Olufunmilayo Olopade

Wednesday, January 01, 1992

Olufunmilayo Olopade was born in Nigeria in 1957 and immigrated to the United States in 1983 to complete her internship and residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Olopade is a physician, geneticist, scholar, and cancer researcher known for her pioneering work in integrating prevention, early detection, and genetics (particularly the role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes) into cancer risk assessment and treatment. In 1992, while working at the University of Chicago, Olopade created the Cancer Risk Clinic which is still in operation today. Olopade won awards and honors for her work such as the American Society for Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award (1991), James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award (1992), Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award (2000), Phenomenal Woman Award for work within the African-American community (2003), Mac Arthur Fellows Program (2005), William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award (2021), and Jill Rose Award (2023).