• Office Address: Dougherty Engineering Building
• Phone: 865-974-2466
• E-mail: bakpa1@utk.edu

Education

BA/MEng (Hons.) & PhD University of Cambridge (UK)
Thesis: Quantitative, Chemically-Resolved Study of Chemical Engineering Systems Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Belinda S Akpa is a Senior Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Associate Professor in UT's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She holds a BA, MEng, and doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge (UK). Akpa joined the UT after serving on the faculty in Molecular Biomedical Sciences at NC State University and in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). A highly interdisciplinary researcher, her current interest is in developing mathematical frameworks that integrate scarce and heterogeneous data to connect molecular phenomena to dynamic physiological outcomes. Akpa is broadly interested in computational biology, but more specifically in how mechanistic mathematical models can be used to inform targeted experimental strategies. To date, her work has touched the fields of pharmacology/toxicology, membrane biophysics, plant physiology, and forensic anthropology.

Awards and Recognitions

• AIChE Minority Affairs Committee Distinguished Service Award, 2019
• Harold Simon Award for Excellence in Teaching, UIC College of Engineering 2015

Professional Service

• Senior Member, AIChE
• Chair, AIChE Minority Affairs Committee (2017)
• Member, AIChE Societal Impact Operating Council (2012-2014, 2018-2020)
• Member, AIChE Career & Education Operating Council (2021-2023)
• Planning Committee, National Diversity Equity Workshop for Chemical Engineering Academic Leaders

• Computational biomedicine
• Systems physiology
• Mechanistic mathematical modeling

Publications

• Hodgens C., Akpa B.S.†, Long T.A.† Solving the puzzle of Fe homeostasis by integrating molecular, mathematical and societal models. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 64:102149 (2021)
• McDaniel M., Flores K.B., and Akpa B.S.† Predicting inter-individual variability during lipid resuscitation of bupivacaine cardiotoxicity in rats: a virtual population modeling study. Drugs in R&D. 21:305-320 (2021)
• Juarez C.A.^†, Ramey R., Flaherty D.T., and Akpa B.S.^† Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in human hair and tap water: Modeling relationships in a modern Mexican population. Human Biology. 90(3):197-211 (2019) 
• Barbera N., Ayee M.A.A., Akpa B.S.^†, Levitan I. ^† Molecular dynamics simulations of Kir2.2 interactions with an ensemble of cholesterol molecules. Biophysical Journal. 115:1264-1280 (2018) 
• Fettiplace M.R., Lis K., Ripper R., Kowal K., Pichurko A., Vitello D., Rubinstein I., Schwartz D., Akpa B.S.^†, and Weinberg G.L.^† Multi-modal contributions to detoxification of acute pharmacotoxicity by a triglyceride micro-emulsion. Journal of Controlled Release. 198:62-70 (2015) 
• Fettiplace M.R.*, Akpa B.S.*, Ripper R., Zider B., Lang J., Rubinstein I., and Weinberg G.L.^† Resuscitation with lipid emulsion: dose-dependent recovery from cardiac pharmacotoxicity requires a cardiotonic effect. Anesthesiology. 120(4):915-925 (2014) 
• Kuo I and Akpa B.S.^† Validity of the lipid sink as a mechanism for reversal of local anesthetic systemic toxicity: A physiologically based pharmacokinetic study. Anesthesiology. 118(6):1350-1361 (2013).