Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences

It is my immense pleasure to welcome you to the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences of this great University. On behalf of the academic, technical and administrative staff, I extend warm greetings to our current and prospective students, parents and guardians, alumni, collaborators, and guests exploring our Faculty through this platform. The Faculty is committed to excellence in medical education, research and community service.

The Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences occupies a unique and strategic position in the training of healthcare professionals. It is the critical bridge between preclinical phase and clinical phase of medical training. The Faculty ensures that the University graduates who pass through the Faculty possess sound theoretical knowledge, clinical skills, ethical prowess, and professional competence required for effective patient care. Our disciplines, Laboratory Medicine and Pharmacology, are designed to help students understand pathophysiology of diseases, medical diagnostic techniques and therapeutic approaches that are the cornerstones of modern healthcare professions.

Our curricula are periodically reviewed to reflect the current trends in medical education in line with global best practices. This enable us to produce graduates that are of global value and are highly competitive, and responsive to the evolving needs of the global healthcare system. Our Faculty is home to highly dedicated and experienced academic staff who are deeply passionate and committed to teaching and learning, research, and community service. They strive to provide wholistic learning and teaching through innovative pedagogical techniques, problem-based learning, practical and clinical demonstrations, student-friendly classroom environments, mentoring and pastoral engagement. Research is a core pillar of our Faculty. We actively promote a culture of inquiry that addresses local, national, and global health challenges. Our staff and students are encouraged to engage in meaningful research that contributes to scientific knowledge, informs clinical practice, and influences health policy. By fostering collaborations within and beyond our institution, we aim to position the Faculty as a hub for impactful and socially relevant research.

To our current students, you remain major stakeholders of the Faculty. Your feedbacks on our activities are welcome at all time. To our prospective students, we look forward to you joining our academic family. To our alumni, we urge you to continue to be good ambassadors of the Faculty and the University as a whole. To parents and guardians, your cooperation and understanding are the fuel keeping us soaring higher. To our partners and collaborators, we value your continued interest in our activities. To our guests, we look forward to your first engagement with us. A trial will convince.

As you conclude reading this note, I invite you to learn more about the Faculty – our philosophy, mission and vision, as well as Departments, research activities, and community services. Once again, welcome to the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences of the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences was created in 2008 as one of the five faculties in College of Medical Sciences of the University. The other four faculties are Faculties of Allied Health Sciences, Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences and Dentistry. Though the College of Medical Sciences was created in 1978, just three years after the establishment of University of Maiduguri in 1975, the decision to migrate to full collegiate system was in 2008 when the five faculties were created. The pioneer Dean of the Faculty is Prof. Haruna Asura Nggada who steered the affairs of the Faculty between 2008-2025 while the current Dean is Prof. Gadzama Bala Galadima. The primary objective of the Faculty is to contribute to the training of medical and dental doctors through the University MBBS and BDS programmes. In addition, the Faculty serves other programmes, including Medical Laboratory Science, Medical Radiography, Medical Rehabilitation, Nursing Science and Pharmacology.

The Faculty comprises five Departments, namely:

• Department of Chemical Pathology
• Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion
• Department of Anatomic Pathology and Forensic Medicine
• Department of Medical Microbiology

The Faculty is an interphase between pre-clinical and clinical phases of medical and dental training. Thus, it enables medical and dental students to translate the skills and knowledge of normal body biochemicals, functions and structures (Human Anatomy, Human Physiology and Medical Biochemistry) learnt during the preclinical phase to diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions during clinical phase. Specifically, the Faculty provides suitable platform for 400- and 500-level medical and dental students to acquire required skills and knowledge of Laboratory Medicine, including Chemical Pathology, Haematology, Medical Microbiology and Anatomic Pathology, as well as Pharmacology. The prerequisite skills and knowledge acquired during their stay in the Faculty promote effective teaching and learning during clinical training and ensure successful professional practice following graduation from medical college.

Furthermore, the Faculty offers postgraduate training (MSc and PhD programmes) in various fields such as Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pharmacology, Biochemical Pharmacology and Neuropharmacology. Additionally, professional postgraduate training services are provided for medical doctors undergoing relevant residency training of both National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and West African College of Physicians. The Faculty has a wide scope of research capacities covering various aspects of medicine, including infectious diseases (malaria, schistosomiasis, meningitis, typhoid fever, COVID-19, HIV/AIDs etc.), non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes mellitus, hypertension, congenital abnormalities, sickle cell anaemia etc.), cancers, drug resistance, medicinal plants and drug discovery and development. Lastly, the Faculty also render community services to the University community and beyond. These are in form of medical outreaches, medical counselling and public awareness campaign.

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Philosophy, Mission and Vision Statements

Philosophy

The philosophy of the proposed Faculty is provision of comprehensive basic clinical science training, research and services in areas of Laboratory Medicine and Pharmacology to serve as the bedrock of modern medical practice.

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Mission

The mission of the Faculty is to provide enabling avenue for the College to attain her mission by provision of adequate up-to-date basic clinical education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, evidence-based patient-oriented laboratory and clinical services, and cutting edge researches in areas of Laboratory Medicine and Pharmacology.

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Vision

The vision of the Faculty is to be the educational hub of basic clinical knowledge and best basic clinical and laboratory medicine practices in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.