Science, Medicine & Engineering
Landmark
Adeyinka Gladys Falusi
born 1948
Haematologist, and a leader of Nigerian medical research
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Nigeria Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
A professor of haematology whose work on sickle cell disease shaped how it is understood and managed in Nigeria, and who led the country's foremost medical research institute.
Adeyinka Gladys Falusi took her doctorate in haematology and built her career at the University of Ibadan, in a country that carries the largest burden of sickle cell disease in the world — roughly a quarter of Nigerians carry the trait and tens of thousands of affected children are born each year.
Her research covered the genetics of haemoglobin disorders, the factors that make the disease milder or more severe in West African patients, and later the genetics of breast cancer in African women, a population almost entirely absent from the international research on it. She directed the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training at Ibadan, was the first woman to hold the post, and served as deputy vice-chancellor.
She has also spent much of her career on the supply side of African science — training researchers, building genomics capacity through the H3Africa programme, and founding a support organisation for people living with sickle cell disease and their families.
Her research covered the genetics of haemoglobin disorders, the factors that make the disease milder or more severe in West African patients, and later the genetics of breast cancer in African women, a population almost entirely absent from the international research on it. She directed the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training at Ibadan, was the first woman to hold the post, and served as deputy vice-chancellor.
She has also spent much of her career on the supply side of African science — training researchers, building genomics capacity through the H3Africa programme, and founding a support organisation for people living with sickle cell disease and their families.
- Wikipedia — Adeyinka Gladys Falusi
- University of Ibadan — Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training
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