CENUMAT · Faculty of Veterinary Medicine · University of Ibadan

We map how the brain
is built, fed, and broken.

CENUMAT studies neuroanatomy, developmental neuroscience and environmental neurotoxicology across species — from Wistar rats to African giant rats, squirrels and bats.

Twenty-five years tracing how metals, nutrition and disease reshape the nervous system, from the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway to whole-brain metal distribution.

A member laboratory of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa, training researchers through IBRO/ISN schools and Humboldt fellowships.

Founded within the Department of Veterinary Anatomy as CENUMAT - the Centre of Neuroscience with Novel Models and Alternative Therapies - the group investigates neurodegeneration, developmental neuroscience, and the neurotoxic impact of environmental exposures such as vanadium and heavy metals, alongside the protective roles of nutrition and phytochemicals. Work spans rodents, squirrels, bats and other indigenous species, putting comparative anatomy at the centre of translational neuroscience in Africa.

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Research Focus

Four questions guide the bench.

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Twenty-five years of comparative neuroscience, published and still running.

Nine species, one question repeated across each: how does the nervous system respond when its environment, diet or development goes wrong?

200+Peer-reviewed publications
25Years of active research
9Species studied
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Prof. James O. Olopade

Led By

Prof. James Olukayode Olopade

DVM, PhD, FCVSN, FAS, FNSN, FAAS — Principal Investigator & Director, CENMAT

Twenty-five years in comparative neuroanatomy and environmental neurotoxicology, leading a team of junior lecturers, postdoctoral associates, PhD students and lab members across four research focus areas.

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Training & Affiliations

Society of Neuroscientists of Africa IBRO / ISN Schools Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Grass Foundation, Woods Hole MacArthur Foundation

Considering postgraduate work with the lab?

We welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate students, collaborators, and funding partners working across neuroscience, comparative anatomy and toxicology.

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