Dr Oladipo E. Kolawole (Ph.D)
Founder/Principal Investigator, Helix Biogen Institute
Dr. Oladipo Elijah Kolawole is a distinguished Nigerian infectious diseases expert and the founder of the Helix Biogen Institute located in Ogbomoso, where he has been instrumental in advancing translational biomedical research. He holds a faculty position at Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State and a Visiting Associate Professor at Birmingham University, United Kingdom.
As the Principal Investigator at Helix Biogen Institute, Dr. Kolawole leads a team that developed a candidate vaccine for COVID-19, which was capture and recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) on the WHO Draft Landscape of COVID-19 Candidates Vaccine which made it the second candidate recognized from Africa. His research primarily focuses on infectious diseases towards the development of diagnostic tools and vaccines.
Dr. Kolawole is an International Fellow of the Indian Council of Medical Research and the African Union-STRC. He has published over 100 peer reviewed research articles and has participated in numerous national and international conferences, contributing significantly to the scientific community.
Dr. Oladipo Kolawole is a renowned expert in bioinformatics, virology, microbiology, and emerging or re-emerging diseases, with a distinguished focus on vaccine development and diagnostics.
He has spearheaded groundbreaking work in computational approaches to mRNA vaccine design, particularly against pathogens such as Mpox & vaccinia viruses, Lassa, Mokola virus, Samonda, among others. Dr. Kolawole’s expertise spans across bioinformatics-driven vaccine development and infectious disease research, making him a sought-after speaker at international forums.
He has been able to attract foreign investors on the point-of-care diagnostic test kit development for selected NTDs ongoing in his laboratory with focus on biodegradable cassettes for the kit.
In addition to his research contributions, he is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of scientists and fostering collaborations across various research institutions to advance biomedical knowledge and innovation in Nigeria and beyond.
