Dr. Justice Tettey

Dr. Justice Tettey was appointed Chief of the UNODC Drugs Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch in 2022. In this role, he provides strategic oversight of the Office’s scientific, health, development, and policy support to Member States in addressing and countering the world drug problem. He studied Pharmacy at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, graduating with first-class honours. He subsequently earned a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Analysis - receiving the AstraZeneca Prize - and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He also held a Glaxo Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Toxicology at the University of Liverpool Medical School, England. Dr. Tettey brings over 15 years of senior leadership experience within the United Nations, spanning multilateral, normative, and technical cooperation processes. Prior to joining the UN, he was a principal investigator in drug metabolism and pharmaceutical analysis, and a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. With more than 30 years of experience in medicines regulation and international drug control, Dr. Tettey has published extensively on international drug policy, pharmaceutical analysis, drug metabolism and toxicity, illicit synthetic drug markets, and forensic science. Dr Tettey has served on several scientific advisory committees including the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (Biotechnology and Biologicals), the World Anti-Doping Agency (Prohibited List Expert Group 2016 to date) and as honorary lecturer at the University of Liverpool (2000 – 2006) and the University of Strathclyde (2008 – 2011). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Dundee in 2019 in recognition of his contributions to forensic science in international drug control.