Folakemi T. Odedina Quotes

As far back as 2009, my leadership in health disparities research was recognised by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists with the inaugural leadership award for health disparities. I was selected by the US Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs to give the inaugural Barbara Terry-Koroma Health Disparity Legacy Lecture in 2013.

AORTIC is the premier organisation for cancer research and training in Africa. As the chair of the AORTIC research committee, I work with outstanding cancer scientists within and outside Africa to provide scientific leadership and direction for cancer research in Africa.

INSIGHT into Diversity, an online and print publication in the United States, gave me the Inspiring Women in STEM Award in 2016 in recognition of my effort in training underrepresented minorities for over two decades.

Women in research, especially biomedical research, face many obstacles and discrimination. Earlier in my career, the perception was that a woman had to choose between having a family and a career.

The Global Oncology Clinical Trials Congress for blacks is very dear to my heart given the underrepresentation of the black population in clinical trials.

I see the work that I do as a calling – the scientific discoveries that we achieve impact lives and that gives me the strength to wake up the next morning and keep going.

In the United States, what I have experienced as a woman is gender discrimination. It is coincidental that the earliest recollection of gender discrimination that I experienced was made by a female professor when I was in graduate school. The female professor told me that I would not be able to finish my graduate programme because I got married and was pregnant in my first year of graduate school

In 2017, it was rewarding to receive the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, which allowed me to work on prostate cancer risk among men with institutions in Nigeria, including the University of Ilorin, and Covenant University.

The black population is disproportionately affected by cancer globally. I worked with several experts and institutions

My ammunition for overcoming this discrimination is hard work and undeniable productivity and output.

In Nigeria, while I was at the University of Ife, one of the things that I (and so many women) had to deal with was the sexual predators.

You don’t have to strive to be liked but always strive to be respected for your work.