- Nigerian pharmacist Chika Onochie, a PhD researcher at McGill University in Montreal, has won a doctoral scholarship worth up to CAD$100,000 from the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Pulse Nigeria reported on Friday, 2 October 2026.
- Chika Onochie's research looks for biomarkers that show whether sperm can fertilise an egg, beyond the count, movement and shape measured in a standard semen analysis.
- Chika Onochie graduated with first-class honours in pharmacy from the University of Benin in 2021 and began a PhD in pharmacology at McGill University in 2023.
Chika Onochie wins award worth up to CAD$100,000 for male fertility study
The University of Benin first-class graduate, now a PhD researcher at McGill, is hunting for sperm biomarkers that standard semen tests miss. He says the gap is one he saw first-hand as a pharmacist in Nigeria.
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…