Bernadine Idowu

Bernadine Deborah Idowu
Alma mater	King's College London Queen Mary University of London
Scientific career
Thesis	The organisation of cytoskeletal components in islolated chondrocytes cultured in agarose  (2000)

Bernadine Deborah Idowu is a British biochemist who is a professor at the University of West London. She was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2025.

Early life and education

Idowu was born at King's College Hospital. Her parents were Nigerian. ^[1] Her mother was a deputy head teacher in Nigeria. ^[1] She studied biochemistry at King's College London, where she was one of only six Black undergraduates studying biochemistry.^{[ citation needed ]} Her experiences as an undergraduate researcher inspired her to establish an initiative to support Black undergraduate biochemists, and she launched an annual conference in 2023.^{[ citation needed ]} After graduating, she worked as a research assistant. Idowu moved to Queen Mary University of London for her doctoral research, where she studied cytoskeletal components in agarose. ^[2] Idowu eventually returned to King's College London as a postdoctoral researcher, where she studied Beta thalassemia, a blood disorder that causes anaemia. She started teaching undergraduates, and joined forces with Ed Byrne to prepare King's race equality charter application.^{[ citation needed ]}

Research and career

Idowu was appointed Senior Lecturer^{[ when? ]} and was responsible for developing the biochemical curriculum, with a particular focus on decolonising and diversifying the curriculum of the University of West London. ^[3] In 2023, the Medical Research Council allocated £3.7m to support Black high school and university students. Idowu serves as co-Chair of the MRC Black in Biomedical Research Advisory Group. ^{[4] [5]}

Idowu was awarded the Roger Cotton Prize for the best paper of the journal Histopathology for her work on fibrous dysplasia, the most common tumour in Sub-Saharan Africa. ^[3]

Idowu was promoted to Professor in 2024.^{[ citation needed ]} In 2025, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. ^[6]

Selected publications

• Nadège Presneau; Hongtao Ye; Nischalan Pillay; et al. (24 November 2010). "Role of the transcription factor T (brachyury) in the pathogenesis of sporadic chordoma: a genetic and functional-based study". The Journal of Pathology . 223 (3): 327–335. doi:10.1002/PATH.2816. ISSN   0022-3417. PMID   21171078. Wikidata   Q33274008.
• David A. Lee; Martin M Knight; J F Bolton; B D Idowu; M V Kayser; D L Bader (1 January 2000). "Chondrocyte deformation within compressed agarose constructs at the cellular and sub-cellular levels". Journal of Biomechanics. 33 (1): 81–95. doi:10.1016/S0021-9290(99)00160-8. ISSN   0021-9290. PMID   10609521. Wikidata   Q30828825.
• B D Idowu; M Al-Adnani; P O'Donnell; L Yu; E Odell; T Diss; R E Gale; A M Flanagan (1 May 2007). "A sensitive mutation-specific screening technique for GNAS1 mutations in cases of fibrous dysplasia: the first report of a codon 227 mutation in bone". Histopathology . 50 (6): 691–704. doi:10.1111/J.1365-2559.2007.02676.X. ISSN   0309-0167. PMID   17493233. Wikidata   Q80308062.

References

1. "Bernadine Idowu-Onibokun". YHP. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
2. The organisation of cytoskeletal components in islolated chondrocytes cultured in agarose | WorldCat.org. OCLC   1006141320.
3. "Professor Bernadine Idowu | University of West London". www.uwl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
4. "Professor Bernadine Idowu". acmedsci.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
5. Idowu, Bernadine D. (2023-06-21). "A personal reflection upon navigating into a senior academic role". Frontiers in Sociology. 8 979691. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.979691 . ISSN   2297-7775. PMC   10321406 . PMID   37415874.
6. "Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2025". acmedsci.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-11.