About Me

Olufemi Akinkuotu is an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Parasitology. He was born and raised in Nigeria where he obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, MVSc and Ph.D. in Veterinary Parasitology from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He taught Veterinary Parasitology to DVM candidates at the same University from 2011 till 2022 and was the Head of Department of Veterinary Parasitology from 2021 till 2022 when he started a postdoctoral researcher position at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA. In mid-2024, he joined the University of Georgia, Georgia, USA as a postdoctoral fellow. He then joined Texas Tech University School of Veterinary medicine as a member of the faculty in January 2025.

Instruction

Teaching of veterinary parasitology and public health

Research

His research focuses on zoonotic parasitic diseases of livestock, companion and wild animals. He employs tools for genome editing in parasitic nematodes and platyhelminths to understand the biology, host immune response and pathogenesis of parasitic helminths. He also utilizes these tools to validate existing and discover novel genetic basis of anthelmintic resistance of various parasitic nematodes, especially skin-penetrating species.

Other aspects of his research are related to the epidemiology and pathogenesis of zoonotic protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Toxoplasma and many vector-borne parasites.

Service

He is a member of several professional associations including the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, American Society for Microbiology, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association.