The Vice-Chancellor, Professor K.O. Adebowale, FAS, mni, cordially invites you to the 607th Inaugural Lecture, to be delivered by Professor Folake B. Lawal of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI).
TITLE: FROM SCHOOLS TO GLOCAL COMMUNITIES: IMPACTING THE ORAL AND GENERAL HEALTH OF GENERATIONS
DATE: THURSDAY, 12TH MARCH, 2026
TIME: 3:00 P.M. West Central Africa
VENUE: TRENCHARD HALL, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
TO BE DELIVERED BY: PROFESSOR FOLAKE BARAKAT LAWAL
Thank you
Prof. Temidayo Ogundiran FAS
Provost
607TH INAUGURAL LECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, BY PROFESSOR FOLAKE BARAKAT LAWAL
Folake Barakat Lawal attended Oritamefa Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Oritamefa, Ibadan, and she was at Saint Annes School, Molete, Ibadan between 1989 and 1994. She gained admission to study Dentistry at the University of Ibadan in 1995, graduating with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery Degree in February 2003. She did her internship at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, between 2003 and 2004 and the one-year National Youth Service Corp scheme between February 2004 and February 2005 at the Dental Centre of the Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan.
She commenced residency training in October 2006, in Community Dentistry at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. She completed the programme and passed the Final Fellowship Examinations of the West African College of Surgeons in April 2012 and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria in May 2012. She was appointed Lecturer I in the Department of Periodontology and Community Dentistry of the University of Ibadan in July 2012, promoted to the grade of Senior Lecturer in 2015 and Professor of Community Dentistry from 1 October 2020.
Professor Lawal also has a Masters Degree in Dental Surgery from the University of Ibadan. She obtained a Certificate in Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden in March 2019. She was awarded the Fellowship of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) for a Ph.D. in Community Dentistry, which she completed by defending her thesis titled “Comparison of Peer-led, Dentist-led and Teacher-led School-based Oral Health Promotion Strategies among Adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria” in August 2021.
Professor Lawal has completed certificate trainings in Project Management in Global Health as well as in Implementation Science from the University of Washington. She is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine. She has received numerous awards, scholarships, and prizes and has attracted grants to the University of Ibadan.
She has served the University of Ibadan in various capacities. She has been a member of committees at Departmental, Faculty, College and University levels. She was a former Sub-Dean (Undergraduate) in the Faculty of Dentistry; Elected Member, College Academic Board between 2016 and 2020; Member, College of Medicine Research Grants Committee; and Faculty Representative, University Committee on Women Achievers of the University of Ibadan at 70 years, among others. She has served as the Head of Department of Periodontology and Community Dentistry since August 2023.
Outside the University, she has been an examiner at the Membership and Fellowship Levels of the West African College of Surgeons since 2018. She also examines at the Part I level of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. She was a Visiting Professor at the School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA in 2024. She has served as External Examiner to the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and the University of the Gambia, Banjul, the Gambia. She has also served on accreditation panels to various training institutions in Nigeria and Ghana.
Professor Lawal has served the University College Hospital, as an Honorary Consultant, member or chairperson of committees and coordinator of programmes and has contributed to the expansion and development of the dental outposts of the University of Ibadan and the University College Hospital at Igboora and Idikan, respectively. She has previously served the Association for Dental Public Health Practitioners in Nigeria as the Treasurer, and she was elected the President of the Association in November 2025.
Professor Folake Lawal has published more than 100 journal articles, and many other commissioned and non-commissioned academic writings. She has attended and presented at several scientific conferences and delivered numerous oral health awareness lectures in various places including schools, markets, worship centres, health centres, community or town halls, and other public places. She has supervised eight fellowship dissertations and is currently supervising two Ph.D. candidates. She serves as Associate Editor to the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, the Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice, BMC Oral Health and BMC Public Health.
Folake Lawal is happily married to Taiwo A. Lawal, a Professor of Surgery in this University, and the current Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences.