For four decades, Career Communications Group's professional development events have emphasized the significance of how effective mentors shape careers, and today's story aims to highlight that.

Omolola Eniola-Adefeso moved to Maryland from Nigeria at the age of 16, initially planning to attend medical school. However, she discovered her passion for chemical engineering.

She earned her degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, graduating through the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which aims to increase the number of future leaders in science, technology, and engineering (STEM).

Eniola-Adefeso then pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 2004, ultimately earning a doctorate in chemical engineering.

In 2009, Eniola-Adefeso was featured by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in Findings Magazine, an alumni publication of the University of Michigan

As a chemical engineer at the University of Michigan, she developed a method to deliver heart disease medications directly to the blood vessels near the heart, eliminating the need for surgery.

In February 2021, she was senior author of a paper on science funding in another prominent scientific journal.

The paper called upon funding agencies to address disparities in allocating support to researchers.

At that time, her research interests include leukocyte adhesion, acute inflammatory diseases, immune engineering, vascular-targeted drug delivery, and the use of liver bile salts for lipolysis.

In 2023, Eniola-Adefeso was named Vennema Professor of Chemical Engineering. According to University of Michigan, the endowed Vennema professorship was established in 1980 to support scholars whose work will impact the technologies of tomorrow.

That same year, she was elected president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

In July 2024, she was named dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

In November 2020, Korie Grayson, then a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan's Department of Chemical Engineering, appeared on Career Communications Group's High-Tech Sunday.

During the discussion, she shared that her decision to attend the University of Michigan was primarily motivated by her desire to work with Omolola "Lola" Eniola-Adefeso.

Dr. Eniola-Adefeso supervised Grayson's research on evaluating novel nano- and microparticles for therapeutic applications related to acute inflammatory diseases and cancer.

In May 2025, Grayson posted on LinkedIn about how an executive order had disrupted her career at USAID.

Now, in her new role at Systems Planning & Analysis, she will use her research skills to conduct technology risk assessments and analyze critical and emerging technologies.

Grayson noted that hope and a sense of community helped her through the career disruption caused by recent policy shifts and executive orders.

On May 19, 2025, the University of Illinois at Chicago announced that Dr. Eniola-Adefeso, now the dean of the UIC College of Engineering and a professor in the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

She was recognized in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Class within the Engineering and Technology subcategory for her contributions to chemical and biomedical engineering, as well as for her support of underrepresented students and faculty researchers, including the award-winning Dr. Korie Grayson.

The American Academy will officially honor Eniola-Adefeso with an induction ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October, precisely one year after she joined UIC..

Lola Eniola-Adefeso, dean of @UICEngineering, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences: https://t.co/4QNTVKO22O pic.twitter.com/PwceDYXOvD

— UIC News (@UICnews) May 21, 2025