Dr Ademola Adetunji

Background

Dr Ademola Adetunji is a Research Fellow in Plant Science at Cranfield University, United Kingdom, where he contributes to a tomato transformation project aimed at accelerating crop improvement by bypassing tissue culture through a novel pollen and seed transformation protocol.

Before joining Cranfield, he worked as a Research Associate at the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. There, he was involved in a project that applied non-thermal plasma and advanced phenotyping technologies to enhance seed quality for tree propagation. The research focused on breaking dormancy and decontaminating seeds from six UK tree species using plasma treatments, complemented by 2D and 3D phenotyping for non-destructive assessment of seed and seedling structure.

Preceding his role at Kew, Dr Adetunji was a National Research Foundation Professional Postdoctoral Fellow at the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), Ndlovu Node, and North-West University (NWU) in South Africa. His research explored nano-priming technology for seed invigoration, aimed at restoring grassy biomes and strengthening associated ecosystem services.

He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where he contributed to the Aleph-1 project, preparing seeds of the resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolius for germination on the moon, and assessing their desiccation and freezing tolerance. In addition, he contributed to a study examining the effects of agro-waste-derived portlandite nanoparticles on maize seeds and seedlings.

His passion for plant physiology began during his undergraduate and master’s studies in Nigeria, where he conducted research on phytochemical analysis and seed invigoration of traditional medicinal plants. He later earned his PhD in Plant Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His doctoral research investigated the mechanisms of seed ageing and reinvigoration in food crops (cabbage and lettuce), using antioxidants and both electrolysed and non-electrolysed inorganic salt solutions as priming agents. He explored biomarkers of oxidative damage as indicators of deterioration and recovery, with the aim of improving crop productivity, enhancing ecosystem resilience, and contributing to plant biodiversity conservation in response to growing global challenges such as food insecurity and climate change.

Research opportunities

Dr Adetunji’s research interests span a broad range of areas, including plant physiology, seed priming and ageing, seed technology, germplasm conservation, cryopreservation, abiotic stress responses, gas exchange and photochemistry, bio-nanotechnology, food security, phytochemistry, ethnobotany, and phytoremediation.

Publications

• Articles in journals