Prof. Ademola Adelowo Adenle is a well-known interdisciplinary scholar around the world and currently serves as the Senior Special Adviser on Agricultural Innovation to Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. Previously, he was a Guest Professor of Sustainability Science and Innovation Policy at the Technical University of Denmark. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Natural Science from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He completed a Master of Science in Biotechnology from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom (UK). He also obtained a Doctoral Degree in Bioscience with a focus on Health and Environment from the University of Nottingham, UK, and later studied a Master of Public Policy at the Green Templeton College and Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK. With over 25 years of experience, he integrates natural and social sciences to tackle challenges in food security, climate change, energy poverty, and public health, with a strong emphasis on technological innovation. His interdisciplinary work has been featured in local and international media and has attracted significant funding.
Prof. Adenle has taught and conducted research in Nigeria, the UK, the USA, Japan, Denmark, and Germany. He has led major national and international projects on food systems and regenerative agriculture, including Africa’s largest study on GM agriculture and an extensive study on climate change adaptation. In Nigeria, he spearheaded the development of the National Agricultural Soil Management Policy (NASMP), supported by USAID's Feed the Future initiative. His expertise has led him to engage with six African presidents on solutions for food security, energy poverty, and infectious diseases across the continent.
A prolific scholar, Prof. Adenle has authored over 70 publications in top journals including Nature Biotechnology, Energy Policy, Food Policy, and Ecological Economics. He led two major book projects: 1) Risk Analysis and Governance of GMOs in Developing Countries (Cambridge University Press, 2017): and 2) Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals (Oxford University Press, 2020), with forewords by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and the World Bank’s Senior Vice President Mahmoud Mohieldin.
Prof. Adenle has received numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to sustainability and innovation. In 2020, he was named a Next Einstein Fellow (NEF) Laureate, with the award presented in absentia by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. In 2023, he was recognized as a Rockefeller Food System finalist for his leadership in global food systems. That same year, he was the only African scholar to receive the Sustainability 2022 Carbon Neutrality Award and was also honored in the 2025 British Science and Sustainability Category Award.