The Vice-Chancellor, Professor K.O. Adebowale, FAS, mni, cordially invites you to the 597th Inaugural Lecture, to be delivered by Professor Taiwo Kotila of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI).
TITLE: UNMASKING THE MASQUERADE: THE STORY OF TWO SISTER BLOOD DISORDERS
DATE: THURSDAY, 23RD OCTOBER, 2025
TIME: 3:00 P.M. West Central Africa
VENUE: TRENCHARD HALL, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
TO BE DELIVERED BY: PROFESSOR TAIWO KOTILA
Thank you
Prof. Temidayo Ogundiran FAS
Provost
597TH INAUGURAL LECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, BY PROFESSOR TAIWO R. KOTILA
Professor Taiwo Rachel Kotila was born in Lagos, into the family of the late Major Michael Ayodele Kotila (rtd) and the late Mrs. Alice Abike Kotila. Both parents hailed from Ifaki-Ekiti, in Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
She received her early education at Ibadan City Council (ICC) Practicing School, Oke-Bola, Ibadan. She then proceeded to the Methodist Girls’ High School, Ifaki-Ekiti between 1972-1977 for her secondary education. She had a stint at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo for Advanced Level studies. Thereafter, she gained admission to the University of Ibadan and graduated MBBS in 1987. She started her residency training in Haematology at the University College Hospital, Ibadan in 1990 and completed it in 1997 thus becoming a fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.
She worked briefly at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, as the pioneer Head of the Pathology Division and a Consultant Haematologist. She joined the staff of the Department of Haematology, University of Ibadan in 1998 as Lecturer 1 and was promoted to the rank of a Senior Lecturer in 2001, Reader in 2016 and Professor in 2019. Professor Kotila is an honorary consultant to the University College Hospital, Ibadan. She obtained a Master of Science degree in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London in 2016.
She was a visiting research fellow at the Department of Haematology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel in 2009 and 2010. It was during this time that she acquired expertise in the use of molecular methods in the diagnosis of the haemoglobinopathies. The visit was funded by a scholarship from the Royal Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH). She returned to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel in 2016 when she spent her sabbatical year in the Department for Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immunotherapy.
Professor Kotila has served the University in various capacities. She was twice the acting Head of the Department of Haematology in 2013 and 2021, and was the Sub-Dean, Undergraduate of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences between 1999 and 2002. She is the Dean, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan. She was and is still a member of various committees in the Department, Faculty, College of Medicine and the University. She has supervised and co-supervised and is still involved in the supervision of Fellows of National Postgraduate Medical College, the West African College of Physicians, PhD and Masters students within and outside her faculty and the country. She has served as external examiner to Olabisi Onabanjo University, Afe Babalola University and the University of Ilorin. She was a visiting scholar to the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of the Gambia in 2022.
Professor Kotila received the Dr. Charles Majekodunmi Prize as the Best Part II FMCPath candidate in Haematology in 1997. She also, received the Young Investigators’ Award of the Nigerian Society for Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NSHBT) for the year 2000. She is a member of many professional associations, notably among which are College of Nigerian Pathologists where she was the chair of the Oyo State branch between 2019 and 2021. She was the Treasurer of the Nigerian Society for Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NSHBT) from 1999 to 2002. She was a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) from 2019 to 2021. She was also a member of the Guidance and Guidelines (G&G) Committee of the ISTH between 2020 and 2022. She is currently the Director of the UCH Haemophilia Treatment Centre (HTC), an affiliate of the World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH).
Professor Taiwo Kotila is an astute clinician and avid researcher of international repute. She has over 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals. She is a recipient of many grants, including the Senate Research Grant, one of the first recipients of the University of Ibadan Research Foundation grant, a recipient of the Royal Society for Tropical Medicine (RSTMH) Centenary award, European Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Travel Fellowship, World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH) research support progamme.
Her research interest is in the haemoglobinopathies especially the characterization of beta thalassaemia which was thought to be of little clinical significance among Nigerians until now.