A Measurement of Biochemical Research: Nigeria

144

A Measurement o f Biochemical Research: Nigeria

for developed countries need to be tackled. 12 In spite of this, Nigeria was listed thirty-eighth of the fifty most active countries in terms of absolute number of publishing scientists. 13 She was second to Egypt when the data were examined for developing countries. 14 The purpose of this paper is to shift the emphasis away from descriptive and mostly subjective reports, to quantitative analysis in assessing the problems of biochemical education in the developing countries. In this regard, the publications emanating from six of the 'old' Nigerian universities over a ten-year period have been examined. Since the editors ofjournals will continue to maintain quality, to that extent, the quantity may not entirely be at the expense of quality. The analysis could also help to identify areas of weakness and strength• The IUB may wish to help in the weak area and more importantly, set the 'new' university departments of biochemistry in Nigeria on better footings. O f more significance is that this type o f data analysis can help delineate and alert biochemists to areas of research which are less popular, but which are o f prime importance to national growth and development.

ISHOLA ADAMSON

Department of Biochemistry University of Benin Benin City, Nigeria Introduction Various reports have been published in Biochemical Education on aspects of biochemistry in the developing countries. 1-~ All of these articles concentrated on curriculum development, structure of departments, problems and aspirations of researchers in these countries. Reports on various IUB workshops have also appeared. One held in Nigeria included a report of research activities in the country. ~ These publications more often than not merely reflect the content of departmental brochures, which, being the medium for public relations, are usually grandiose and often bear little relationship to the activities of the departments. For example, a department may list equipment which is proposed or on order, or has been out of action for a long period in the brochure. Part of the editorial policy of this journal states that ' . . . the problems of teaching biochemistry in Institutions in the developing countries are given special consideration'• It is by assembling facts rather than by publication of subjective articles that the problems of biochemical education in developing countries can be appreciated. Recently, a study of biochemical education around the world was published, s The author stressed the importance of teaching biochemistry in an atmosphere o f research. Due to various constraints, research has lagged behind in developing countries and teaching in many cases goes on in a department devoid of research. Most members of biochemistry departments in developing countries have PhDs from Europe and America which means that they were once actively involved in research but have become inactive due to lack of facilities and/or an excessive teaching load. An introduction of projects as part of the biochemistry curriculum has generated some research activities in Ghana. ~ Similar projects were designed to be carried out jointly by final-year undergraduates and lecturers in Benin, Nigeria: details of these have been published• t() There would appear to be no need for a special case for a new journal for the encouragement of life sciences in the developing countries tl once individual researchers succeeded in manipulating the environment and improvising equipment to investigate local problems of their countries. The proposed Journal of Endogenous Research in the Life Sciences (JERLS) will not be recognized either in the developing or the developed countries. Most journals of biochemistry and related fields are international in outlook and often will publish papers o f adequate merit from the developing countries. Although the task of editors is simply that of maintaining standards of published work regardless of country of origin, the reasons why the rejection rate of authors from developing countries is 57 per cent compared to only 17 per cent

The biochemistry departments Fig 1 shows the map o f Nigeria with the locations of all the Nigerian universities. The six 'old' universities considered are listed in Table 1. The table also includes the year the universities were founded which may or may not be the year the department of biochemistry was established. The youngest of these university departments: the universities of Ife, Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, have, however, graduated some sets of biochemists. The staff strengths of these departments are also included for the 1979 session.

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Figure 1 Location of Nigerian universities. Data base The Science Citation Index (SCI) and Who Is Publishing in Science (WIPIS), both published by the Institute for Scientific Information, Philadelphia, USA, were used as the data base for this study. These annual publications provide data on the number of scientists from different countries of the world who have published in some 5000 journals. The 1978 edition of WIPIS

Table 1 Department of biochemistry of the old Nigerian universities,i Staff strength 1979 only University A h m a d u Bello University (ABU) University o f Benin ( U N 1 B E N ) University o f lbadan 2 (UI) University o f lfe (UNIFE) University o f Lagos ( U N I L A G ) University o f Nigeria ( U N N )

Founded 1962 1970 1948/1962 1961 1962 1960

Prof

Reader

Snr lecturer

Lecturer/ Asst lecturer

Total

2 0 2 1 1 1

1 1 1 0 0 0

1 1 10 2 4 4

6 6 2 4 7 6

10 8 15 7 12 11

Source: C o m m o n w e a l t h Universities Yearbook 1980. z Formerly University College affiliated to University of London founded 1948 and

BIOCHEMICAL

EDUCATION

9(4)

1981

became

autonomous

in 1962 as University of lbadan.

145

University of Lagos, Lagos (UNILAG) About 7 per cent of published biochemical research was carried out in UNILAG. The last year of study (1979) witnessed an increase in research activity. Only 0.6 paper per staff member was computed. With this publication rate less than that o f U N I B E N , age becomes less attractive in explaining research output. Most of the staff members are lecturers but there is a sizeable number of senior lecturers and a professor.

includes addresses for 339,078 publishing authors from 237 countries. O f all the journals listed by the Institute, less than five are from Nigeria. The journal selection policy of the Institute has been defended. 17 Due to lack o f coverage o f journals from the developing countries, the data base has been criticized for its use in this type of study, and the inherent flaws and the assumptions made in the use o f the data base have been stated, is However, it remains the most easily available source for quantitating science. The data base has been used to measure the size of science in Israel. 16 It is pertinent to point out that many more publications have emanated from these departments than those computed in this paper. The assumption is made that all departments would suffer this disadvantage unless some departments make it a matter of policy not to publish in core biochemical journals in preference to local ones not covered by the data base.

University of Ife, Ile-Ife (UNIFE) Only about 5 per cent of papers were from UNIFE. The general upsurge in publication of 1979 has yet to be reflected by this department. The latest publication rate is a paper per staff member. Although the department is short-staffed, there is an even distribution of lecturers of all categories. The department is housed in the best biochemistry complex in Nigeria.

Quantitative analysis

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU) Just about 2 per cent of

Table 2 shows the absolute number of publishing authors in six 'old' Nigerian university departments of biochemistry for a ten-year period. The first half of the period, 1970-1974, shows the total number of publishing authors. During this period some of the departments had not been founded or were not fully established enough to permit yearly analysis of publications. The spread o f publishing authors yearly for the next half of the period is listed and the average contribution per staff member in the last year of study computed. There is no attempt to compare departments and there may not be a good basis for such comparison. The contributions of each department for 1979 only and its staff strength and output are mentioned.

all publications emanated from this department with a publication rate of 0.1 paper per lecturer. The data base used in this study has not indicated that publishable research activity is going on in the department. There are two professors of biochemistry and a good complement of junior members. Generally, the growth of biochemistry in Nigeria as a whole is on the rise over the years (r = 0.98) (Fig 2). The last year has witnessed a sharp rise which may reflect the worldwide rapid growth of the biochemical literature.t8 The average publication rate for Nigeria is just about a paper per biochemist. The 1979 staff strength is made up of sixty-three biochemists with about 50 per cent in the senior category.

University of Ibadan, Ibadan (UI) Forty-two per cent of all publications in biochemistry emanated from UI. The department is the oldest in the country with about 90 per cent of its staff strength being professors and senior lecturers. It is tempting to explain the 1.7 paper per staffmember (1979 only) on the basis of age and calibre of staff positions. After a period of slow growth (1975-77) research output has greatly increased and ranks close to that of universities in the developed countries.

Analysis of area of research It is not possible as yet to carry out a qualitative analysis of the biochemical papers published in Nigeria. This could probably be 4.2C

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University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Twenty-seven per cent of u, s

all published biochemical research was done at U N N . In 1979, research output o f staff was 1.5 paper per member. There has been a doubling of rate in research output o f the department over the years. The distribution of staff between senior and junior categories is even.

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University of Benin, Benin City (UNIBEN)

Eighteen per cent of published research can be attributed to U N I B E N and virtually all of the contributions were made in the last year (1979) of study. The department is 'bottom heavy' with most of its members in the junior category. The 1.4 paper per staff member is encouraging for a young department.

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Figure 2 Growth curvefor numbers ofpublishing scientists in Nigeria.

Table 2 Number of publishing authors in Nigeria for a ten-yearperiod (1970-1979). Year University

1970-1974

Ahmadu Bello University

University University University University University

of Benin of lbadan of Ife of Lagos of Nigeria

Contribution 1979 only 1978

1979

Total 1975-1979

Department (%)~

Paper/ Lecturerb

1.6 17.7 41.9 4.3 6.5 27.4

0.1 1.4 1.7 1.0 0.6 1.5

1975

1976

1977

0

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0

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1

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3

2 33 0 7 4

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0 9 0 2 3

1 9 3 2 5

0 14 1 1 10

11 26 3 4 17

12 64 7 11 37

" % contribution was based over the last year o f study (1979). b Paper/Lecturer was based on the staff strength of"the departments in 1979 as published by the Commonwealth Universities, 1980.

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION

9(4)

1981

146 measured by the number of times other authors cite the original papers in what is referred to as citation index. However, by careful examination of the journals in which researchers have published their papers, it was possible to delineate the general areas of research activities. It has been possible to carry out this analysis manually because of the relatively fewer publications compared to the developed countries. Biochemistry being a multi-disciplinary subject, it will not be surprising to find a paper on enzymology, for example, in a nutrition journal if it has a slant towards metabolism. With this proviso, analysis of the data has indicated the following areas of research. It is hoped that this listmg of the areas of research will encourage biochemists to appraise research possibilities according to local needs, materials and condition in planning relevant research projects.

medically-oriented papers (Immunology,J Parasitol). Publications were in about ten journals. The department has recently adopted a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of biochemistry of parasites. This, in time, is bound to be rewarding. Lipid biochemistry is also being studied.

UNN The areas of research are general biochemistry (BBA, BJ, FEBS Lett), comparative biochemistry (Comp Biochem, Res Vet Sci) and medically-related research (Atherosclerosis, Parasitol, Biochem Med). The department is unique in Nigeria to have published in the area of plant biochemistry (Phytochem, Planta Med, J Exptl Bot, Anal Planta). Recent studies of the enzymology of tropical animals and plant species have engaged the attentions of biochemists at U N N .

ABU There are hardly enough papers to indicate the areas of

General comments

research. The few papers suggest an interest in medical biochemistry (Biochem Med, Biochem Pharm). All publications were in less than five journals. The only IUB workshop on biochemical education in Nigeria was hosted by the department. Recent new staffing improvements included young dedicated researchers whose interests are geared towards solving local problems.

This paper has been prepared to stem the trend of descriptive and subjective analysis about biochemical education in the developing countries. The latest of which was an observation about Nigeria and did not represent the real growth of biochemistry in the country. 6 The paper presented here has not attempted to explain why publication rates and areas of research vary from one department to another. Interested readers would be better finding this out from the heads of the departments concerned rather than speculating from the data. It is evident, however, that research is on the move in biochemistry in Nigeria and some departments will be able to hold their own anywhere in the world. Indeed visiting researchers are often amazed at how, in the midst of water shortage and incessant electric power failures, biochemists in Nigeria can achieve so much. However, looking over the data collected in the present work it is clear that the areas of toxicology, nutrition and enzymology have been researched into a great deal. On the other hand plant and insect biochemistry have been identified from this study as areas needing more attention from biochemists in Nigeria if they are to attract research grants from a country that devotes a substantial part of her revenues to accelerated food production and prevention of food deterioration. Finally, it must be emphasized that the data presented here represents only a fraction of the research carried out by biochemists in Nigeria. Other biochemists who are not in the university departments of biochemistry are not listed. Undoubtedly, they also contribute to solving local problems and in addition may only publish their work in local journals not abstracted by the data base.

UNIBEN Papers published are in the areas of medical biochemistry (Clin Chim Acta, E Aft AiledJ, J Neurol Sci) and Nutrition (Nutr Rep Int, J Sci Food,J Agr Food Chem). Interest in comparative biochemistry (Comp Biochem B) is indicated. Publications were in about ten journals. The department hosted a joint scientific meeting of the Biochemical Society of Nigeria and Biochemistry Section of the Science Association of Nigeria in 1979. The area of snake venom research, which was proposed over five years ago, has not taken off very satisfactorily, and should provide a lesson to other developing biochemistry departments not to try to compete with foreign, well-equipped departments for prestigious projects. Other staff members of the departments have concentrated on lipid research in plants and finding alternate malting materials for the ever-growing brewery industry. IU The areas of intense research activities in the department are in Nutrition (Nutr Rep Int, J Agric Food, J Food Sci) and Toxicology (Appl Pharm Toxicon, Bioch Pharmacol, Tox Lett, Cancer Lett, J Env Pathol). In recognition of its contribution in the area of toxicology an International Conference on Environment Toxins in the Tropics was hosted by the department. There were few publications in medical biochemistry (Biol Reprod, Trop Geog Med). The only facility for primate research laboratory is indicated (Lab Animals). Publications were in about thirty j'ournals. A new re-organization o f the department has resulted in four subject areas being covered and membrane research is now given prominence. UNIFE The areas of emphasis of research in this department cannot easily be ascertained from the data base. However, nutrition (Nutr Rep lnt), pure biochemistry (BBA) and comparative biochemistry (Comp Biochem Physiol) are indicated. A unique publication (Hydrobiol) was listed and this may indicate an unusual but interesting area of research embarked on by the department. Publications were in about five journals. There is a strong indication that a major research area in enzymology as it relates to malaria parasite metabolism may emerge. Lipid biochemistry is also making a start. UNILAG Comparative biochemistry (Comp Biochem Physiol) nutrition (Nutr Rep Int) and pure biochemistry (Biochem) are indicated as areas of research. The department reflected its location in the Faculty of Medicine by publishing mostly BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION

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1981

Acknowledgements I am grateful to my colleague, Dr A U Osagie for discussions and providing some back issues of Biochemical Education and to Mr G Okeafor for technical assistance.

References i Manchester, K L (1974) Biochem Educ 2, 63 2 Carroll, M (1977) Biochem Educ 5, 2%28 3 Scott, T A (1977) Biochera Educ 5, 79-80. 4 CampbeU, P N (1979) Biochem Educ 7, 3 5 Carrol, M (1980) Biochern Educ 8, 20-21 6 Alozie, T C (1979) Biochem Educ 7, 91-92 7 Halloway, H M (1977) Biochem Educ 5, 16 s Campbell, P N (1980) Biochem Educ 8, 8-10 9 Chaplin, M F (1979) Biochem Educ 7, ~ 6 l0 Adamson, 1 (1980) J Chem Educ 10, 180 ii Campbell, P N (1977) Biochem Educ 5, 17 12 Gordon, M (1979)J Am Soc InfScis 30, 340-342 ~3 Kovach, E G (1978) WIPlS Inst for Scientific Information Philadelphia, pp 33-40 t4 Garfield, E (1978) WIPlS Inst for Scientific Information Philadelphia, pp %11 is Inhaber, H (1974) Research Policy 3, 182-200 16 Price, D J D (1969) Proc Isr Acad Sci Human 4, 98-111 17 Garfield, E (1979) Current Contents 22, 5-8 is Garfield, E (1979) TIBS 4, N290-N295