Chúk Odenigbo is a budding toxicologist and professional in the health and safety sector. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Chúk currently lives in Montréal, Québec, working with Nimonik, an app company focused on making it easier for companies to meet their environmental, health and safety legal obligations. He completed his undergraduate degrees in chemistry and environmental science at Queen’s University, followed by a masters in environmental health and safety with a concentration in toxicology. He has worked as an environmental scientist in the oil and gas industry in Alberta for a couple of years, after which he got involved with the Canadian Parks Council as a youth consultant. There, he co-authored the Nature Playbook, a publication geared towards reconnecting Canadians with nature and the outdoors, highlighting the health benefits that the outdoors brings.
Chúk fell in love with toxicology at a surprisingly young age; finding it such a powerful tool in a world where knowledge is paramount and curiosity leaves no casualties. Toxicology is an interdisciplinary science that pulls from chemistry, biology, anatomy, environmental science, medicine, mathematics, statistic… and influences public health, public policy, health legislation. Results from toxicological experiments impact human lives in very direct ways, and while standards save lives, understanding the story behind each number generated can save even more.