NAME: Olalekan, Adesola Oluwafunmilayo

EMAIL: adesolaolalekan@unilag.edu.ng

POSITION TITLE: Senior Lecturer, Medical Microbiology & Molecular Biology Techniques, Bioinformatics and Genetic testing, Molecular Diagnosis of infectious Diseases, Microbial genetics, Climate change, ONE health, next generation sequencing (incl. metagenomics

EDUCATION/TRAINING

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION	DEGREE (if applicable)	Completion Date MM/YYYY	FIELD OF STUDY
University College Hospital, Ibadan	AMLSCN/BMLS	05/1997	Bacteriology
Lagos University Teaching Hospital Lagos	FMLSCN	10/1999	Chemical Pathology
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo	Postgraduate Diploma	08/2003	Microbiology
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho West Africa Post-Graduate College of Medical Laboratory Science	MSc      PhD FWAPMLS	02/2004 02/2013 02/2020	Medical Microbiology Medical Microbiology Molecular diagnosis

Personal Statement

I am a Senior Lecturer and passionate researcher in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria. My research interests focus on the molecular epidemiology of bacteria, particularly the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species), to unravel the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. I also study Chromobacterium violaceum and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

Currently, I am exploring the entire genomes of these bacteria using bioinformatics tools to investigate the population structures of resistance genes and their evolutionary dynamics. As an infectious disease researcher, I am committed to using molecular techniques to study the genetic determinants of antimicrobial resistance in clinical infections.

I have published impactful findings in both national and international journals in the field of antimicrobial resistance and have led capacity-building programs on standardized antimicrobial testing techniques across various institutions in Nigeria. I am also keenly interested in mitigating the threats of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including studies at the intersection of AMR and climate change.

Over the years, I have received several prestigious fellowships and travel awards, including the DAAD Fellowship (Germany, 2009–2011), DAAD Re-Invitation Fellowship (Germany, 2019), the Second Best Ph.D. Thesis Award (2012/2013 academic session, LAUTECH), a DFG/TWAS Collaborative Visit to Münster, Germany (2018), multiple global health travel awards, and most recently, the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) Award in 2021.

I am a Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science and the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria. I hold membership in several professional bodies, including the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Nigeria Biosafety Association (NiBSA), Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), and the African Biological Safety Association (AfBSA).

Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors

Positions and Scientific Appointments

2021 – Present Senior Lecturer, University of Lagos, Nigeria

2018 – 2021 Lecturer 1, University of Lagos, Nigeria

2018 – 2021 Chairman, Association of Female Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria Caretaker Committee

2014 – 2018 Adjunct Lecturer, University of Lagos, Nigeria

2002 – 2018 Assistant Director, Laboratory Services of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Nigeria

2011 – Present Training Facilitator and Examiner, Lagos State College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria

2006 – 2018 Research Scientist and Lecturer at the School of Medical Laboratory, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos

Honors

2023                           Africa Research Excellence Fund Seed Grant

2022                       Research Development Fellowship; Africa Research Excellence Fund, University of Leeds

2020 College of Medicine support grant for COVID-19 on Assessment of Psychological Effect & Infection Control Practices among Health Workers in COVID-19 Treatment Centers in Nigeria

2019 Global health travel award – Keystone symposium Functional care and Eradication of HIV; Molecular immunology, Vancouver, Canada

2019 DAAD scholar revisits Eberhard Kahl, Universität Tübingen, Germany

2018 TWAS/DFG cooperation research, University of Muenster, Germany

2013 Postgraduate School Prize 2nd-best Ph.D. Thesis for the 2012/2013 academic session

2011 Scholar, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

2012 Global health travel award – Keystone conferences on molecular and cellular biology and HIV pathogenesis, British Columbia, Canada

2005 Outstanding Performance for Contribution to Development of Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos

1999 Best Academic Student in Chemical Pathology, SMLS LUTH, Lagos   

1997 Best Student in Medical Microbiology, SMLS UCH, Ibadan                                                                     

1. Selected Most Recent Publications/Contribution to Knowledge
2. Olalekan, A.,Bader, B., Iwalokun, B., Wolf, S., Lalremruata, A., Dike, A., Mannie-Udoh, M., Lo Presti, L., Liese, J., Guther, J., D’alvise, P., Peter, S. (2023): High incidence of carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates from Lagos, Nigeria. JAC Antimicrob Resist. 10;5(2): pages 1-10, dlad038. doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlad038. PMID: 37051191; PMCID: PMC10084947.
3. Olalekan, A., Iwalokun, B., Akinloye, O., Popoola, O., Samuel, T., Akinloye O. (2020): ‘COVID-19 rapid diagnostic test could contain transmission in low- and middle-income countries’, African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 9, No 1 page 1-8. DO – 10.4102/ajlm. v9i1.1255.
4. Olalekan, A., Onwugamba, F., Iwalokun, B., Mellmann, A., Becker, K., and Schaumburg, F. (2020): ‘High proportion of carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coliand Klebsiella pneumoniae among extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producers in Nigerian hospitals’, J Glob Antimicrob Resist, 21: 8-12.

4. Olalekan, A.,Taiwo, S., Smith, S., Shittu, A., Kolawole, D., Schaumburg, F. (2016): Persistent Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in ambulatory HIV infected patients in Nigeria: Risk factors and molecular features.  Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection 49 (6): pages 992-995.
5. Nurjadi, D.,Olalekan, A., Layer, , Shittu, A., Alabi, A., Ghebremedhin, B., Schaumburg, F., Hofmann-Eifler, J., Van Genderen, P., Caumes, E., Fleck, R., Mockenhaupt, F., Herrmann, M., Kern, W., Abdulla, S., Grobusch, M., Kremsner, P., Wolz, C., Zanger P. (2014):  Emergence of Trimethoprim Resistance Gene dfrG in Staphylococcus aureus causing human infection and colonisation in sub-Saharan Africa and its Import to Europe. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.   69 (9): pages 2361-2368.

Collaboration/Network

1. Prof Dennis Nurjadi, Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Lübeck, Germany
2. Prof Silke Peters, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Tübingen, Germany

• Prof Olusola Ojurongbe, Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, LAUTECH, Nigeria

1. Prof Alex O’Neill, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
2. Prof Modibo Sangare, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali
3. Prof Rahmat Adisa, Department of Biochemistry, University of Lagos

• Dr Ireti Fajolu, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Lagos
• Prof Solayide Adesida, Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

1. Prof Olayinka Ogunley, Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria
2. Prof Bamidele Iwalokun, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos
3. National Centre for Disease Control. Nigeria

• Dr Abdurrahman Hassan Jibril, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto
• Dr Olanike Buraimoh, Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos,