Eme Owoaje is a professor of Public Health in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Ibadan and an Honorary Consultant Public Health Physician to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria She served as the first Director of the Research Management Office of the University of Ibadan between 2010 and 2015. She was responsible for developing the initial research administrative infrastructure for the institution and providing grantsmanship training for academic staff and doctoral students. These activities were partially funded by the International Extramural Associate Research Development Award (IEARDA) she obtained from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2010-2015). In addition, she conducted similar training workshops for faculty in Nigerian universities and for others from West African countries during the annual West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA) meetings since 2013. She has continued to engage in research management and administrative activities in an advisory capacity at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and is currently the Chairperson of the College of Medicine Research and Innovation Management Office.

As a researcher, Professor Owoaje has over 30 years of experience in conducting sponsored multi-country collaborative research projects with colleagues in other sub-Saharan African countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia. She has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals.