PROFESSOR ADESOLA ADETUTU AJAYI
Adesola Adetutu Ajayi is a distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology in the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, College of Pure and Applied Sciences, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Nigeria. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree (Zoology) in 1991, Master of Science Degree (Microbiology) in 1999 and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Microbiology) in 2006 from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
Her lecturing career spans over twenty-six years from the position of Graduate Assistant at the OAU Ile Ife in 1999 to Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, from 2006 – 2017 . She was the first female Head of Department of Biological Sciences between 2015 and 2017 at Covenant University. She rose to the esteemed position of Professor in 2015 and was the only female amongst fifteen other men promoted the same year.
She was the first female Dean, Faculty of Science, Augustine University from 2018 till 2021 and the Dean, Students Affairs from 2021 till 2023 in the same University.
She is currently the first female Professor to attain the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Innovation, Strategy and Administration (RISA) at Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State where she is involved in showcasing the University’s Research Excellence and Innovation endeavours through research output, innovation hub, strategic partnership and community engagement. She is involved in research activities that investigate the application of microbial enzymes industrially using gene sequences that code for the enzymes, protein engineering and molecular biology tools for defined microbial strains that can over-produce enzymes for cost effective technologies. She has supervised over a hundred students in different areas of Microbiology.
Prof. Adesola Ajayi won the Best Paper Presentation and Content award at the International Conference on Medical and Health Science (ICMHS) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015. Her research team was involved in the development of a Post Harvest Storage System for preservation of tomato fruits and a Patent from a Research on Parkia biglobosa Seed (Iru) in 2017. Prof. Adesola Adetutu Ajayi received the certified Publons Academy Mentor in 2018, the Nigerian Outstanding Lecturer of the year Award to honour individuals in the Nigerian Educational Sector that have displayed outstanding professionalism while maintaining ethical standards in the discharge of their duties in 2021, the Africa Skills Centre Outstanding Ambassador of the year Award 2021 by the Africa Skills Centre, South Africa and LION Outreach International United States at Kigali, Rwanda in 2021 and the Award of Excellence for Positive Influence and Impact in Academics by the Speak Africa International Center for Human Development (SAICENTER) in 2021. She became a Gold Collaborator with the ReachSci Society, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in 2023.
She won the Best Researcher Award at Caleb University in 2024. She received the award of Exemplary Leadership and Recognition by the Association for Industrial Microbiologist of Nigeria in 2025 and the Africa Outstanding Professor Award 2025. She has published several papers in reputable journals. She is a member of several professional bodies which includes the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB), The Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology (NISEB), the Association of Industrial Microbiologists of Nigeria (AIMN), Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN), the Organization for Women in Science for Developing World (OWSD) and the Science Association of Nigeria (SAN).
She is married to Engr. Felix Abiodun Ajayi and they are blessed with wonderful children.