Dr. Ogunwobi obtained a medical degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a master's degree in biomedicine from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, a master's degree in clinical and translational science from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. He was the Founding Director of the Hunter College Center for Cancer Health Disparities Research. He is now the Barnett Rosenberg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chairperson in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University. In addition, he will serve as Co-Director of the forthcoming Center for Cancer Health Equity Research (CCHER) at Michigan State University. He is a translational cancer biologist whose work focuses on molecular mechanisms of progression of solid organ cancers with racial disparities, and on approaches to leverage non-coding RNA biology for potential clinical applications in cancer. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, New York State, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Dr. Ogunwobi was a Founding Contact Principal Investigator of the Synergistic Partnership for Enhancing Equity in Cancer Health (SPEECH) funded by U54 grants CA221704 and CA221705 from the National Cancer Institute. An author of 74 peer-reviewed journal articles and three book chapters, Dr. Ogunwobi has been issued five U.S. patents for biotechnology inventions with potential clinical applications in cancer. He is the recipient of the 2022 Hunter College Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship or Creative Activity and selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria. He is Co-Founder of UTR Therapeutics, Inc. (winner of the 2023 XSeed Award from Deerfield), and NucleoBio, Inc.

USAID Profile

Bureau for Global Health
Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA), Strategic Information, Evaluation, and Informatics Division

As a Jefferson Science Fellow, Dr. Olorunseun Ogunwobi will collaborate with colleagues in the Bureau for Global Health within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and specifically, in the Strategic Information, Evaluation, and Informatics Division of the Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA) at USAID. In his advisory role as a Jefferson Science Fellow, Dr. Ogunwobi will offer insight into HIV surveillance strategy development and the generation of methodology for the prediction of "transmission hot spots" using available USAID resources including artificial intelligence. He will also offer insight on responsible data usage to help guide OHA and USAID in the utilization of data to broaden generalizable knowledge and improve the quality of USAID programs. Dr. Ogunwobi is interested in working on ways to best leverage OHA/USAID to improve health outcomes, and to ask novel questions pertaining to disparities in health (including cancer health) outcomes across diverse geographical areas and populations around the world. Dr. Ogunwobi will also be examining the impact of HIV/AIDS and other diseases on cancer incidence and outcomes.