Prof (Dr) Dr Joey Chifamba is a Nano-pharmaceutical Scientist and Industrial chemist both by qualification and experience. He is currently appointed by the University of California, Los Angeles as a Project Scientist under the department of Chemistry and biochemistry pioneering development of next generation novel metallic nanocomposites for biomedical applications in dermatology and cosmeceuticals.
Dr Chifamba is an award winning Dermaceuticals scientist with over 20 years’ of dual academic and industrial experience in pharmaceutical, cosmeceuticals and industrial chemical product development, technology transfers and manufacturing.
Dr Chifamba developed a low-cost sun cream that harnesses zinc and titanium from natural sources and indigenous trees to reduce exposure from the sun’s radiation for people living with albinism. The new innovative products not only seek to protect the skin of people with albinism from the sun’s radiation, but also slow down damages and infections to their skin.
He won a prize for his innovations at the UZ Research Innovation and Industrialisation Week and said that his ground-breaking product sought to help people living with albinism who suffer from actinic (solar induced) skin damage – freckles and sunburn to various skin cancers which shorten their life spans considerably.
“No product has ever been developed to protect albinistic persons from actinic damage. The sunscreens that are given to them are designed for white-skinned people and do not take into consideration specific conditions and differences found on albinistic skins,” he said.
He has various other graduate and postgraduate qualifications in business administration, applied chemistry, quality assurance, Occupational safety and health, Statistical process control, packaging development. Coaching and counselling, Quantification of health commodities, Supply chain management and many others. Dr Chifamba has extensive international practical experience both at top level industrial technical positions as well as in academia where he is currently a senior academic in pharmaceutics, nano-pharmacy as well as emerging technologies.
Industrially, he has worked as the Managing Director for Cornelder Industries, Divisional Managing Director/Technical director for the Siltek pharmaceutical group as well as the Research & development and as the Production manager for Unilever SEA. Dr Chifamba has vast geographical working experience and has also carried out technology transfer consultancies and set up a number of currently existing start-ups and established manufacturing businesses internationally.
Academically Dr Chifamba is a widely published researcher whose main research interests are in novel pharmaceutical and cosmeceuticals product development using advanced emerging and converging technologies.
