Faculty Spotlight: Olayiwola Adeola

Olayiwola Adeola, a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences since 1991, credits his long tenure to his passion for research, teaching and mentoring students.

Adeola, a native of Nigeria, developed an interest in animal agriculture through experiences in the rural community of Iree, Osun State, where he was raised. He earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Ife, which is now Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. He then completed his master's and doctoral degrees in animal sciences at the University of Guelph in Canada. After a year of postdoctoral research, he joined the Purdue Animal Sciences faculty.

According to Adeola, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in academia through a university program he took part in during his time at Olivet Baptist High School in Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria.

“When I was in high school, there was a program at a nearby university,” Adeola said. “They went to high schools and encouraged high schoolers to form a science club. There was a strong science club where I went to high school, and every once in a while we'd go to universities where we would participate in quiz competitions, labs and more. Seeing that university environment was fascinating to me.”

Adeola also shared that passion is key to pursuing a career in academia.

“My advice for students is to be passionate about academia. They have to love it for what it is,” Adeola said. “If I were interested in accumulating wealth and money, I wouldn't be in academia. You have to have a love for it.”

Adeola’s appointment is in research and teaching. His lab conducts various different research projects relating to swine and poultry nutrition. He also teaches ANSC 522 Monogastric Nutrition and ANSC 620 Proteins and Amino Acids in Nutrition.

Adeola said he has remained with the department for more than 33 years because of the strong support he has consistently received.

“It’s a supportive environment with great colleagues around me,” Adeola said. “The department provides the enabling environment for me to work in, so I consider myself fortunate and blessed to be here.”

Adeola has received numerous honors throughout his career, with several notable awards in recent years. In 2023, he was named an American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Fellow in the Research Category. He received the ASAS Gary L. Cromwell Award for Research in Minerals in 2022, the National Broiler Chicken Council Research Award from the Poultry Science Association (PSA) in 2012 and both the ASAS and PSA American Feed Industry Association Nonruminant and Poultry Nutrition Awards in 2007 and 2005, respectively.

Although he has received numerous accolades throughout his career, Adeola said the most rewarding aspect has been working with students and seeing them grow and succeed in their careers. Among them are Kolapo Ajuwon, now a faculty member in Purdue’s Department of Animal Sciences, and Oluyinka Olukosi, a Department of Poultry Science faculty member at the University of Georgia, whom Adeola advised during graduate school. Additionally, he said he is often inspired by students’ curiosity and problem-solving mindset.

“When we have unanticipated results, students come to me asking for interpretation, and I often throw it back at them—encouraging them to scrutinize the data, dig into the literature and come back with ideas,” Adeola said. “When they do, and say, ‘This is what I think is happening,’ it sparks other research questions. It’s like a light bulb goes off in their heads, and that process inspires me too.

On the other hand, Adeola is motivated to inspire his graduate students by setting high expectations and leading by example through his own work ethic.

“I like to think that I work very hard, and I set the stage for them as soon as they walk through the door. I make my expectations clear,” Adeola said. “Over the last 33 years, it’s been very rare that students don’t respond to that. I think when they see me fully engaged and working hard, it motivates them—like, ‘If my advisor is doing this, then I have no excuse not to.’”

Outside of academia, Adeola enjoys watching sports and traveling. He said his favorite trip was a visit to New Zealand with his wife, describing it as the most beautiful country he has visited. His wife is Mopelola Adeola, who is a clinical associate professor in the Purdue University School of Nursing.