Chika Onochie wins award worth up to CAD$100,000 for male fertility study

When a couple can’t conceive, the tests usually start with the woman, and often stay there. Chika Onochie wants to change that, and Québec has put up to CAD$100,000 behind him.

The Nigerian pharmacist, a PhD researcher at McGill University in Montreal, has won a scholarship worth up to CAD$100,000 from the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) for his work on male fertility, TheStar reported on Thursday, 1 October 2026, followed by Pulse Nigeria on Friday, 2 October. Pulse put the sum at more than ₦110 million, depending on the exchange rate.

The money backs his search for a better way to tell whether a man’s sperm can actually do its job, beyond what a routine semen test shows.

What is Chika Onochie researching?

Onochie is looking for biomarkers, molecular signs in sperm that show whether they can fertilise an egg. A standard semen analysis checks things like count, movement and shape, but it does not always explain why a couple is struggling to conceive. He works in the McGill laboratory of Professor Cristian O’Flaherty, which studies how sperm are made, how they work and how male infertility is diagnosed, according to TheStar.

He traces the idea back to his pharmacy work in Nigeria, where he saw women go through rounds of investigations while a man’s assessment could stop at a basic semen test. “My training and practice as a pharmacist in Nigeria allowed me to see some of the inequalities surrounding reproductive healthcare firsthand,” he told TheStar. His summary is shorter: “Infertility is a couple’s issue.”

How does the FRQ award work?

It is a doctoral scholarship, not a prize handed over in one cheque. The award letter quoted by Pulse says his application in the FRQ’s Doctoral Research Scholarships programme, Fall 2025 competition, was approved after a peer-review committee recommended it.

The money is conditional. According to the letter, it depends on Québec’s National Assembly passing the necessary budget and on decisions by the FRQ board, and it can be changed without notice.

Who is Chika Onochie?

He is a Nigerian-trained clinical pharmacist turned reproductive scientist. His path, from the sources below:

• 2021: graduates from the University of Benin with first-class honours in both its Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy programmes, then works as a clinical pharmacist (TheStar).
• 2022: co-authors a study of antioxidant and antidiabetic extracts from the stem bark of Cylicodiscus gabunensis in the Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research (Google Scholar).
• 2023: starts a PhD in pharmacology at McGill University.
• June 2025: first author, with O’Flaherty, of a review in the journal Antioxidants on how redox-induced protein changes in sperm affect health and disease.
• 2026: first author of a new Antioxidants paper on how levels of protein CoAlation regulate redox signalling during human sperm capacitation, the step sperm go through before they can fertilise an egg.
• 1–2 October 2026: the FRQ award, worth up to CAD$100,000, is reported in Nigeria by TheStar and Pulse Nigeria.

When GistMatrix checked his Google Scholar profile at about 11:45am WAT on Friday, 2 October, his work had 34 citations, 20 of them for the 2025 review. The 2026 capacitation paper is not mentioned in the award coverage.

What happens next

Onochie continues his PhD at McGill under O’Flaherty. The scholarship still has to clear the Québec National Assembly’s budget vote and FRQ board decisions, according to the award letter quoted by Pulse. His stated long-term goal, he told TheStar, is better tools for understanding male infertility and a more balanced approach to reproductive care.

FAQ

Who is Chika Onochie?
A Nigerian pharmacist and PhD researcher in pharmacology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Benin in 2021.

How much is Chika Onochie’s award?
Up to CAD$100,000, from the Fonds de recherche du Québec’s Doctoral Research Scholarships programme. Pulse Nigeria put it at more than ₦110 million.

What is Chika Onochie studying?
Biomarkers in sperm that show whether they can fertilise an egg, to fill gaps left by standard semen analysis.

Should men be tested as thoroughly as women when a couple can’t conceive? Tell us in the comments.

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