Ifeoluwa Awogbindin

Dr. Ifeoluwa Awogbindin has honors and graduate degrees from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is passionate about the intersection of neurotropic infections and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on microglial roles. During his PhD, he studied the pharmacological effects of kolaviron, an anti-inflammatory agent from Garcinia kola seeds, in mice infected with influenza A virus, using a combination of molecular biology and antigen-antibody approaches. The study was top-rated and earned the best PhD thesis prize in 2018. Between 20162021, he committed to studies in animal models of Parkinson’s disease, validating the folkloric claim that Garcinia kola seeds enhance healthy aging. He held numerous pre-and post-doctoral training and travel awards, including an NIH-funded mentored grant at the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom, where he studied microglial STAT signaling during Zika virus infection in BV2 cells. Currently, Dr. Awogbindin is leveraging his training to investigate whether alterations of microglial structure and function during infections with SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 predispose to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, respectively.