THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTERIn November 1982, a military officer practicing on the soccer field outside the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, collapsed and died. Olufunmilayo “Funmi” Olopade, a young, newly minted doctor, was working inside when the man was brought in to the emergency room. “We couldn’t understand why he died,” says Olopade. “That really shocked me, and made me realize that I needed to do more to be able to understand and help people.”
Three months earlier, Olopade had visited her brother, a graduate student at Stanford University, and while in the United States, she flew to Chicago where she interviewed with and was offered a job at Cook County Hospital. At the time, she wasn’t sure she was ready to commit to a medical residency in the U.S. But the day the soldier died, Olopade called Cook County and asked if the position was still available. It was, and 2 months later, she was on a plane to Chicago.
“I think we can democratize how we prevent and treat cancer, so people on the periphery can take advantage of the research going on in the center.”
Olopade quickly rose in the ranks at Cook County, becoming Chief Resident ...
