Kehinde O. Adebiyi

kadebiyi@iu.edu | kehindeadebiyi.com | LinkedIn | Google Scholar

Education

Indiana University, Bloomington
Bloomington, IN, USA
PhD, Microbiology (Minor: Bioinformatics)
August 2021 - May 2027 (Expected)
Nigerian University of Technology and Management
Lagos, Nigeria
PG Cert., Technology, Entrepreneurship, & Design
August 2020 - July 2021
Lagos State University
Lagos, Nigeria
BSc., Microbiology
January 2016 - December 2019

Research & Professional Experience

Kearns Laboratory - Department of Biology, Indiana University
Bloomington, IN, USA
Doctoral Researcher
January 2022 - Present
Mountain Top University - Department of Biotechnology
Ogun, Nigeria
Visiting Lecturer & Research Scholar
January 2025 - Present
Adept Scientific Inc - Artificial Intelligence for the Wet Lab
Peer Researcher
2026
54gene (now SyndicateBio) - via Nigerian University of Technology & Management
Lagos, Nigeria
Visiting Research Scholar
May 2021 - July 2021
United Nations Academic Impact & Millennium Campus Network
Boston, MA, USA
Program Coordinator, UN Millennium Fellowship (Class of 2020)
May 2020 - January 2021
Fashola Laboratory - Department of Microbiology, Lagos State University
Lagos, Nigeria
Undergraduate & Post-baccalaureate Researcher
April 2018 - June 2020

Core Skills & Methods

Wet-lab & Molecular:
Gene cloning, genetic screens, Tn-seq, RNA-seq, Western blot, fluorescence & phase-contrast microscopy, microfluidics, microbial isolation, bioremediation assays.
Bioinformatics:
Genome assembly & annotation, RNA-seq / Tn-seq pipelines, sequence analysis, statistical & high-throughput data analysis.
Programming & Tools:
Python, Bash, Git/GitHub, Linux/HPC, ImageJ/Fiji, Chimera.
Soft Skills:
Teaching; scientific writing & communication; public speaking; cross-institutional collaboration; program coordination; structured user interviews & advisory facilitation.

Publications (Selected)

  1. Dunn, C. M.*, Adebiyi, K. O.*, & Kearns, D. B. (2026). Flagellar toxicity: Flagellar synthesis is lytic for Bacillus subtilis in the absence of PBP1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 123(36). *Equal contribution.
  2. Joncha, J. H., Ruesewald, S., Adebiyi, K. O., Kearns, D. B., & Jacobson, S. C. (2026). Constitutive, endogenous, fluorescent membrane reporters for dynamic cell-cycle analysis in Bacillus subtilis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
  3. Adebiyi, K. O., Lastra, L. C., Joncha, J. H., Ruesewald, S. B., Jacobson, S. C., & Kearns, D. B. (2026). MinJ is a conserved nine-pass transmembrane protein that contains a putative transmembrane β-sheet. bioRxiv (preprint).
  4. Lai, N. K., Lastra, L. C., Adebiyi, K. O., et al. (2026). Efficient septum formation is essential for chromosome segregation in Bacillus subtilis when SMC function is impaired. Journal of Bacteriology (accepted).
  5. Akingbola, A., Adegbesan, A., Adewole, O., Adebiyi, K. O., et al. (2026). Artificial Intelligence for Coordinating Vaccine Design, Antiviral Discovery, and Real-World Monitoring in the Era of Emerging and Endemic Viral Threats. Frontiers in Pharmacology.
  6. Fashola, M. O., Anagun, O. S., Adebiyi, K. O., et al. (2025). Effect of growth media on heavy-metal tolerant bacteria isolated from the Owode-Onirin iron scrap market in Nigeria. Ife Journal of Science.
  7. Fashola, M. O., Anagun, O. S., Adebiyi, K. O., et al. (2024). Co-occurrence of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance traits in bacteria from poultry droppings and soil. Pan African Journal of Life Sciences.
  8. Adebiyi, K. O., Aiyenuro, A., Oladejo, S., & Akingbola, A. (2025). Revisiting whole killed virus vaccines for pandemic preparedness: is the NIH's H5N1 strategy a step back or a necessary bet? Infectious Diseases.

Presentations (Selected)

Gordon Research Conference on Bacterial Cell Surfaces
Portland, ME, USA
  • Flagellar toxicity: flagellar synthesis is lethal in B. subtilis in the absence of PBP1. 06/2026
Molecular Genetics of Bacteria & Phages
University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • MinJ’s role in cell-division site selection & peptidoglycan synthesis in B. subtilis. 08/2025
Gordon Research Conference on Bacterial Cell Biology and Development
New Hampshire, USA
  • Does MinJ have a second function in B. subtilis? 06/2025
22nd International Conference on Bacilli & Gram-Positive Bacteria - Honorable Mention, Top 5 Poster
Indiana, USA
  • eps mutants fix swarming defect but not cell-division defect of minJ mutant in B. subtilis. 10/2024
Invited Talks & Panels
Multiple Venues
  • The Role of Higher Education in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, UNAI & MCN High Level Forum, UN Headquarters, NY. 07/2025
  • Combating Infectious Diseases, Global Health & Human Rights Conference, Atlanta. 09/2024
  • How Open Data can Drive Transparency in Virtual Universities, Creative Commons Global Summit (UNESCO). 09/2021
  • Guest Speaker, UN SDGs and DiverCity Conference, American College of Greece.

Awards, Fellowships & Scholarships (Selected)

2023, 2025
Floyd Microbiology Fellowship, Indiana University.
2025
Travel Award, Gordon Research Conference on Bacterial Cell Biology and Development.
2024, 2026
Walter Konetzka Fellowship, Indiana University.
2024
Theodore J. B. Stier Fellowship; Velocity Scholar (UC Berkeley).
2024
Honorable Mention (Top 5 Poster), International Conference of Gram-Positive Bacteria.
2021
All-round Excellence Award, NUTM.
2021
Chevening Scholarship, UK Government (Declined).
2021
Honorable Mention, MIT Policy Hackathon.
2020
Top 3 Policy Brief, Stanford University Policy Datathon.
2020
Mastercard Foundation Scholarship, NUTM Scholars Program.
2019
Hesselbein Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh.

Leadership & Service (Selected)

⌘ Print / Save as PDF