Professor Stephen Akpavie gained a Commonwealth Scholarship to study a PhD in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1982. He was promoted Professor at the University of Ibadan in 1994 and in 2004 published a book on general veterinary pathology General Veterinary Pathology: Notes for Undergraduates, a reference for both graduate and undergraduate students in Veterinary Pathology.
In 2008 he delivered his University Inaugural Lecture titled “Animal disease Patterns and Protein Supply in Nigeria” on behalf of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Currently he is the Head, Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Ibadan (2007 to date) and Head, Pathology Specialty Group of the College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria (2006 to present). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Tropical Veterinarian, the journal of research published by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan. He has a number of publications, including recent research on ruminants.