Akinola Akinbote
PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Research profile
Dr. Akinola Akinbote is a post-doctoral researcher working with Dr. Filipa Simões and Dr. Chris Toepfer (Co-Directors, Oxford Organoid Hub) in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. His research sits at the intersection of tissue engineering, cardiac biology, and vascular biology, with a focus on building human three-dimensional cardiac platforms to study heart disease and accelerate the discovery of regenerative therapies. Dr. Akinbote brings a distinctive background in biomaterials and vascularized tissue engineering to his work at Oxford. Drawing on experience in organ-on-chip technology, human induced pluripotent stem cell biology, and biomaterials, he engineers human-relevant models of cardiac regeneration.
Biography
Dr. Akinbote earned his PhD jointly from EMBL Barcelona and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he focused on engineered models of human microvasculature. Working with the Haase group, he developed 3D vascularised tissue models, harnessing iPSC technologies and microfluidics to generate perfusable cardiac-specific vascularised tissues and study coronary microvascular function under healthy and perturbed conditions.
Prior to EMBL, Akinola studied Polymer Engineering with a Biomedical Engineering minor at Case Western Reserve University, USA, where he worked with the Senyo group on the role of the extracellular matrix in post-infarct remodelling. He also conducted research at MIT in the Kamm Lab and worked at Becton Dickinson in soft-tissue reconstruction.
Beyond research, he is passionate about mentoring and fostering a more equitable global scientific community, with a particular commitment to expanding scientific representation in the Global South.