Professor Kehinde Olayinka is the first Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Lagos. She obtained her B.Sc(Hons) degree in Chemistry at the University of Ibadan, M.Sc degree in Analytical Chemistry at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and a Ph.d in Analytical/ Environmental Chemistry from Greenwich University, UK in 1988. She has over 36 years work experience in the various aspects of Analytical Chemistry including food, air, water, soil and risk assessment of pollutants. She worked briefly at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, Oshodi (NAFDAC) and at the Federal Institute of Industrial Oshodi from 1982 to 1999 where she rose to the post of Chief Research Officer. She joined the University of Lagos as a Senior Lecturer in 1999 and rose to become a Professor of Analytical/ Environmental Chemistry in 2011. Her areas of expertise are in the accurate determination of contaminants (organic and inorganic) in food and the environment and the risk assessment of the different species of the contaminants to health. Also in the remediation of contaminated soils .
Professor Olayinka has supervised hundreds of undergraduate and Masters students and ten doctoral students with specialization in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Lagos. Professor Olayinka has to her credit over 72 publications in International journals and chapters in books. She has been lead consultant of several consultancy reports.
Professor Olayinka was the head of the Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos from 2009-2012 and the Chairman, Central Research Laboratory from 2013 till date. She is a member of several professional bodies including the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, member of the Society of Analytical Chemistry and Toxicology, Europe, fellow of the Chartered Institute of Chemistry, Nigeria, fellow of the Institute of Public Analyst of Nigeria and Nigerian Environmental Society.
Prof Olayinka is the Chairman of the Central Research Laboratory at the University of Lagos which ensures the University -wide use of the facilities and equipment across the various Faculties of Science, Pharmacy, Engineering and the College of Medicine.
She acts as the team leader on several Consultancy projects for University of Lagos Consult and is part of the expert team on Equatorial Africa Deposition Network, (EADN) a network of twelve African countries working on nutrient deposition in Equatorial Africa. She is a contractor (consultant) on a US Chemical Security program on Chemical Security and Safety in Nigeria.
Prof Olayinka has won several awards and grants for her research from several organizations including. the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, Central Research Committee of the University of Lagos, Lagos State Research & Development(LRDC) and Tertiary Education Trust fund (TETFUND). She participates regularly in Interlaboratory analysis on metals and Persistent Organic Pollutants ie Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)and Organochlorine pesticides organized by International agencies as part of quality assurance and accurate determination of contaminants.
Professor Olayinka is a reviewer of several International and local journals and has been external examiner to many Universities in Nigeria.