American University names Toriola Physician-Scientist-Scholar

The Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States, on Friday, named Prof. Adetunji Toriola, the university’s physician-scientist scholar.

Toriola, an Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife alumnus, was reportedly the second physician-researcher named as part of the School of Medicine’s new Physicians-scientist Investigators Initiative, which supports pioneering physician-scientists whose work already has transformed their fields.

This was disclosed in a statement by the University to a Nigerian news media outlet.

“Adetunji T. Toriola, MD, PhD, a professor of surgery in the Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a William H. Danforth Washington University Physician Scholar.

“As a public health scientist, Toriola is investigating ways to reduce the risk of premenopausal breast cancer and also colorectal cancer.

“He is a principal investigator on two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – one funds research to understand the molecular basis of breast density and the mechanisms by which dense breasts increase the risk of breast cancer; the other, a MERIT Award, supports a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating whether targeting a signalling pathway can reduce breast density and levels of biomarkers known to increase breast cancer risk,” the statement added.

“Additionally, Toriola is a collaborator on a major multicenter study, also funded by NIH, that aims to enrol 5,000 patients, from diverse backgrounds, who are newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer to understand how lifestyle and other factors affect outcomes of the disease”, the statement read.