Ijeoma Uchegbu on using nanoparticles to transform medicines

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Imagine a nanoparticle, less that a thousandth of the width of a human hair, that is so precise that it can carry a medicine to just where it’s needed in the body, improving the drug’s impact and reducing side effects. Ijeoma Uchegbu, Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at University College London, has spent her career with this goal in mind. She creates nanoparticles to carry medicines to regions of the body that are notoriously hard to reach, such as the back of the eye and the brain. With clinical trials in the pipeline, she hopes to treat blindness with eyedrops, transform pain relief and tackle the opioid crisis. Ijeoma took an unconventional route into science. Growing up in the UK and in Nigeria, she tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili her remarkable life story, from being fostered by a white family in rural Kent, while her Nigerian parents finished their studies, to struggling to pay the bills through her PhD as a single mum with young children. So passionate is Ijeoma to spread her love of science, she’s even turned to stand-up comedy to help get her message across!

Presented by JIm Al-Khalili Produced by Beth Eastwood

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.
0:05.0	My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.
0:08.0	It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs, moments and movements,
0:14.7	stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.
0:19.1	And the BBC's position at the heart of British music means we can tell those stories like no one else.
0:24.6	We were, are and always will be right there at the center of the narrative.
0:28.6	So whether you want an insightful take on music right now or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous
0:34.3	and infamous moments in music check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.
0:38.6	BBC Sounds music radio podcasts.
0:43.6	Hello and welcome to the Life Scientific Podcast.
0:46.7	I'm Jim Alkulele and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's
0:50.5	leading scientists and you get to find out what inspires them.
0:54.6	So sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the episode.
0:58.6	Imagine for a moment a particle on the nanoscale, less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair,
1:04.8	that operates with such precision that it can carry a medicine to a specific site in the body
1:09.8	and release it just where it's needed,
1:11.8	improving the drug's impact and reducing side effects.
1:15.0	This idea has inspired and driven the research of my guest today.
1:19.0	Ijoma Uchebu is professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at University College London.
1:25.1	She uses the nanoparticles she's created to carry medicines to regions of the body that are
1:30.1	notoriously hard to reach, the back of the eye and the brain.
1:35.0	With clinical trials in the pipeline, her hope is to treat blindness with eye drops, transform
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.