Olufunmilayo I. Olopade

Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, a physician scientist, is the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, Dean for Global Health and Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at The University of Chicago. A global leader in Medicine, Olopade's pioneering work led to the translation of advances in human genetics to the benefit of women at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She extended the research on cancer susceptibility genes to women of African ancestry in Nigeria and provided the first reports on the spectrum of pathogenic genetic mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in African American and African women. Her pioneering work showed that the aggressive features of BRCA1-associated tumors were due to unique patterns of gene amplification in these tumors. This work contributed to further refinement of breast cancer into distinct molecular subtypes that are differentially distributed across populations and contribute to disparities in breast cancer outcomes.