Paul Talks Science

📌 Host: Paul Adepoju
👤 Guest: Prof. Moji Adeyeye – Director-General of NAFDAC (Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control)

In this episode of Paul Talks Science, I sit down with Prof. Moji Adeyeye to explore her remarkable journey from practicing pharmacist to academic, regulator and advocate, and how she’s helping transform Nigeria’s medicines landscape — especially for children.

We dive into :

• Her reflections on the past challenges of paediatric malaria treatments and why “children are not just small adults” in drug development.

• The technical, environmental and regulatory hurdles of developing medicines that children will actually accept — and that can survive real-world conditions in low-resource settings.

• How NAFDAC is leveraging cutting-edge technology like GS1 track-&-trace and advanced detection devices to fight fake and substandard medicines in Nigeria’s open drug markets.

• The trade-offs regulators face between speeding access (as seen during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout) and maintaining trust, safety and thorough review.

• Her faith-inspired work supporting children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and the broader intersection of medicine, ethics and public health.

• Her vision for Nigeria: “Made in Nigeria, sold all over the world” — with quality, safety and efficacy at its core.

📖 Further reading: I recently wrote a deeper piece for Devex titled “Can Africa’s drug regulators be both fast and trusted?” which draws on this conversation and broader regulatory trends across the continent. Check it out: https://www.devex.com/news/can-africa-s-drug-regulators-be-both-fast-and-trusted-111147

🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe and hit the notification bell so you won’t miss future episodes where we bring together science, policy, innovation and human stories.

👇 Share your thoughts in the comments: What was the most surprising insight for you from this conversation? What do you think it will take to build regulatory systems in Africa that are both fast and trusted?

Season 3 kicks off with Professor Richard Sullivan (King’s College London) on why cancer outcomes depend less on shiny tech and more on end-to-end systems that actually work. We dig into affordability, widening inequalities, and why “reality-stratified” care beats one-size-fits-all blueprints.

Richard unpacks adaptive HTA and health-benefit packages, the limits of screening without treatment pathways, the UK’s own pressure points, and what equitable cancer control looks like in rural, fragile, and conflict settings.

We also talk financing—domestic resource mobilisation, the role of multilateral development banks, and why political commitment matters more than headlines.

Host: Paul Adepoju

Guest: Prof Richard Sullivan, Director, Institute of Cancer Policy, King’s College London

Companion read: Paul’s feature from this interview in The Lancet Oncology: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(25)00591-1/abstract

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In this episode of Paul Talks Science, Paul Adepoju sits down with Adam Aspinall, Senior Director of Access & Product Management at Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). They discuss the science and strategy behind a groundbreaking new malaria drug for newborns and young children — the first of its kind. From how scientists reformulated existing treatments to meet the needs of infants, to the global regulatory pathways that made rapid approval possible, this conversation sheds light on the innovation, policy, and persistence shaping the future of malaria control.

As people living with HIV live longer, a new challenge emerges: how do we adapt treatment for an ageing population?

In this episode of Paul Talks Science, Paul Adepoju speaks with Dr Loice Achieng Ombajo of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Nairobi, about research shaping the future of HIV care for older adults. Drawing on findings from two studies, Dr Ombajo explores the shift from three-drug to two-drug regimens, the growing burden of comorbidities such as kidney disease, diabetes and cancer, and the implications of long-term antiretroviral use.

The conversation also tackles why older adults are often overlooked in HIV research, the policy changes needed to protect this rapidly growing group, and what decades of treatment tell us about sustaining health into older age. From funding cuts to the promise of long-acting therapies, this episode examines what it really means to maintain the gains of the HIV response as populations age.

In this special episode of Paul Talks Science—the first in a series recorded during my visit to the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell—I sit down with TURI Director Baskut Tuncak to unpack how economics is playing a pivotal role in driving safer chemical practices.

We explore the Institute's origins, the real-world impact of the Toxics Use Reduction Act, and how businesses are shifting away from hazardous substances—not because they're forced to, but because it makes economic sense.

Baskut also reflects on his global work as a UN Special Rapporteur and explains why TURI’s locally rooted, solution-focused model could be a blueprint for change far beyond Massachusetts.

In this episode, Paul spotlights Oxitec — the biotech company behind one of the most ambitious malaria control projects on the African continent. CEO Grey Frandsen joins Paul Talks Science to break down how Oxitec’s genetically modified mosquitoes are being deployed in Djibouti to target Anopheles stephensi, an invasive urban mosquito driving malaria resurgence in cities.

They discuss how the technology works, why Djibouti is leading the way, and what it takes to scale lab-bred solutions into real-world impact. It's a story of science, strategy — and the promise of fighting malaria with mosquitoes.

🧬 For the full story, read Paul’s feature in Nature Medicine: Battle of the Mosquitoes

What if the future of malaria control involves releasing more mosquitoes — not fewer?

In this special feature episode, science journalist Paul Adepoju takes you deep into the high-stakes fight against a new urban malaria threat: Anopheles stephensi. From the labs of British biotech firm Oxitec to the malaria-stricken streets of Djibouti, and with insight from top global health experts like Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins, this narrative journey unpacks how genetically modified mosquitoes are being deployed to stop one of humanity’s oldest diseases.

You’ll hear directly from:

• Colonel Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi, leading malaria control efforts in Djibouti

• Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec

• Neil Morrison, Oxitec’s Chief Strategy Officer

• Dr. William Moss, malaria researcher and public health expert

This episode is based on Paul’s feature story for Nature Medicine. For the full deep-dive, read “Battle of the Mosquitoes” on Nature Medicine online.

🎙️ Science. Public health. Innovation. Genes versus disease — this is Paul Talks Science.

Mpox is surging again across parts of Africa — and this time, it seems like the world is paying even less attention. In this episode, I sit down with Ifeanyi Omah, a Wellcome Trust Doctoral Researcher in Hosts, Pathogens, and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh, to unpack the science behind the current outbreak.

We discuss the evolving mpox landscape, including what genomic data is telling us (and what it isn’t), how human behavior and viral mutations intersect, why Sierra Leone has become a hotspot, and why building Africa’s capacity for outbreak response remains critical.

🎧 This conversation complements my new Lancet article — “Sierra Leone struggles as mpox surges across Africa.”
👉 Read it here: thelancet.com/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01242-5/fulltext

In this episode of Paul Talks Science, I spoke with Prof. Hedvig Hricak, lead commissioner of The Lancet Oncology Commission on Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, to discuss a historic win for global health: the newly adopted resolution at the 78th World Health Assembly that prioritizes access to medical imaging across low- and middle-income countries.

We talk about how this resolution came to be, what it means for cancer and non-communicable disease care, and how innovations in artificial intelligence and affordable imaging technologies are reshaping the landscape. Prof. Hricak also reflects on the power of collaboration between professional societies, governments, and global health institutions — and why political will is finally catching up to medical reality.

This conversation builds on my reporting for The Lancet Oncology. You can read the full article here:
📖 Cancer took centre stage at the World Health Assembly

Whether you're a policymaker, health professional, or global health advocate, this episode offers insight into how imaging access could shift the future of care — and why this resolution may be the start of something transformational.

In this episode of Paul Talks Science, Dr. Paul Adepoju sits down with Professor Christian Happi—molecular biologist, genomic trailblazer, and one of TIME’s 100 most influential people. From his pioneering work on Ebola and COVID-19 to his vision for translating African genomic data into diagnostics and therapeutics, Prof. Happi shares insights on what it takes to build sustainable science ecosystems in Africa.

They delve into the challenges and opportunities in global health equity, the impact of shifting international research funding, and why local innovation and scientific sovereignty are no longer optional for the continent. This is a conversation about consistency, leadership, and the urgent need for Africa to invest in—and trust—its own scientific capabilities.