Ola Olapade

Ola Olapade served as a Lecturer at Albion College from 2015 to 2017, instructing multiple sections of the Virus Hunters first-year seminar program through the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) initiative. They taught five distinct course sections with 16 freshmen each, focusing on hands-on phage discovery and microbiology research.

Dr. Olapade's expertise centers on Microbiology and Phage Genomics, utilizing Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis as host organisms for bacteriophage isolation. Their instructional approach emphasized authentic undergraduate research experiences in genomic analysis and evolutionary biology, with each 4-hour weekly course supported by teaching assistants and peer mentors.

Collaborating primarily with Ken Saville, Dr. Olapade developed a structured curriculum where students conducted phage discovery, characterization, and genomic analysis. Each section operated as an intensive research seminar with consistent enrollment of first-year students, demonstrating commitment to foundational science education through the national SEA-PHAGES network.