Biography
Dr. Olopade is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics, and directs a multidisciplinary clinical and laboratory research program in cancer genetics at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She is a national leader in the emerging field of clinical cancer genetics- a field that seeks to identify and understand the various genes that contribute to cancer, how these genes interact with one another and how they are affected by environmental factors. Her current laboratory research is focused on tumor suppressor genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that predispose to breast and ovarian cancers in families. As a Hematologist/Oncologist, Dr. Olopade specializes in the management of women at high risk for breast cancer.
Dr. Olopade received her bachelor’s and medical degrees with distinction from the University of Ibadan in her native Nigeria and served as a medical officer at the Nigerian Navy Hospital. She came to the United States as a resident in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital, Chicago where she was named Chief Medical Resident. She did her Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training at the University of Chicago and spent time studying molecular genetics of cancer under Dr. Janet Rowley, Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine. A former James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar and ASCO Young Investigator Awardee, Dr. Olopade served as Chairperson for the ASCO Task Force on Cancer Genetics education.
Abstract
Molecular Genetics of Aggressive Breast Cancer
Dr. Olopade’s research program represents an integrated attempt to translate the recent advances in genetics to benefit women who are at risk of developing an aggressive form of breast cancer at a young age. A multidisciplinary team of basic and clinical researchers will develop novel clinical management strategies based on a proper understanding of the genes that are altered in individual patients. Studies will evaluate the mechanisms whereby genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, as well as HER2/neu and other genes allow a normal breast cell to become cancerous and increasingly dangerous. In addition, the team will develop advanced imaging technologies such as computerized analysis of mammography, breast ultrasound and magnetic resonance images for surveillance of high-risk women. Clinical trials based on molecular characterization of a well-defined cohort of women with early-onset breast cancer and their at-risk relatives will also be carried out. The long-term goal of the research program is to identify women at risk earlier in life, intervene aggressively, reduce risk and thereby effectively control breast cancer.