My research centers on three interconnected themes. First, I investigate the fundamental drivers of biodiversity and their application to microbial communities, with a focus on how ecological and evolutionary processes shape community structure and function. Second, I study microbial biodiversity in human-dominated ecosystems, including the impacts of agricultural practices and environmental disturbances, to understand how anthropogenic pressures alter microbial dynamics. Third, I explore microbial community structure as a biomarker of functional integrity, particularly under stress from contaminants such as heavy metals and antibiotics. Recent projects in ecotoxicology and antibiotic resistance have extended this work by examining how soil bacteria respond to cadmium exposure and by characterizing intrinsic resistance traits in environmental isolates. Collectively, these efforts aim to link microbial diversity with ecosystem function and resilience, while informing strategies for environmental monitoring and remediation.

• PhD., Biology/Ecosystem and Microbial Ecology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
• MSc., Environmental Science, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands / EAWAG Limnology Research Center, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland.

• Evolution, Organisms and Ecology: BIO 102
• Microbiology: BIO 250
• Environmental Microbiology: BIO 390A
• Ecology: BIO 342
• Biostatistics: BIO 375

• Akinwole PO, Jacobs EEC and Shaffer NG (2025). Carbon metabolism and multidrug resistance in Bacillus mobilis and Cupriavidus campinensis isolated from cadmium-spiked soils. Front. Environ. Sci. 13:1668462. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1668462
• Leandro, D., Akinwole, P. et al. (2025). GLUEing the World: The GLobal Urban Evolution Project and Its Importance to Urban Biodiversity Conservation. In: Angeoletto, F., Tryjanowski, P., Fellowes, M.D.E. (eds) Ecology of Tropical Cities, Volume I. Springer, Cham.
• Akinwole, P. O., Shaffer, N. G., Pasini, C. Z., Carr, K. M., Brown, K. L., & Owojori, O. J. (2024). Ecotoxicity evaluation using the avoidance response of the oribatid mite Oppia nitens (Acari: Oribatida) in bioplastics, microplastics, and contaminated Superfund field sites. Chemosphere, 142301.
• Santangelo JS, Ness RW,…Akinwole PO, et al. (2022). Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover. Science 375, 1275–1281
• Philips O. Akinwole, Madeline C. Draper, Amerti Guta, Mahaila J. Martin, Kenneth L. Brown (2022) Evaluation of sedimentary bacterial community dynamics and contamination assessment of lower Des Plaines River. Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
• Philips O. Akinwole, Jinjun Kan, Louis A. Kaplan and Robert H. Findlay. (2021). Spatial variability in streambed microbial community structure across two watersheds. Microbiology Spectrum
• Akinwole, P., Guta, A., Draper, M. and Atkinson S. (2021). Spatio-temporal variations in the physiological profiles of streambed bacterial communities: implication of wastewater treatment plant effluents. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 37, 136
• Akinwole, P., Kaplan, L. and Findlay, R. (2021). Elucidating stream bacteria utilizing terrestrial dissolved organic matter. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 37, 32
• Akinwole P.O, Lefevre E., M.J Powell and R.H Findlay (2014). Unique odd-chain polyenoic phospholipid fatty acids present in chytrid fungi. Lipids 49: 933-942
• Tiegs S.D, P.O. Akinwole and Gessner M.O (2009). Litter decomposition across multiple spatial scales in stream networks. Oecologia161: 343-351
• Badejo M.A and P.O. Akinwole (2007). Preliminary study of the feeding habits of seven species of oribatid mites from Nigeria. Systematic & Applied Acarology 12:121-125
• Badejo M.A and P.O. Akinwole (2006). Microenvironmental preferences of oribatid mite species on the floor of a tropical rainforest. Experimental and Applied Acarology 40:145-156

• DOE Visiting Faculty, Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Lab, Lemont, IL (05/2025 – 07/2025)

• ¸»¶þ´úÊÓƵapp Fisher Fellowship - 2025
• Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority (CSURM) Fellowship Award - 2024