HISTORY OF PHYSIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
The Department of Physiology is one of the foundation departments in the University of Ibadan. It was established in 1948 and commenced under the old Faculty of Science
The department of physiology is located in the university main campus close to the staff school. University of Ibadan. In its current location, for over fifty years ,the Department of Physiology has four main buildings,specifically ;
1. A large two-storey laboratory building with teaching laboratories for about two hundred and fifty students, offices for staff, a seminar room,postgraduate students' common room ,a library, and an Exercise Physiology and Performance Laboratory
2. A 200 seater physiology lecture theatre now also known as the Preclinical Lecture Theatre and
3. A postgraduate experimental animal house and
4. A one storey administrative building, which was upgraded to two storey (2017-2018) to accommodate more offices for staff and research laboratories. This vertical extension of the main Physiology building has contained therein ,offices ,two seminar rooms ,six research unit mini laboratories, and a central laboratory, all with adequate convenience facilities.
The successive heads of the Department of Physiology from its inception till date are as follows :
- Professor Richard Parsons (1948-1954)
- Professor J. Grayson (1955-1967)
- the first Nigerian, Professor B.O Amure (1967-1975)
- Dr (Mrs) J.F Ude (1975-1978)
- Professor D.D.O Oyebola (Acting Head),1978-80; 1982-1983; Substantive Head, 1986-1989; 1995-1998)
- Professor R.A Elegbe (Acting Head, 1980-1982; Substantive Head, 1983-1986;1992-1995;1998-2000)
- Professor Adeyombo F. Bolarinwa (Acting Head,1989-1992; Substantive Head, 2006-2010)
- Professor A.R.A Alada (Acting Head,2001-2003; Substantive Head, 2010-2012)
- Professor A.A Fasanmade (Acting Head,2003-2004; Substantive Head, 2012-2016)
- Professor Y. Raji (2016-2020)
- Professor Elsie O.Adewoye(2020-2022),
- and the current Head Professor S.B Olaleye.
Over the years, the department of physiology has developed in all areas of teaching, research, staff quality, and mandate. Currently, postgraduate teaching and research in the department have been reorganising into six broad academic/research units,namely; Applied and Environmental Physiology, Cardio-Respiratory Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Gastrointestinal Physiology and inflammation, Neuroscience and Oral Physiology, and Reproduction and Developmental Programming.
The Department of Physiology has produced several graduates of physiology at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels since its inception.
The Output of talented manpower from the Department has been staggering; our products have permeated the entire Nigerian, African, and international society in a positive way. The Department of Physiology has continued to play a leading role in the furtherance of scientific discipline of Physiology worldwide, in terms of undergraduate science teaching, medical education, and postgraduate research and training.
One of the departments greatest achievements is professionalism; a credit that is most deserving in view of the fact that it is a pioneer and the pioneer department of physiology in Nigeria.
HEAD OF PHYSIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN.
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| Professor S. B Olaleye |
Professor Samuel Babafemi Olaleye was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, and was educated at Omolewa Nursery/Primary institution (1971/1979) Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan (1979-1992) and Moremi High school, University of Ife (now OAU) Ile-ife (1982-1985). He is an alumnus of the Department of Physiology, University of Ibadan, having obtained his Bsc ,Msc, and PhD. degrees in 1990,1992, and 1999, respectively.
As a postgraduate student at the University of Ibadan, he won many scholarships, including the Federal Government Postgraduate Scholarship (1991) ,Oyo State Government Scholarship (1992) and was the first recipient of the MKO Abiola postgraduate scholarship in 1992). He joined the service of the University of Ibadan in 1996 as a Lecturer grade II, having previously lectured at the University of Maiduguri (1992-1995) and Ilorin (1995-1996). He was promoted to lecturer I in 1999, senior lecturer in 2002 Reader in 2007, and professor in 2012.
Through a McArthur Foundation fellowship, he had a post-doctoral experience at the University of Hong Kong and Baptist University Hong Kong. He was head, Physiology Department at the Kampala International University, Uganda (2014-2015) and a W.H.O consultant at the Department of Physiology College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone (2017-2018). He has also been involved in medical education visits and teachings in Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique ,Ethiopia, and South Africa.
A consultant to many scientific journals in Nigeria and abroad, Prof S.B Olaleye is co-founder and editor, African Journal of Biomedical research. He is also the deputy editor of the journal of the African Association of Physiological Sciences. In September 2019, he was unanimously elected Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences.
He is also the current president of the African society for Drosophila Research. He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, and currently, he is the Head of Physiology department, University of Ibadan