Abiola Olaitan

Dr. Abiola Olaitan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology whose research focuses on infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on the anaerobic bacterial pathogen Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea worldwide. His laboratory integrates multi-omics approaches with molecular microbiology to study the evolution, stress adaptation and epidemiology of C. difficile. These approaches include genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, metabolomics and transposon insertion sequencing.

C. difficile is a highly resilient pathogen whose epidemiology continues to evolve globally. His research investigates how C. difficile defends against host-generated stresses, including nitrosative stress. His lab also studies the genetic determinants that drive virulence-associated traits as the pathogen evolves, including antimicrobial resistance. By uncovering the genetic and molecular factors that shape pathogen adaptation, his work aims to better understand the mechanisms that influence disease severity and patient outcomes.

The overall goal of his research program is to translate fundamental discoveries into a deeper understanding of C. difficile pathogenesis and to support the development of novel alternative therapeutic strategies. These findings also have broader relevance, offering insights into the evolutionary and pathogenic mechanisms of other clinically important bacterial pathogens.

• Bacterial stress responses

• Clostridioides difficile

• Bacterial pathogenesis

• Host-pathogen interaction

• Multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics)

• 2015, PhD Infectious disease and Human Pathology, Aix-Marseille University, France

• 2012, MSc Environmental Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

• 2008, BTech Microbiology (First Class), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria

• 2023, Gairdner Early Career Investigators (ECI)

• 2022, Research Excellence in Genomics & Bioinformatics (Genome Canada/Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN)

• 2021, Best poster presentation: GSO Symposium, Texas A&M Health Science Center, USA

• 2017, Top reviewers for Duke University (Overall): Publon

• 2016, Top reviewers in Immunology and Microbiology: Publon

• 2015, ASM Student and Postdoctoral Fellows Travel Grant. ICAAC/ICC 2015, USA

• 2015, Best oral presentation: Journée l’Infectiopôle Sud-Méditerranée Infection, France

• 2013, Best poster: Journée l’Infectiopôle Sud-Méditerranée Infection, France

• 2012 – 2015, Infectiopôle Sud Foundation PhD fellowship, Aix-Marseille University, France

• 2008, Best graduating student (Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences) – Undergraduate, LAUTECH, Nigeria

• Associate Editor: International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents

• Ad-hoc Reviewer: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, Emerging Infectious Diseases , BMC Infectious Diseases, Frontiers in Microbiology

• Canadian Society of Microbiologists

• Canadian Black Scientists Network

• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

• Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research (WCMR)

• BIOL 444 - Bacterial Pathogenesis
  • Taught in 2025
• BIOL 449 - Public Health Microbiology
  • Taught in 2024, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• For the full list of Abiola Olaitan's publications, please see Google Scholar.

• Olaitan, A.O., Dureja, C., Youngblom, M.A. et al. (2023). Decoding a cryptic mechanism of metronidazole resistance among globally disseminated fluoroquinolone-resistant Clostridioides difficile. Nat Commun 14, 4130 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39429-x

• Louis L, Ramzan F, Martin DD, Olaitan AO. (2026). Reversion of heme-dependent metronidazole resistance in Clostridioides difficile. Microbiol Spectr14:e01787-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01787-25

• Kalra S, Ayinde TO, Olaitan AO. (2026). The critical role of hcpR in regulating nitrosative stress defense in Clostridioides difficile. Appl Environ Microbiol92:e01988-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01988-25

• Marreddy RKR, Nguyen N, Dureja C, McKelvey AM, Powell R, Olaitan AO, Stephan C, Hurdle JG. (2026). Development of a high-throughput screening platform for C. difficile toxin synthesis inhibitors unveils meclizine as an antivirulence agent. Antimicrob Agents Chemother70:e00960-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00960-25

• Anne J Gonzales-Luna, Abiola O Olaitan, Wan-Jou Shen, Aditi Deshpande, Travis J Carlson, Kierra M Dotson, Chris Lancaster, Khurshida Begum, M Jahangir Alam, Julian G Hurdle, Kevin W Garey. (2021). Reduced Susceptibility to Metronidazole Is Associated With Initial Clinical Failure in Clostridioides difficile Infection, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 8, Issue 8, ofab365, https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofab365

• Higher metronidazole MIC linked to increased risk for clinical failure in C. difficile: featured in Healio news, a health news network for medical professionals