Meet Taiwo Alawode

Taiwo Alawode: Advancing Global Health and Inspiring Future Leaders

Taiwo Alawode is a native of Oyo State, Nigeria, and a third-year PhD candidate in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, School of Public Health. Taiwo brings her dedication to global environmental health research,  leadership, and mentorship to our campus community. On campus, Taiwo amplifies the voices of international students as a member of the International Student Advisory Board (ISAB) and serves on the UMD Graduate Assistant Advisory Council (GAAC), ensuring that her peers' voices are heard and valued.

Her research employs quantitative microbial risk assessment to explore health risks from human exposure to waterborne pathogens in impaired waterways. Taiwo is a Global STEWARDS NSF Research Traineeship Fellow, an interdisciplinary cohort training in sustainable Food-Water-Energy systems. She is an American Society for Microbiology Future Leaders Mentorship Fellow and a UMD Do Good Accelerator Fellow, a social-impact incubator that has empowered her to launch the NextGen Antimicrobial Stewards Initiative (NASI). Through NASI, she is empowering the next generation of advocates who will champion responsible antibiotics use, drive community-level change, and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

Reflecting on her journey, she urges international students to embrace every challenge as a growth catalyst, celebrate the perspective their backgrounds bring, and pay forward the mentorship that has guided their paths. She encourages them with this quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself to the service of others.