Kenneth Chinkwo completed his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Pharmacology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University in December 2011. He investigated the serotonin receptors and G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) interacting proteins; their role as potential therapeutic targets in clinical medicine. Ken had previously completed an undergraduate program (DIMLS) (BSc hons) in General Medical Laboratory Sciences at the University of Calabar Teaching hospital (UCTH) Nigeria, specializing in Haematology and Blood Transfusion. He then worked in different Pathology laboratories and clinics in Bamenda-Cameroon, where he carried out routine medical diagnostic procedures, taught Midwifery students as well as supervised junior staffs. Ken moved to the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, where he secured a Biotechnology research fund and obtained a Masters Degree in Biochemistry in the area of ethnopharmacology, cancer biology and apoptosis. After completion of his MSc, Ken worked for the institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics at UWC as a research associate until 2006, from where he was awarded a PhD scholarship at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. Ken joined CSU in January 2012 as a lecturer in Medical Sciences.

Medical Science

Research Interests Bioactivity Guided Fractionation of Plant extracts for the Induction of Apoptosis G-Protein Coupled Receptors and G-Protein Coupled Receptor Interacting Proteins: Potential Therapeutic Targets in Clinical Medicine Cancer Genetics and Apoptosis

Nor S Yaakob, Kenneth A Chinkwo, Navinisha Chetty, Ian M Coupar, and Helen R Irving, (2015) Distribution of 5-HT3, 5-HT4, and 5-HT7 Receptors Along the Human Colon. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. Jul; 21(3): 361–369 Helen R. Irving, Nathalie Tochon-Danguy, Kenneth A. Chinkwo, Jian G. Li, Carmen Grabbe, Marina Shapiro, Colin W. Pouton, Ian M. Coupar (2010) Investigations into the binding affinities of different human 5-HT4 receptor splice Variants. Pharmacology 85:224 - 223 Chinkwo, K. A. (2005) Sutherlandia frutescens extracts can induce apoptosis in cultured carcinoma cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 98: 163 - 170