Gbenga Dairo

I am a PhD student at the Institute of Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, with a multidisciplinary background spanning computational drug discovery, wet-lab biology, and clinical multi-omics integration.

I received my bachelor's degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management, from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, where I was introduced to medicinal plants and their traditional therapeutic uses. This exposure to natural product pharmacology shaped my interest in drug discovery and guided my transition into computational biology.

Currently, my PhD research in the lab of Dr. Priyadarshini Kachroo focuses on leveraging multi-omics data — including metabolomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and clinical phenotypes — to investigate the biological effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and uncover molecular factors driving asthma progression in clinical trial populations.

My long-term goal is to contribute to translational science and therapeutic innovation at the interface of data-driven biology and patient-centered medicine.

My research traverses the boundary between computational and experimental science — from drug screening pipelines to clinical multi-omics integration.

Project Overview

Asthma and responses to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) can differ between males and females, yet the metabolic mechanisms underlying these differences remain poorly understood. In this study, we used targeted metabolomics to profile 16 endogenous steroid metabolites at baseline and after four years in 664 children with asthma from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP).

We identified sex-specific metabolic responses to ICS treatment. Males receiving ICS had significantly lower cortisol and cortisone levels at Year 4, while females showed more stable trajectories. ICS also altered relationships between steroid metabolites and key asthma outcomes—including lung function, eosinophils, and airway hyperresponsiveness—in a sex- and pathway-specific manner.

These findings highlight the potential of steroid metabolomics to characterize treatment response and support further investigation of sex-informed approaches to corticosteroid therapy in pediatric asthma.

Scientific knowledge is built in community. Below are conferences and symposia where I have presented.

A cross-disciplinary skill set built over years of work at the intersection of computational and experimental biology.

A complete record of my academic training, research experience, publications, and contributions to the scientific community.

I am open to research collaborations, speaking opportunities, and conversations about science, data, and medicine. Reach out — I read every message.