London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Professor Kehinde Olugboyega Soetan has 18 years experience working as a University Lecturer and has won different scholarships and fellowships, such as the Federal Government of Nigeria Post-Graduate Scholarship Award, MacArthur Grant Award for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Ibadan Post-Graduate School Award for publication of papers from PhD Thesis, and the Veterinary Laboratories Agencies (AHVLA) Travel Fellowship Award.

Professor Soetan has over 100 publications, has refereed conference proceedings and journal publications in peer-reviewed journals, with 2,169 Google Scholar Citations. Here, he discusses how LSHTM aided his career, the impact of COVID-19 and his advice for current students.

“My degree at LSHTM highly impacted my career in a positive way. It gave me the opportunity to be exposed to and to do cutting-edge research in world-class laboratories; through the practical sessions we did at LSHTM and the project work that I did at Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agencies (AHVLA). I also had the privilege to attend lectures given by world-renowned academics from different institutions in the UK like Imperial College London, University of Edinburgh, University College London and Pirbright Institute, just to mention a few. This exposure really improved my lecture delivery to my students back home and also improved my scientific paper presentations at International Conferences.

“Our visit to the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus (The Sanger Institute) during our Pathogen Genomics Lecture was a major turning point in my career as a Veterinary Biochemist. The contacts I made with some lecturers and my fellow students while at LSHTM have been very helpful to my students and me. The appearance of an MSc from LSHTM in my curriculum vitae and reference letters given to my staff and students was advantageous in getting them to win prestigious and highly competitive scholarships, fellowships and grants.

“Around the middle of 2020, due to COVID-19, there was total lockdown in my country. This limited my academic activities and movements to the field and other research locations. COVID-19 was however a blessing in disguise as I was able to actively participate in virtual lectures, international conferences and academic meetings through zoom. 

“I would advise current students to make the best use of the opportunity of being admitted to and being part of the highly prestigious institution, LSHTM. The training is very rigorous and detailed but if they are diligent and consistent in their studies, and with prayers, they will come out with good grades. They should also take some time to enjoy the beautiful environment around LSHTM.”

Picture of Kehinde Soetan was taken on 14 September 2013 in London during his programme at LSHTM.