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ChukaNwokolo

Chuka Nwokolo is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry, England, the teaching hospital for the new Warwick-Leicester Medical School. His initial medical training was in the University of Nigeria Medical School in Enugu. He trained in gastroenterology in Epsom, London, Birmingham, and Coventry, England.

Dr Nwokolo comes from a medical family. His father, an emeritus professor in medicine and gastroenterology, encouraged his early interest in academic medicine.

He spent two very productive years as a research fellow in Professor Pounder's Unit at the Royal Free Hospital, London, co-authoring over 20 publications. His MD thesis explored the pharmacology of bismuth salts used in gastroenterology. His other publications were based on experiments designed to understand the phenomena of "tolerance" and "rebound" in subjects dosed with gastric-acid-suppressing drugs.

Despite his huge clinical workload, he has maintained his interest in research and is involved in a study of the role of telomerase in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. He operates a high-quality laboratory for assessing gastric acid secretory function simultaneously in large numbers of subjects. Other clinical interests include artificial nutritional support.

Dr Nwokolo is the BAPEN representative for the West Midlands region.

He is married with two children.

What made you decide to become a gastroenterologist?

My father. I was fascinated by his attempts to understand the pathogenesis of Juvenile Tropical Pancreatitis Syndrome and remember his relief when his hypothesis (from a Third World academic) was published in the Lancet 1980: 1(8166): 456-9.

Who was the teacher you admired the most?

Ofobuike, my maths teacher in secondary school. A gifted yet humble man.

Which research paper influenced you the most?

The report which kick-started the molecular characterisation of non-A non-B hepatitis (Science 1989 Apr; 244(4902): 359-62).

What is the most important fact that you have discovered?

"Persorbtion" of colloidal bismuth in the human stomach (Gastroenterology 1992; 102: 163-7).

What is the biggest mistake that you have made?

Selling my flat in Epsom, Surrey.

What is your unfulfilled ambition?

To be free to test my ideas.

What is your greatest regret?

I gave up a chance to study medicine at Oxford.

How do you relax?

Reading fiction.

What is your favorite sport?

Football (soccer) unequivocally.

What is your best place in the world?

Enugu, Nigeria - 25 years ago.

What is your favorite film?

"The Jungle Book".

What car do you drive?

Honda.

What is your best electronic 'toy'?

My PC.

What book are you reading at the moment?

David Guterson's "Snow falling on Cedars".

Why did you get in involved in GastroHep.com?

In search of an unbiased medium for the dissemination of gastroenterology opinion.