Two UIMSAite-Led Teams Win Maiden Mayowa Owolabi Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Grants
The Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, on August 11, 2026, held the maiden Professor Mayowa Owolabi Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Grant Award Ceremony at the Paul Hendrickse Lecture Theatre.The ceremony was aimed at sensitising students to grant and proposal writing, and included the presentation of awards to the winners of the research grant.
Slated for 2:00 p.m., the ceremony commenced a few minutes after the scheduled time with the singing of the anthems and was anchored by Dr Ugalahi Mary, the new subdean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences. Dignitaries in attendance included the Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Prof. Taiwo Lawal; Chairman of the SPARKLING Committee, Prof. A. M. Adeoye and Prof. Ayodele Jegede, Director of the University of Ibadan Research Management Office.
Prof. Rufus Akinyemi represented Prof. Mayowa Owolabi, the sponsor of the award, who was unavoidably absent due to an official assignment in Abuja. The ceremony attracted undergraduate students from the Departments of Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine and Surgery, as well as the Faculty of Dentistry.
The ceremony which included a presentation on Grant/Proposal Writing, was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Prof. Taiwo Lawal who explained that the grant was an initiative of erstwhile Dean; Prof. Mayowa Owolabi who had accumulated his travel grants as Dean to provide funding for undergraduate research.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the SPARKLING Committee, Prof. A. M. Adeoye, explained the criteria used in selecting the winners and highlighted some of the pitfalls that led to the disqualification of other teams. He also spoke about plans to expand the scope of the grant in subsequent years to accommodate more awardees and emphasized the commitment to making the award a continuous initiative rather than a one-time event.
The sensitization session, titled “Sensitization on Grant and Proposal Writing,” was delivered by Prof. Folashade Omokhodion. The session was aimed at helping undergraduate medical students build essential grant-writing skills, secure research funding, and strengthen their academic portfolios. Prof. Omokhodion spoke extensively on the steps involved in proposal writing and emphasized the importance of novelty and relevance in research. She encouraged students to utilise research as a tool for putting Africa on the global map. The sensitization session was followed by the presentation of awards to the two winning teams. The team leads, Mr Emmanuel Ọlalere of the 2K25 class and Mr Theophilus Ọlayiwọla of the 2k23 class, presented their respective research projects. The awards were presented to the winning teams by Professor Rufus Akinyemi and Professor Jegede.
The awardees briefly explained their proposals. Olalere Emmanuel Olakunle’s research proposal titled — “Beyond Body Mass Index: A Cost-Effective Clinical Prediction Model For Hidden Cardiometabolic Risk in Normal-Weight Adults”, aimed to validate a clinical tool to assess metabolically obese normal-weight adults. Theophilus Olayiwola’s RepViT-Based Artificial Intelligence for Paediatric Pneumonia Detection on Chest Radiographs in Nigeria: An Exploratory Study, proposed an artificial intelligence model for detecting pneumonia in children, bridging the large radiologist to patient ratio.
Following the presentations, the awards were presented by Prof. Rufus Akinyemi (representing Prof. Mayowa Owolabi) and Prof. Ayodele Jegede (Director of the University of Ibadan Research Management Office).
Speaking on behalf of Prof. Mayowa Owolabi, Prof. Rufus Akinyemi described him as a passionate researcher whose interest in research dates back to his days in medical school. He noted that Prof. Owolabi is committed to passing the same passion for research on to students. He also admonished the students to strive to become “knowledge generators” rather than merely “knowledge regurgitators”, and further described the grant as a small seed which, if properly utilized, could grow and generate millions of seeds.
In his closing remarks, the Dean described this first grant as a seed, while appealing to donors to fund undergraduate research.
