Dr. Ejaife Agbani

Biography

Dr Ejaife Agbani is an Assistant Professor of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Cell Biology. He earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree (with Distinction) from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and later qualified as a pharmacist. Also, he earned a Master’s in clinical pharmacy degree (with Distinction) from University College London, England. He then studied peroxynitrite chemistry and its cellular actions in pulmonary hypertension at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland, where he obtained his PhD in 2010. After post-doctoral research investigating the role of nuclear invaginations and endo-lysosomal channels in calcium signalling at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, Dr Agbani joined a platelet secretion lab at the University of Bristol, England. It was at Bristol that Ejaife carved out a distinct area of thrombosis (formation of blood clots) and haemostasis (arrest of bleeding) research with his discoveries through 4D advanced imaging. Dr Agbani is pioneering a novel approach at the University of Calgary, to specifically target procoagulant membrane dynamics to control platelet-driven thrombosis without blocking essential pro-haemostatic platelet secretions. This approach opens the way for the development of a new class of antiplatelet antithrombotics, namely, antiprocoagulant antithrombotics, mechanistically distinct from aspirin and P₂Y₁₂ blockers such as clopidogrel, prasugrel, and ticagrelor, and devoid of the bleeding side-effect of these drugs.

Dr Agbani is one of the leading authors in his field. His publications (2015-2023) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation-Insight, Blood, Nature Communications, Blood Advances, Platelets, Communications Medicine,  Cells, Scientific Reports, Haematologica, Circulation, JBC and ATVB have spurred a shift in thrombosis research. In collaboration with clinicians, Dr Agbani’s work seeks to understand platelets’ role in hypertensive complications of pregnancy, thrombo-haemorrhagic complications, drug and cancer-associated thrombosis, vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease and myeloproliferative disorders. His haematological innovation couples machine learning with the systematic quantification of platelet procoagulant membrane dynamics and is currently under test to predict bleeding or clotting diathesis. His research goal is to provide critical insights into thrombosis mechanisms and the haemostatic response through platelet biology and to leverage this knowledge for precision medicine. In 2024, Dr Agbani became a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Advisory Board (IAB) for the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH).