I am Lawrence A. Olatunji (Ph.D.), a professor and the head of Cardiovascular/Cardiometabolic Research Unit, Department of Physiology, University of Ilorin Nigeria. The unit is responsible for training of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students in cardiovascular physiology as well as supervision of research works that would lead to award of Bachelor, Master or Doctoral degrees.

My field of interest is in the development of experimental hypertension models and the associated cardiometabolic complications. I am particularly concerned with elucidating the mechanisms responsible for development of arterial high blood pressure. Although hypertension is a prevalent condition and is a cause of many diseases such as stroke, heart failure, and chronic renal failure, the mechanism by which hypertension develops still remains elusive. With the limited resources available to me, I have implicated renin-angiotensin system, impaired renal handling of electrolytes and water, calcium channels activation, Na+-K+-ATPase activity, vascular reactivity, endothelial factors, inflammatory factors (such as high sensitive C-reactive protein), hemorheological, metabolic alterations, and dietary factors in the development of high blood pressure, particularly during oral contraceptive steroids treatment. I am currently interested in cardio-metabolic syndrome/cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, obesity, diabetes/insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hemorheology, blood factors) particularly during oral contraceptive steroids treatment.

Recently, I have been able to show through my research, the effectiveness of mineralocorticoid receptor blockade on metabolic disturbances associated with oral contraceptive usage as well as its efficacy in ameliorating cardiometabolic complications that could be associated with pathological pregnancies such as preeclampsia. I have also been able to establish that treatment with short chain fatty acids could improve the metabolic profile as well as antioxidant defenses in pathological pregnancy as well as in fructose-fed pregnant animals. I am also working on the ameliorative effect of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors on cardiometabolic disorders associated with various conditions such as oral contraceptive and nicotine usage.