Dr Ugochukwu Anieto

With the global rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria endangering the effectiveness of antibiotics, Dr Ugochukwu Anieto, an Instructional Assistant Professor at the College of Science and Higher Education, Texas A&M University; has provided a solution.

Dr Ugochukwu Anieto did this by inventing Anietocin, a novel antibiotic named after him, to treat drug-resistant infections. Anietocin has been tested against several bacteria, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative for growth inhibition, and has so far, been effective against all the tested bacterial species.

Dr Ugochukwu’s Anieto’s antibiotic offers to help alleviate the substantial health and economic burden on healthcare systems and the population. The Doctor believes that pharmaceutical companies can utilize this bacterium and maximize its effectiveness to treat prevailing bacterial infections in patients.

Dr Ugochukwu is not stopping here. Alongside his team, he is currently improving the chemical extraction process of this novel antibiotic and understanding the metabolomics of the bacterium to address large-scale manufacturing opportunities. The drug is currently undergoing laboratory trials on several bacterial species while showing consistent results.

Read Also: Samuel Achilefu

Anieto holds a Bachelor’s and Master of Science degree in Applied Microbiology and Food Microbiology respectively from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nsukka. He also has a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Molecular Biology from the University of North Texas and a certificate in Instructional Technology from Texas A&M University. 

A Food and Environmental Microbiologist, Dr Anieto focuses on food safety, antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics, bioremediation and bioaugmentation, pharmaceutical and quality control microbiology, HACCP, GMP biofuels, and synthetic biology. Anieto’s research centers around Bioenergy, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Food microbiology.

Anieto has worked as an Adjunct Professor at South Texas College, Columbia University, New York, Indiana Wesleyan University, and Assistant Professor at Mississippi Valley State University, amongst other academic roles.

Anieto has volunteered at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Health System, Food 2 Kids Odessa, and British Red Cross Charity Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne.

We applaud Dr Ugochukwu Anieto for discovering an antibiotic to improve the health and economic burden on global healthcare systems and populations. We are so proud.