Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun (PhD/Doctor of Health Science), is a young Nigerian Scientist with great potentials to emerge as a Global Health research leader internationally. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria (ABUZN), but also serves as an adjunct Research Scientist at the Center for Biotechnology Research and Training, ABUZN; Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos; and as Visiting Scientist in the Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo. In the various institutions, Emmanuel carries out research on diverse areas of Biomedical Sciences with special interest on developing effective interventions (drugs and vaccine) against Africa-endemic diseases. His other roles include teaching a wide range of topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, supervision of students’ research projects and student mentoring at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Emmanuel is an international scholar and a recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Japanese Government MEXT Scholarship for PhD studies and the Postdoctoral fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, JSPS. He has authorship of numerous high impact research publications and has made presentations in over 28 international conferences at various locations globally. Emmanuel started his career in science in ABUZN during his BSc and MSc studies under the mentorship of Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok (1962-2017). Then, he investigated the pathogenesis of anemia during trypanosomiasis and found the involvement of Trypanosoma congolense sialidase in the aetiology of anemia. Excited about his findings, Emmanuel continued his studies and proceeded to Professor Kita Kiyoshi’s laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan for his doctoral studies. During his doctoral studies, he initiated research towards discovery of new drugs for African trypanosomiasis targeting the parasites energy metabolism pathway. Using recombinant DNA technology, he successfully overcame the immediate hurdles for new drug development by establishing a now widely utilsed system for obtaining large quantities of the key enzymes glycerol kinase (TGK) and alternative oxidase (TAO), crystalized the enzymes and determined their three-dimensional (3-D) structures. Additionally, Emmanuel developed a new TGK assay system that is useful for drug screening. While in Professor Kita’s lab, he worked with the group to use the 3D data of TAO to design drug candidate inhibitors, and is presently on a project to design TGK inhibitors. The inhibitors will aid the future development of new drugs against African trypanosomiasis. Data on the 3D structures from Emmanuel’s work in The University of Tokyo are deposited in an open source database (Protein Data Bank) and are freely available to other investigators and pharmaceutical companies to use for the purpose of drug discovery against African trypanosomiasis. Emmanuel recently returned to ABUZN after successfully completing his PhD and postdoctoral studies in Japan. In his current position, he formed and leads the Molecular Biology and Neglected Tropical Diseases Research Group (MBNTDRG). The group comprises of over 30 postgraduate students, mostly under his supervision and with whom he holds weekly research meetings. Nigerian and foreign postgraduate students under Emmanuel’s mentorship and supervision come from ABUZN and various universities across Nigeria including the University of Lagos, University of Abuja, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto. The aim of the MBNTDRG is to improve the scope and quality of molecular biology research in Nigeria with a focus on NTDs, and to facilitate the graduation of high quality scientists in a timely manner. Emmanuel had a wide research network both in Nigeria and internationally. He continues to make remarkable contributions to his department and university, ABUZN through improvement in instructional techniques, research seminar reforms, and donation of hard-to-get essential reagents and laboratory wares to project students.