Esther Odekunle

Last updated
Esther A. Odekunle
Esther Odekunle.jpg
EducationB.S., Biochemistry
Ph.D., Neurobiology
Alma mater Queen Mary University of London
Known for Science communication
Scientific career
Fields Neuroscience
Molecular biology
Pharmacology
Institutions GlaxoSmithKline
Thesis Discovery and Characterisation of Vasopressin/Oxytocin-type Signalling in an Echinoderm and a Xenacoelomorph  (2018)

Esther A. Odekunle is a British neurobiologist and antibody engineer. Her research focuses on identifying and removing risks from antibodies to improve their development into medications. She also promotes the visibility of diverse professionals in STEM. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Odekunle was born the youngest of her siblings and raised in the United Kingdom by Nigerian parents who had emigrated to the UK. [2] She was inspired by her teachers while growing up and by books on animals and the human body, encouraging her interest in science from a young age. After initially considering a career in medicine, she earned both the B.S. in biochemistry and Ph.D. in neurobiology from Queen Mary University of London. [3] [2] [4] Her doctoral work focused on neuropeptide systems in starfish [5] . She chose to work on starfish because of little-understood abilities such as regeneration [2] . After having worked with mice and rats as an undergraduate, she was also encouraged by the fact that starfish do not bite. [6] She took a year off between degree programs and received full funding for her doctoral work from the Society for Experimental Biology. [2]

Career

Odekunle's goal in academia was not to remain there as a professor, but rather to "explore a specific scientific area in great depth and contribute to the scientific field" and eventually to apply her scientific skills to therapeutics. [7] As an antibody engineer, she works to clone antibodies from B cells [8] and develop them as potential treatments for specific disease targets such as cancers, viral infections, and bacterial infections. Because of the limitations placed on what scientists in her position in the pharmaceutical industry can say about their work, Odekunle had to develop a voice within the scientific community apart from speaking about things that are confidential. This led her to speaking out on racism in academia and science and to helping to encourage and make more visible those in science who are underrepresented. This she does on various social media platforms. [2] Some of her content, such as her episode on Henrietta Lacks on her YouTube channel has been shared with students at early as well as advanced levels of education. [6]

I’m now using [my] uniqueness to encourage up and coming scientists from diverse backgrounds to follow their passions even if the people who currently represent their fields don’t look like them.

Dr. Esther Odekunle

In 2021, Odekunle was selected as a Rising Star Finalist in the Black British Business Awards' STEM category. [9]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echinoderm</span> Exclusively marine phylum of animals with generally 5-point radial symmetry

An echinoderm is any deuterostomal animal of the phylum Echinodermata, which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as larvae, as adults echinoderms are recognisable by their usually five-pointed radial symmetry, and are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,600 living species, making it the second-largest group of deuterostomes after the chordates, as well as the largest marine-only phylum. The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasopressin</span> Mammalian hormone released from the pituitary gland

Human vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) or argipressin, is a hormone synthesized from the AVP gene as a peptide prohormone in neurons in the hypothalamus, and is converted to AVP. It then travels down the axon terminating in the posterior pituitary, and is released from vesicles into the circulation in response to extracellular fluid hypertonicity (hyperosmolality). AVP has two primary functions. First, it increases the amount of solute-free water reabsorbed back into the circulation from the filtrate in the kidney tubules of the nephrons. Second, AVP constricts arterioles, which increases peripheral vascular resistance and raises arterial blood pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxytocin</span> Peptide hormone and neuropeptide

Oxytocin is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. Present in animals since early stages of evolution, in humans it plays roles in behavior that include social bonding, love, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream as a hormone in response to sexual activity and during childbirth. It is also available in pharmaceutical form. In either form, oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions to speed up the process of childbirth. In its natural form, it also plays a role in maternal bonding and milk production. Production and secretion of oxytocin is controlled by a positive feedback mechanism, where its initial release stimulates production and release of further oxytocin. For example, when oxytocin is released during a contraction of the uterus at the start of childbirth, this stimulates production and release of more oxytocin and an increase in the intensity and frequency of contractions. This process compounds in intensity and frequency and continues until the triggering activity ceases. A similar process takes place during lactation and during sexual activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starfish</span> Class of echinoderms, marine animal

Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,900 species of starfish live on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from warm, tropical zones to frigid, polar regions. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.

Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience examines how neurochemicals influence the operation of neurons, synapses, and neural networks. Neurochemists analyze the biochemistry and molecular biology of organic compounds in the nervous system, and their roles in such neural processes including cortical plasticity, neurogenesis, and neural differentiation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus</span>

The paraventricular nucleus is a nucleus in the hypothalamus. Anatomically, it is adjacent to the third ventricle and many of its neurons project to the posterior pituitary. These projecting neurons secrete oxytocin and a smaller amount of vasopressin, otherwise the nucleus also secretes corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). CRH and TRH are secreted into the hypophyseal portal system and act on different targets neurons in the anterior pituitary. PVN is thought to mediate many diverse functions through these different hormones, including osmoregulation, appetite, and the response of the body to stress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuropeptide</span> Peptides released by neurons as intercellular messengers

Neuropeptides are chemical messengers made up of small chains of amino acids that are synthesized and released by neurons. Neuropeptides typically bind to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to modulate neural activity and other tissues like the gut, muscles, and heart.

Neuroendocrinology is the branch of biology which studies the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system; i.e. how the brain regulates the hormonal activity in the body. The nervous and endocrine systems often act together in a process called neuroendocrine integration, to regulate the physiological processes of the human body. Neuroendocrinology arose from the recognition that the brain, especially the hypothalamus, controls secretion of pituitary gland hormones, and has subsequently expanded to investigate numerous interconnections of the endocrine and nervous systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological half-life</span> Time taken for a drug to halve its concentration in blood plasma

Biological half-life is the time taken for concentration of a biological substance to decrease from its maximum concentration (Cmax) to half of Cmax in the blood plasma. It is denoted by the abbreviation .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasopressin receptor 1A</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Vasopressin receptor 1A (V1AR), or arginine vasopressin receptor 1A is one of the three major receptor types for vasopressin, and is present throughout the brain, as well as in the periphery in the liver, kidney, and vasculature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasopressin receptor 1B</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Vasopressin V1b receptor (V1BR) also known as vasopressin 3 receptor (VPR3) or antidiuretic hormone receptor 1B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AVPR1B gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxytocin receptor</span> Genes on human chromosome 3

The oxytocin receptor, also known as OXTR, is a protein which functions as receptor for the hormone and neurotransmitter oxytocin. In humans, the oxytocin receptor is encoded by the OXTR gene which has been localized to human chromosome 3p25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Sue Carter</span> American biologist and behavioral neurobiologist

C. Sue Carter is an American biologist and behavioral neurobiologist. She is an internationally recognized expert in behavioral neuroendocrinology. In 2014 she was appointed Director of The Kinsey Institute and Rudy Professor of Biology at Indiana University. Carter was the first person to identify the physiological mechanisms responsible for social monogamy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas R. Insel</span> American neuroscientist

Thomas Roland Insel is an American neuroscientist, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, and author who led the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 2002 until November 2015. Prior to becoming Director of NIMH, he was the founding Director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for research on oxytocin and vasopressin, two peptide hormones implicated in complex social behaviors, such as parental care and attachment. He announced on Sept. 15, 2015, that he was resigning as the director of the NIMH to join the Life Science division of Google X. On May 8, 2017, CNBC reported that he had left Verily Life Sciences. Insel is a Co-founder with Richard Klausner and Paul Dagum of a digital mental health company named "Mindstrong," a Bay-area startup. He has also co-founded Humanest Care, NeuraWell Therapeutics, and MindSite News and is a member of the scientific advisory board for Compass Pathways, a company that is developing the psychedelic drug psilocybin to treat depression and other mental health disorders. His book, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health was published by Penguin Random House in February, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxytocin (medication)</span> Medication made from the peptide oxytocin

Synthetic oxytocin, sold under the brand name Pitocin among others, is a medication made from the peptide oxytocin. As a medication, it is used to cause contraction of the uterus to start labor, increase the speed of labor, and to stop bleeding following delivery. For this purpose, it is given by injection either into a muscle or into a vein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry J. Young</span> American psychiatrist (1950–2024)

Larry James Young was an American psychiatrist who was the William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine. He was head of the Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders at Emory National Primate Research Center. Young studied how genetic, cellular and neurobiological mechanisms regulate complex social behavior, including social cognition and social bonding. His research focuses heavily on the roles of the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin in regulating the neural processing of social signals and social attachment.

Cute aggression, or playful aggression, is the urge to squeeze or bite things perceived as being cute without the desire to cause any harm. It is a common type of dimorphous display, where a person experiences positive and negative expressions simultaneously in a disorganised manner. Individuals experiencing cute aggression may find themselves clenching their jaw or fists, with the urge to squish, pinch or bite an adorable baby, animal, or object.

Angela J. Grippo is an American neuroscientist and health psychologist known for her research on stress, mood disorders, and cardiovascular disease. She is an associate professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University.

Jane Osbourn, OBE, is a scientist and former chair of the UK BioIndustry Association.

Ailsa McGown Clark (1926–2014) was a British zoologist, who principally studied echinoderms and was a specialist on asteroidea. She worked at the Natural History Museum for most of her career.

References

  1. "Smashing Stereotypes: Dr Esther Odekunle". British Science Week. British Science Association. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stride meets Dr Esther Odekunle". Stride (Podcast). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. "Esther Odekunle". Visibility STEM Africa. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  4. Weston, Phoebe (31 July 2019). "Mysterious human 'love hormone' turns starfish stomachs inside out, study finds". Independent. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. Rivera-Serrano, Efraín. "Unique Scientist: Dr. Esther Odekunle". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Starfish, Sperm, and Your Brain!". Sidenote Podcast (Podcast). 24 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. Yassin, Walid. "The obvious path vs. the right path: Experts discuss the PhD career conundrum". Cell Mentor. CellPress. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. "The Brain, What the heck are dogs thinking and Neurobiologist/Immunity Researcher Dr. Esther Odekunle". The Science Pawdcast (Podcast). 5 September 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. "2021 Finalists". Black British Business Awards. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.