Ijeoma Uchegbu on using nanoparticles to transform medicines

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode traces Ijeoma Uchebu’s unconventional path from childhood across the UK and Nigeria to becoming a pioneering pharmaceutical nanoscientist. She explains how stable, targeted nanoparticles can deliver drugs to the eye and brain, potentially transforming treatment for blindness and pain while reducing side effects. The conversation also explores her stand-up comedy, resilience as a single mother, and leadership on race equality at UCL.

Main Topics: Personal journey and identity (Priority: 5/5): Uchebu describes being born to Nigerian parents in the UK, spending early years in foster care, moving to Nigeria as a teenager, and how seeing black role models there reshaped her sense of ambition and possibility. Comedy and communication (Priority: 3/5): She explains that stand-up comedy helped her become a better public speaker, especially in engaging students and using humor to keep audiences attentive and connected. Becoming a scientist against the odds (Priority: 5/5): Her route into science included studying pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry in Nigeria while facing scarce resources, a failing marriage, and raising three children, before moving to the UK to pursue a PhD. Nanoparticle drug delivery research (Priority: 5/5): Uchebu outlines the basic science of nanoparticles and how she moved from unstable lipid-based systems to more stable polysaccharide-based particles that better hold and deliver medicines to target tissues. Medical applications: eye and brain therapies (Priority: 5/5): The discussion highlights ongoing work on eye drops for retinal disease and nose-delivered encephalin nanoparticles for pain relief, with a focus on reducing invasive treatments and opioid harms. Race equality and institutional change at UCL (Priority: 4/5): She reflects on her role as UCL Provost’s Envoy for Race Equality, describing data-driven reforms to improve promotion, degree outcomes, representation, and the removal of eugenicists’ names from buildings.

Key Arguments: Targeted nanoparticles can improve therapeutic precision by directing drugs to diseased tissue and reducing off-target side effects. Stable delivery systems are essential; early nanoparticle designs were promising but not sufficiently durable, leading her to engineer more robust polysaccharide-based particles. The eye and brain are difficult-to-reach sites, so new delivery routes such as eye drops and intranasal administration could replace more invasive or harmful treatments. Existing opioid painkillers work but create severe side effects and addiction risks; nanoparticle-delivered enkephalin could offer a safer alternative. Seeing successful black scientists and leaders in Nigeria expanded her own sense of what was possible, illustrating the importance of representation. Data revealed racial inequities in promotion and degree outcomes at UCL, and practical, department-level interventions helped narrow those gaps. Institutional symbolism matters: removing eugenicists’ names was part of aligning UCL’s values with its mission and creating a more inclusive environment. Diversity improves outcomes not only for underrepresented groups but for society broadly, including better decision-making in finance, business, and legal settings.

Data Points: Nanoparticle size: About a thousandth of the width of a human hair - Used to explain the scale of the drug-delivery particles Podcast audience engagement course: 10-week course - The comedy course she took to improve public speaking Leicester Square showcase audience: 150 people - Her first live comedy showcase after the course Early life in foster care: First 4 years of life - She lived with a white foster family in rural Kent Age at meeting biological mother: About 13 years old - She met her mother briefly before her mother later died Master’s duration: About six and a half years - Pharmaceutical chemistry degree in Nigeria amid shortages and equipment failures Money on returning to UK: £500 - She came back to the UK with her three children and no job or university place Accommodation conditions during PhD: 11 families sharing one bathroom and one toilet - She lived in a bed and breakfast for the homeless while studying Number of children: 3 at the time of PhD; later a fourth daughter - Her family situation during her studies and later life UCL race-equality role duration: 5 years - She steered the race agenda at UCL after being appointed in 2015 Inquiry duration on building names: 15 months - UCL inquiry into removing eugenicists’ names from buildings Opioid deaths in the UK: 40 deaths a week - Used to underline the scale of opioid poisoning harm Age-related macular degeneration treatment duration: About 2 years - Current eye injections can only be sustained for roughly this long before eye damage Clinical timeline: Safety trial this year; efficacy trials in subsequent years - Planned human testing for retina and pain applications

Pivotal Quotes: "I thought, well, I'd try to make that a little bit better." — Ijeoma Uchebu: Explaining why she took a comedy course to improve public speaking "I do not want to be a checkout girl. But in the UK, you felt differently about this." — Ijeoma Uchebu: Describing how moving to Nigeria changed her ambitions by exposing her to black role models "If you're pricing stocks with a group of people from different backgrounds, they're more likely to price those stocks accurately." — Ijeoma Uchebu: Arguing that diversity improves decision-making beyond academia

Implications: Her work could make treatments less invasive, safer, and more equitable. If the nanoparticle platforms succeed in humans, they may reshape care for eye disease and pain while also demonstrating the value of inclusive institutions and diverse leadership.