I am Dr. Popoola Moshood Abiola, an early career scientist from Nigeria. I have a strong background in several research fields. I have developed a strong research foundation that will help to ensure my future success. Over the last ten years, I have gained research experience in the area of genetics, genomics and animal breeding. My attitude to work and orientation reflected positively on my overall academic performance, where I successfully passed all my MSc courses and graduated at the top 1% of my class. I added to this feat with additional Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, indicating a career drive and perseverance towards true professionalism in the field of agriculture. Immediately after these degree programmes, I initiated my Doctoral programme which was completed in record time and was done through a trilateral engagements and collaborations with multiple global agencies and organizations including (a) EU-funded iLINOVA (www.ilinova.org), (b) Australian government-funded ABCF Fellowship and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya. Ever since the completion of the PhD programme, I have maintained links with these agencies and I am a regular visiting scientist at ILRI, where I am well known as a very promising, talented, dynamic and focused scientist.

I maintain a multifaceted approach to my role as a scientist with job specifications which include; teaching, research and community engagement. My research interest is predominantly in molecular and population genetics of livestock with economic, environmental, biotechnological and/or societal importance. Within this scientific concept, I investigate the possibility of expediting genetic improvement of livestock by unravelling the genetic architecture of traits and correlating between molecular genetic variation and animal performance (phenotype).

I have very rich Curriculum Vitae that include numerous publications in Animal Breeding and Genetics, and travel grants and collaborations with the afore-mentioned agencies. I have attended several workshops and undergone trainings on Proposal Writing Skills, Scientific Paper Writing, Scientific Communication, Genomics Selection for Livestock, Climate Change and Livestock, Scientific Information Resources both within Nigeria and outside Nigeria. I have authored and co-authored over twenty scientific publications in different reputable journals.

In 2016, I won the African Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) Fellowship funded by the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the BecA-CSIRO partnership; the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA); the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF); the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). I am also a member of research team for Projects on Management of Indigenous Livestock to Foster Agricultural Innovation in Eastern, Southern and Western Africa (iLINOVA); co-financed in the ACP-EU Cooperation Programme in Science and Technology II (S&T II). A programme of the ACP Group of States, with the financial assistance of the European Union

I am currently a lecturer at Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Moor Plantation Ibadan. I am also a member of professional bodies like World Rabbit Science Association Sub-Saharan Africa Branch (SSA-WRSA), Genetics Society of Nigeria (GSN), Nigerian Society of Animal Production (NSAP), Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN). My teaching and research experiences have span intellectually broad topics covering multiple disciplines. I have enjoyed the opportunity to design experiments, analyze results, present findings and publish papers.