Malaria Genomics Research and Training Center at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and the Center for Molecular Parasitology at Drexel. This collaboration was initiated by Ikechukwu Nwankwo, PhD microbiology and immunology ’26, a former member of the laboratory of Olusola Ajibaye, PhD, who is Dada’s principal investigator. Nwankwo introduced Ajibaye to Vaidya. In February 2025, Ajibaye conducted a brief visit to Drexel to establish the collaboration and identify Dada as the candidate to travel to the United States for this specialized training.
While Dada greatly appreciated his time in Philadelphia — including meeting inspiring colleagues, exploring Center City and Chinatown, and visiting the College of Medicine’s Health Sciences Building and the rest of Drexel’s campus — he has found it especially fulfilling to bring everything he learned back to Nigeria. He has had many opportunities to share the knowledge he gained at Drexel in both formal and informal ways. In addition to hosting webinars on the topic, training members of his laboratory, and mentoring research interns at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, he has facilitated two workshops: a five-day event at the University of Lagos on the theme “From Lab to Life: CRISPR Promise for Healthcare and Hunger Solutions,” and a three-day training at Babcock University, Ogun State, Nigeria, on “CRISPRCas9 Genome Editing as a Tool for Advancing Basic and Biomedical Sciences for National Development.”
“Most people here read about CRISPR in a paper, or even see it in YouTube videos, but I explained to them that the lab experience is entirely different,” he says. “When I’m teaching, they’re able to see it from the perspective of the lab and hands-on experimentation. They really value and appreciate the training, and I was very fulfilled because I felt like I was serving as a bridge, bringing this knowledge back from the United States to my society in Nigeria.”
This transfer of knowledge has not been without its challenges. Dada notes that the equipment and resources available to Nigerian researchers for CRISPR applications are more limited than the state-of-the-art facilities he worked with at Drexel. Challenges aside, Dada is excited about the possibilities of CRISPR technology in Nigeria and beyond.
During one of the workshops Dada facilitated, a patient who had been cured of sickle cell disease through CRISPRCas9 gene editing joined via Zoom to share his experience and the improvements to his quality of life, offering all attendees both hope for what this technology can achieve and inspiration to further their own knowledge and skills.
Dada’s parting advice to anyone embarking on a similar experience is simple: “Remember your purpose. Your purpose is to learn and then share that knowledge back home.” And he has done — and will continue to do — exactly that.
