Olufunmilayo Olopade
Olopade in 2012
Born1957 (age 66–67)
Nigeria
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Ibadan
SpouseChristopher Sola Olopade
ChildrenDayo Olopade
Medical career
FieldHematology
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago
Sub-specialtiesOncology
ResearchBRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
AwardsMacArthur Fellows Program, Villanova University Mendel Medal, Four Freedoms Award

Olufunmilayo I. Olopade[1] born in the year 1957,[2] is a Nigerian hematology oncologist, Associate Dean for Global Health and Walter L. Palmer, Distinguished Service Professor in Medicine and Human Genetics at the University of Chicago.[3][4] She also serves as director of the University of Chicago Hospital's Cancer Risk Clinic.[5]

Life

Olufunmilayo Olopade was born in Nigeria in 1957 and was the fifth of six children born to an Anglican musician.

She attended St Anne's School in Ibadan for her secondary school education. Olopade first expressed her interest in becoming a doctor at a young age because the Nigerian villages were scarce for doctors and medical resources which were both in high demand.[6]

She graduated from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria with an MBBS in 1980.[7]

She works closely with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation[8] and has performed extensive clinical work surrounding the role of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in the incidence of breast cancer in women of African descent.[9][2]

She is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research,[10] the American College of Physicians, the Nigerian Medical Association, the American Philosophical Society,[11] and the Institute of Medicine.[12][13]

Early career

Olufunmilayo started her career in 1980 as a medical officer in the Nigerian Navy Hospital. She moved to the US in 1983 and worked at Cook County Hospital in Chicago until 1987.[14] In 1991, Olufunmilayo joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in hematology and oncology, Dean of Global Health, and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago.[15][7]

Awards

MacArthur Fellows Program

Olufunmilayo Olopade was one of the three African-Americans to receive the $500,000 award. This award was appointed by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. This "no strings attached" stipend grant was given as support for up to five years and was referred to as the "genius grant."[24] This grant allowed Olopade to continue her research on her groundbreaking discoveries on diseases and health concerns.

Family

In 1983, she married Christopher Sola Olopade who is also a physician at the University of Chicago. They have two daughters, including journalist Dayo Olopade, and one son.[25]

Research

Most of her research was on the susceptibility to cancer which would then be used to adopt a more effective way of treating breast cancer among the African and African-American individuals and populations.[14]

In 1987 at the University of Chicago, she found a gene that helped suppress tumor growth.

In 1992, Olopade helped found the University of Chicago's Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics. Here, she found that African-American women often developed breast cancer at younger ages than white women.[26]

In 2003, she began a new study looking at breast cancer and genetics from African women from Nigeria to Senegal and also African-American women in Chicago. By 2005, she found that 80% of tumors in African women did not need estrogen to grow compared to 20% of tumors in Caucasian the women. She also found that this was due to a different pattern of gene expression between the African women and the Caucasian women.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, M.D., F.A.C.P., O.O.N. | Office of Research". www.vumc.org. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  2. 1 2 Scudellari, Megan (August 1, 2013). "Cancer Knows No Borders". The Scientist. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD, FACP". The University of Chicago Medicine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Olufunmilayo Olopade, Ph.D. Research & Selected Publications". The University of Chicago Biological Sciences; Department of Human Genetics. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade: Closing Disparities Through Genetic Testing | Leading Discoveries Magazine". 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  6. ↑ "Olopade, Olufunmilayo Falusi | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  7. 1 2 "Olufunmilayo Olopade | Committee on Cancer Biology". cancerbio.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  8. ↑ "Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP :: Profile". The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade Receives ASCO ACS Award for Pioneering Research in Breast Cancer Genetics". American Society of Clinical Oncology. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Olufunmilayo I. Olopade". AACR. American Association for Cancer Research. 2001. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  12. ↑ "Directory: IOM Member - Olufunmilayo F. Olopade, M.D., FACP, OON". Institute of Medicine. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ Easton, John (2 March 2011). "President Obama names Olopade to National Cancer Advisory Board". The University of Chicago News. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 "Olopade, Olufunmilayo | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  15. ↑ Ojigbo, Solomon (2017-07-04). "Prof. Olufunmilayo Olopade: Pacesetter and Game-changer In Breast Cancer Treatment". Pharmanewsonline. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  16. ↑ Abbah, Theophilus (2012-09-16). "You can't ignore these 10 awardees of national honours". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Admin (2019-02-21). "OLOPEDE, Prof (Mrs) Olufunmilayo". Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  18. ↑ "Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  19. ↑ "Dr. Olufunmilayo I. Olopade – H3Africa". Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  20. ↑ "Dr. Olufunmilayo I. Olopade – H3Africa". h3africa.org. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  21. ↑ "MacArthur Fellows Program:Olufunmilayo Olopade". MacArthur foundation. September 1, 2005. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  22. ↑ "2019 Laureates Announced by Gov. Rauner". The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  23. ↑ "News from the National Academy of Sciences". April 26, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021. Newly elected members and their affiliations at the time of election are: ... Olopade, Olufunmilayo F.; Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, department of medicine, and director, Center for Clinical Genetics and Global Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, entry in member directory:"Member Directory". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  24. ↑ "MacArthur Fellows". MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Olufunmilayo Olopade:Physician, oncologist and geneticist". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  26. ↑ Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.; Falkson, Carla I. (2010-05-28). Breast Cancer in Women of African Descent. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-3664-4.
  27. ↑ Ikpatt, Offiong Francis; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I. (2006), Williams, Christopher Kwesi O.; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.; Falkson, Carla I. (eds.), "Genetics of Breast Cancer in Women of African Descent: An Overview", Breast Cancer in Women of African Descent, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 23–37, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-3664-4_2, ISBN 978-1-4020-3664-4
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