LAUTECH don, Agbaje Lateef get doubly honoured in foreign land

Double honour has birthed at the doorstep of renowned researcher and Professor of Microbiology at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Prof. Agbaje Lateef.

Information reaching the University community is to the effect that the expert in Industrial Microbiology, Biotechnology and Nano biotechnology has attracted yet another set of international recognitions even as he joins Nature Portfolio as Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports and also got elected as a Fellow of Royal Society of Biology (UK)

Prof. Lateef who is the Head of the LAUTECH Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+) and a consistent top-tier scholar that has been ranked among the world's top 2% scientists for six years consecutively has been appointed into the editorial board of the prestigious journal, 'Scientific Reports' which is published by the Nature. 

The Nature Publishing Group started publishing weekly Nature in London in 1869.Scientific Reports, an open access journal with wide coverage on science has Impact Factor of 3.9 (Clarivate Analytics), and is the third most-cited journal in the world. It's articles attracted over 834,000 citations in 2024 alone. 

The journal receives approximately 2.8 million visitors per month, and it is indexed in Web of Science, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, Dimensions, Google Scholar, DOAJ and SAO/NASA ADS. Prof. Lateef sits on the editorial board for the Biotechnology section of the journal.It will be recalled that Prof. Lateef is the Editor-in-Chief of the flagship journal of his research group, 'Nano Plus: Science and Technology of Nanomaterials' which was established in 2021. He has also edited a volume of publication on nanotechnology for the Institute of Physics, UK. In 2023, he was appointed as a board member of 'Discover Biotechnology', under the stable of Springer-Nature, and following his excellent performance, he was elevated to Senior Editorial Board Member in 2025. Prof. Lateef has also published two edited books with Elsevier, and Springer-Nature.In another development, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), United Kingdom on April 1, 2026.The Royal Society of Biology that is headquartered in London, UK is an elite society which has over 21,000 individual members and 100 member organizations in more than 40 countries globally. It's the body of biology professionals that promotes educational excellence in biosciences. In UK, it accredits bioscience degree programmes in Universities, and make contributions to policies on biosciences.

Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology are distinguished scholars that have achieved distinction in the fields of bioscience research, teaching, or the application of biology. They include some of the most influential figures in science, ranging from world-renowned naturalists to Nobel Prize Winners. 

Legally, the awardees use FRSB as post-nominal letters around the world. With these feats, the Apomu-born Professor of Microbiology has extended the frontiers of his scholarship to join the league of great minds in science worldwide. 

Over the years, he has been a scholar of distinction having received the Vice Chancellor's commendation award for scholarly contributions to the ranking of LAUTECH for four consecutive years (2022-2025). He received the LAUTECH Global Alumni award of excellence in 2023. 

He has also been ranked among the top 0.5% scholars in life sciences, biotechnology, and nanobiotechnology by ScholarGPS, USA. Prof. Lateef who is a visible scholar from LAUTECH has served as consultant to different outfits in Nigeria, South Africa, Italy, and UK, providing expert opinions in industrial microbiology, biotechnology, and nanobiotechnology. 

At the moment, he has over 190 publications to his credits, which have attracted about 8300 citations and h-index 57 on Google Scholar.

In his reaction, Prof. Lateef, who is a distinguished alumnus of LAUTECH that graduated from the University 29 years ago remarked that it was a great privilege for him to join the editorial board of Scientific Reports, and also the Royal Society of Biology (UK) as a fellow, leveraging on his vast contributions to industrial microbiology, biotechnology, and nanobiotechnology after 25 years of intense research. 

Lateef noted that his first research article was published in 2001. He reminisced about his humble beginnings through his educational journey in his hometown Apòmù, Ọsun state, Nigeria (1978-1988), and excellent parental care by Alhaji and Alhaja Lateef Garuba that prepared him for the subsequent higher educational pursuits. 

Eulogizing his teachers among others, he gave credits to his foundational teachers in science subjects. In particular, he saluted his Biology and Agricultural science teachers, all of whom are late — Mr. Moshood Ishọla Kalenikanse, Mr. Fọlọrunsọ, and Mrs. Roseline Apooyin (nee Ekanem) for their impactful tutoring at African Church Grammar School, Apomu. 

He further recognized the legacy teachings and mentoring of his numerous teachers and supervisors at the university level that have shaped his exploits in industrial microbiology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

 Specifically, Prof. Lateef said the research trainings that he received under Prof. Julius Kọla Oloke NPOM, and Dr. Siddalingaiya Gurudutt Prapulla (Rtd.) have played prominent roles in shaping his research advances in biosciences which is now globally recognized.

While looking forward to the opportunities appertaining to these attainments, Prof. Lateef expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for the divine grace that he has received in his career, and further thanked his teachers, mentors, collaborators, research teams (NANO+ and PROKEH), funders, students and families for their various supports that contributed to the achievements. He also appreciated the Alápòmù of Apòmù Kingdom, Ọba Káyọ̀dé Adénẹ́kàn Afọlábí (Atóyèbí II) for his royal blessings at all times.

In their separate remarks, his supervisor, Prof. Julius Kọla Oloke, the Dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, LAUTECH, Prof. Michael Olusọpe Alade, and the Vice Chancellor of LAUTECH, Prof. Razaq Olatunde Rom Kalilu while congratulating Prof. Agbaje Lateef on the  two global achievements praised his erudition, highlighting his consistency in breaking new frontiers in his research activities. 

They acknowledged that he has brought a lot of honours to his alma mater.  They submitted that his appointment into the Editorial board of Scientific Reports under the Nature Publishing Portfolio, and his election into the fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology are worthy of celebrations, and are further testaments to his global impacts in science.

The Vice Chancellor promised that LAUTECH will continue to support the research aspirations of scholars to project the impacts of their works and the university in the fast-changing world. The Vice Chancellor wished him well and prayed for him for outstanding performance in the tasks before him in the latest undertakings.