Written by Alyssa Bersine, graduate education project and data specialist
Lola Eniola-Adefeso, professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, has been named the new Associate Dean for Graduate & Professional Education (ADGPE), effective July 1, 2021. She succeeds Mary-Ann Mycek, Interim Department Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, who served as ADGPE since 2016.
“Graduate students are a critical part of any College of Engineering’s educational and research mission,” Eniola-Adefeso said. “I am delighted to work with Michigan Engineering leadership to reimagine graduate education for a post-pandemic world – one focused on community engagement and socially-conscious engineering to produce the best, most diverse engineers for our marketplace. This new generation of well-trained, diverse innovators is critical for the success of our society and country to produce technologies that work for Americans.”
As vice chair for graduate studies in Chemical Engineering, she has been instrumental in the recruitment of women and underrepresented minorities in the department’s Ph.D. program. She also founded and currently serves as co-chair of the NextProf Pathfinder program, which brings women and minority students to campus to experience academic life.
“Lola is a leading DEI advocate within the College, University and her field, and has been a champion for women and underrepresented minority students” said Alec D. Gallimore, who is the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, and a professor both of aerospace engineering and of applied physics.
For her efforts in DEI, Eniola-Adefeso was recently named an inaugural recipient of a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship, a designated recently created to recognize senior faculty who have shown a commitment to the University’s ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion through their scholarship, teaching, or service and engagement. She is also a recent recipient of the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Spirit Award.
Eniola-Adefeso’s work to make research funding more equitable has also influenced dialogue to make positive change in recent months.
Eniola-Adefeso’s research interest in the design and evaluation of particulate carriers has contributed significantly to advancing the field of vascular-targeted drug delivery, which is applicable in treating cancer and heart and lung diseases. Recent discoveries from her lab led to the formation of a startup company, Asalyxa Bio, where she is chief scientific officer. She is a fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). Since 2017, she has served as vice chair for graduate studies in the Chemical Engineering department. She held a two-year term as an appointed member of the Rackham Graduate School Executive Board.
