{"id":681,"date":"2023-04-05T08:10:35","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T15:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/?post_type=our_fellows&#038;p=681"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:19:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:19:35","slug":"mojisola-ojebode","status":"publish","type":"our_fellows","link":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/our_fellows\/mojisola-ojebode\/","title":{"rendered":"Mojisola Karigidi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Mojisola Karigidi is an early-career scientist and lecturer in the field of biochemistry with special interest in functional foods, medicinal plants and their role in disease prevention. She is a seasoned researcher and writer with over six years of experience covering food security and sustainable development. Mojisola holds a doctorate degree in Biochemistry (Cancer Research and Molecular Biology) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Masters degree in Nutritional and Industrial Biochemistry from the same university. Her first degree in Biochemistry was obtained at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. \\n\\nMojisola has published scientific research findings in both local and international peer-reviewed journals and over 50 articles on science, food security, health, sustainability, nutrition and women empowerment for the public in prestigious media outlets and magazines. \\n\\nMojisola is a Senior Food Security Fellow of Aspen New Voice fellowship. In 2019, she won the Mujeres Por Africa Foundation fellowship and was attached to Universidad de Malaga, Spain where she had her pre-doctoral research experience. She is an alumna of the Mandela Washington fellowship (2016), African Women in Agricultural Research and Development fellowship (2014-2016) and Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Tech-I awardee (2015).&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">Mojisola Karigidi is an early-career scientist and lecturer in the field of biochemistry with special interest in functional foods, medicinal plants and their role in disease prevention. She is a seasoned researcher Mojisola Esther Ojebode is the firstborn in a family of three girls whose parents were supportive of higher education. An inquisitive child, she remembers wondering how food expiry dates are determined. \u201cI have always loved anything to do with science, and I studied it in the hope that it would enable me to combat environmental issues in my community, such as the pest problem on farms.\u201d Ojebode\u2019s area of research is metalobomics, the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites, which are extracted from plants. \u201cMetabolomics entails using a robust approach to discover what pesticides are doing, and to ensure that they work on the pest and not on the humans applying them,\u201d she explains. \u201cIn other words, they need to be bioselective.\u201d The process involves taking a model plant that has already been sequenced through genetic coding. Next, they take compounds whose bioactivities are already known. \u201cWe apply these to the model plant, to get their metabolic \u2018fingerprints\u2019 via gas chromatography instrumentation,\u201d says Ojebode. \u201cThis will show us the effect that the applied compounds have on the plant. We do that on several plants using several compounds so we have a large range to examine.\u201d Ojebode has conducted such tests on lemongrass and dongoyaro (Azadirachta indica), a medicinal plant that people sow around their houses to deter insects. She now has enough information to contribute to the databases of scientific bodies, such as the International Metabolomics Society. Ojebode has applied for a master\u2019s degree in Industrial and Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Ibadan, and hopes to begin soon. \u201cI intend to tackle problems facing the agrochemical industry, such as crop-protection agents that are not bioselective,\u201d she says. \u201cThey want to deal with this by using chemicals, but I want to influence them to use natural products derived from plants that have protective properties. You need to be selective\u2014rather than spraying \u2018willy-nilly\u2019\u2014in order to protect the crops and those who consume them.\u201d \u201cI intend to tackle problems facing the agrochemical industry, such as crop-protection agents that are not bioselective.\u201d Ojebode wants to design a technology specifically for smallholder farmers, most of whom are women, which will enable them to treat their crops using natural methods. She plans to organize a career fair to teach the women how to use these products. \u201cThis is where metabolomics comes in\u2014you can measure using instrumentation.\u201d Concerned that fewer people are now engaged in agriculture, Ojebode want to be a role model, especially for young women. When she sees that people are applying what she has taught them and are earning money as a result, she is more than satisfied. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m touching lives and not just existing for myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","focus_area":[95],"expertise":[140,121],"class_list":["post-681","our_fellows","type-our_fellows","status-publish","hentry","focus_area-health","expertise-public-health","expertise-research-development"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our_fellows\/681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our_fellows"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/our_fellows"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"focus_area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/focus_area?post=681"},{"taxonomy":"expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspenglobalinnovators.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expertise?post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}