Olalekan Ogunsakin, MD, PhD, MBA, MPH
Dr. Ogunsakin is a physician-scientist with an avid passion for medical education with several years of experiences in clinical practice, translational research, and public health sciences. He works as a full-time Pathology faculty at Touro University College of Medicine (TouroCOM) and serves as the Course Director for General and Systemic Pathology (I and II). He also serves as Course Director of Pathology for the Pathologists Assistant Masters’ Program. In addition to his didactic commitments, he also serves in different administrative capacities and committee leadership in the school, most notably as the Chair of the Rank and Credential Committee, member of the Admissions, Research, and Community Affairs Committee, among others.
Dr. Ogunsakin obtained his medical degree (MD) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. His MD thesis was titled “Osteoporosis Related Minimal Trauma Fractures: Awareness Among Health Workers”. He obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) at Tulane University, School of Public Health, and Tropical Medicine with his doctoral thesis titled: “Effects of alcohol on pulmonary vitamin D metabolism and activation of anti-microbial peptides in the pulmonary system” and received a Tulane 34 awards as a recognition of his contributions, among other accolades. He also obtained a Master of Public Health degree (MPH) from Tulane University with a focus on Environmental Health Sciences (Policy) and Disaster Management. His master’s thesis was titled “Overview and Analysis of the Energy Policies of the United States (2008 – 2012)”. He proceeded to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Tulane University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hayward Genetic Centers with a project focusing on “Roles of Teriflunomide on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Among Patients with Multiple Sclerosis”. Following that, he also completed another Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (UTHSCT) conducting research experiments focusing on “Roles of Glycogen Synthase Kinase (GSK- 3Beta) in Pulmonary Fibrosis” at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Research Center (Tucker / Idell’s Lab). Furthermore, Dr. Ogunsakin also obtained a master’s in business administration (MBA) from University of Texas at Tyler with a thesis on “Conflicts in Age and Technological Acceptance”. Dr. Ogunsakin, as researcher, has a history of successful funding by the National Institute of Health (NIH)’s, National Heart, Lungs, and blood Institute (NHLBI) for his research in Pulmonary Fibrosis and serves as Program Director of several DHHS’s SAMHSA funded grant projects. He continues to conduct research projects at TouroCOM.
He is a member of several professional associations among which are American College of Toxicology (ACT), American Thoracic Society (ATS), American Society of Investigative Pathology (ASIP), Association of Pathology Chairs (APC), Group for Research in Pathology Education (GRIPE), American Public Health Association (APHA), and Society of Toxicology (SOT), among others. He also serves as reviewers to different journals and sits on the editorial committee of the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (JOM) as an Associate Editor, Cardiopulmonary Section. Dr. Ogunsakin is a recipient of several national and international professional and leadership awards.
Education
- MD, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
- PhD, Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- MPH, Tulane University
- MBA, University of Texas at Tyler
Research
Research Interests: Translational research in biomedical and clinical sciences; Quantitative research in chronic diseases outcomes and determinants in community and global population health; Medical Education research in curriculum expansion, technology advancement, faculty professional development, and student integration.
Publications
- Lomiguen, C. M., Gross, H., Terrell, M., Ogunsakin, O., & Junsanto-Bahri, T. (2020). Implementing Pathology Peer Teaching Program in a Medical School. The FASEB Journal, 34(S1), 1–1. https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.04012
