Prior to joining WPI, Dr. Obayemi was a Lecturer and Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. While at Princeton, John engaged in cutting edge research and taught an undergraduate/graduate course: bioengineering and medical devices. His research focuses on the development of engineered theranostic nanoparticles/drug clusters/medical devices as well as tissue engineered structures for specific targeting and controlled localized treatment of cancer. John received a master's and doctorate degree funded by the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) Scholarship Research Program at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in 2011 and 2015, respectively. In the course of his graduate program at AUST, he was a visiting graduate student at Princeton University and Rutgers University in 2012 and 2013, respectively. During this period, John's PhD dissertation was supervised by a Princeton Professor and was titled “Nano- and Micro-particles for the Detection and Treatment of Cancer”.
Dr. Obayemi has coauthored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals. His work has evolved from the development of functionalized magnetite and gold nanoparticles that are being conjugated with molecular recognition units (MRU) [Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH) and Eph Receptor A2 (EphA2)] to their applications for specific targeting of cancer cells/tissue. His current research focused on the use of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches in the development of novel engineered nano- and micro-particles as well as tissue engineered structures for disease detection and treatment. His current areas of interest include: fundamental understanding of interfacial strength and mechanical properties of biological and biomedical materials, biomechanics of breast cancer and normal breast cells, magnetite nanoparticles for specific targeting and treatment of cancer, bioresorbable and nonresorbable tissue engineered structures, implantable devices for localized drug delivery systems, gold nanoparticles for cancer detection and treatment. John is a modest and creative teacher who intends to continuously build his career in research, teaching and innovation so as to nurture and inspire effectively young people to solving societal problems using interdisciplinary innovative approaches.
