Assistant Professor, Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering

office: Foege N310A

Email:  ayokunle@uw.edu

Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Lab Website

How I am inventing the future of medicine

My lab is focused on increasing access to essential health technologies locally & globally. We develop user-friendly tests for measuring medication levels directly at the point of need. We explore the boundaries of knowledge in enzyme activity assays, autonomous microfluidics, and therapeutic drug monitoring and focus on fast and frugal solutions to pressing problems.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment, prevention, and monitoring
Enzyme activity assays
Therapeutic drug monitoring
Point-of-care diagnostics
Microfluidics
Capillary-driven flow

Dr. Olanrewaju’s research applies principles from the physical and life sciences to solve pressing problems in diagnostics, precision medicine, and translational bioengineering. The Olanrewaju develops technologies to transform disease monitoring, treatment, and prevention using 3D microfabrication, autonomous microfluidics, and drug activity assays. Our goal is to develop technologies that can be used directly at the point of need to address diseases that disproportionately affect those who are already marginalized in society.

Ph.D. in Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Canada
M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 2018-2020

Acting Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 2020-21

  • Beckman Young Investigator Award
  • International AIDS Society (IAS)/ France Recherche Nord & Sud Sida-HIV Hépatites (ANRS) Lange/van Tongeren Prize for Young Investigators.
  • University of Washington Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
  • University of Washington/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research New Investigator Award
  • 1st Place, Elevator Speech Contest, American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting: https://youtu.be/r2USzdRwVSY
  • 1st Place, Shark Tank Competition, MicroTAS 2017 Conference: https://youtu.be/zqPDxmFFDW8

BIOEN 345 Failure Analysis & Human Physiology
BIOEN 455 Biomicrofluidics

Sullivan Benjamin P., Craig Cosette A., Bender Andrew T., Blake Emily, Siriprakaisil Oraphan, Sukrakanchana Pra-ornsuda, Cressey Tim R., Drain Paul K., Olanrewaju Ayokunle O., Posner Jonathan D. (2025) Validation of the Reverse Transcriptase Chain Termination (RESTRICT) Assay for Measuring Tenofovir Diphosphate in Dried Blood Spots from a Clinical Pharmacokinetic Trial. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkaf049

Singh M.A, Chang M.M, Wang Q, Rodgers C, Lutz B.R, Olanrewaju A.O. (2025) Rapid enzymatic assay for antiretroviral drug monitoring using CRISPR-Cas12a enabled readout. ACS Synthetic Biology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.4c00674 | preprint link: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.25.625292

Craig, C., Leong, K., Lin, C., Chang, M., Olanrewaju, A. (2024) Expanding the capillarics toolbox: 3D-printed microfluidic phaseguides and self-coalescence modules. bioRxiv.  https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.21.629531

Leong, K. M.; Sun, A. Y.; Quach, M. L.; Lin, C. H.; Craig, C. A.; Guo, F.; Robinson, T. R.; Chang M; Olanrewaju, A. O. (2024) Democratizing Access to Microfluidics: Rapid Prototyping of Open Microchannels with Low-Cost 3D Printers. ACS Omega https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c07776

Brainerd C, Singh M.A, Tatka J, Craig C, Gilligan-Steinberg S, Panpradist N, Chang M.M, Lutz B, Olanrewaju A.O. (2024) REverse transcriptase ACTivity (REACT) assay for point-of-care measurement of established and emerging antiretrovirals for HIV treatment and prevention. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05602-4 | Preprint link: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.13.607804

Galey L, Olanrewaju A, Nabi H, Paquette J-S, Pouliot F, Audet-Walsh E. (2024) Rediscovering citrate as a biomarker for prostate cancer. Nature Reviews Urology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-024-00899-3

Olanrewaju A.O, Sullivan BP, Gim A, Craig CA, Sevenler D, Bender AT, Drain PK, Posner JD. (2023) REverSe TranscrIptase Chain Termination (RESTRICT) for Selective Measurement of Nucleotide Analogs Used in HIV Care and Prevention. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10369

Yafia M, Ymbern O, Olanrewaju A, Parandakh A, Sohrabi Kashani A, Renault J, Jin Z, Kim G, Ng A, Juncker D. (2022) Microfluidic Chain Reaction of Structurally Programmed Capillary Flow Events. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04683-4

Olanrewaju A.O, Sullivan B.P, Bardon A.R, Lo T.J, Cressey T.R, Posner J.D, Drain P.K, (2021) Pilot Evaluation of a Rapid Enzymatic Assay for Measuring Antiretroviral Drug Concentrations. Virology Journal, 18(77), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-021-01543-x

Olanrewaju A.O, Sullivan B.P, Zhang J.Y, Bender A.T, Sevenler D, Lo T.J, Fernandez-Suarez M, Drain P.K, and Posner J.D. (2020) Enzymatic Assay for Rapid Measurement of Antiretroviral Drug Levels. ACS Sensors, 5(4), 952 – 959. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.9b02198

Olanrewaju A.O, Beaugrand M, Yafia M, and Juncker D. (2018) Capillary microfluidics in microchannels: from microfluidic networks to capillaric circuits, Lab on a Chip, 18 (16), 2323-2347. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8LC00458G

In the News

AIMBE Regional Advocacy Event demonstrates impact of UW Bioengineering and federal funding

October 19th, 2026|Comments Off on AIMBE Regional Advocacy Event demonstrates impact of UW Bioengineering and federal funding

Lawmakers, educators, researchers, and members of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) took an in-depth look at UW Bioengineering research in early October, during an afternoon visit to campus. AIMBE hosted [...]

NIH Backs Olanrewaju Lab’s Build Faster, Low-cost HIV Medication Tests

July 22nd, 2026|Comments Off on NIH Backs Olanrewaju Lab’s Build Faster, Low-cost HIV Medication Tests

A multidisciplinary team from across the University of Washington, led by Bioengineering’s Professor Ayokunle Olanrewaju, earned support from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Did you remember to take your medicine?” You’ve [...]

  • Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Olanrewaju earns NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award

September 19th, 2025|Comments Off on Olanrewaju earns NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award

Professor Ayokunle Olanrewaju has earned a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

  • Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Ayokunle Olanrewaju receives prestigious Beckman Young Investigator Award

June 12th, 2024|Comments Off on Ayokunle Olanrewaju receives prestigious Beckman Young Investigator Award

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation awarded UW BioE and ME Assistant Professor Ayokunle (Ayo) Olanrewaju with the Beckman Young Investigator Award.

  • Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Ayokunle Olanrewaju honored with the Rogel Faculty Support Award

November 6th, 2023|Comments Off on Ayokunle Olanrewaju honored with the Rogel Faculty Support Award

Ayokunle (Ayo) Olanrewaju, assistant professor for UW Bioengineering, has been awarded a Rogel Faculty Support Award. The grant honors an outstanding junior faculty member who has made important contributions to the Department of Bioengineering, [...]

  • headshot Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Meet the Researcher: Ayokunle Olanrewaju

August 10th, 2022|Comments Off on Meet the Researcher: Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Ayokunle (Ayo) Olanrewaju is assistant professor of mechanical engineering and of bioengineering. His research applies 3D microfabrication, autonomous microfluidics and molecular assays to address medical challenges in treating infectious and chronic diseases, such as HIV, [...]