Oluwatoyin Asojo
Oluwatoyin Asojo is the Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives at the Dartmouth Cancer Center. She previously served as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Hampton University, and as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics – Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. She is a pioneering crystallographer and her interdisciplinary research bridges chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computational science. Dr. Asojo specializes in the structural study of proteins linked to neglected tropical diseases, contributing to global health and drug discovery efforts.
Quotes
[edit]- I believe I’m not going to stop learning until I’m brain dead.
- [1] Speaking in an interview
- Of course you also fail a lot more, because you pursue crazy ideas. But in the process of failing, you find new directions that enhance your research.
- [2] Speaking in an interview
- I know that if I don't do it, the chances of some body else doing it is slim to none.
- [3] Speaking about what motivates her
- Broadly, my objective is to make therapeutics. I use structural biology, biophysics, and computation to study protein interactions with each other or with small molecules to design improved therapeutics.
- [4] Speaking about her research
- It chose me. I really wanted to make drugs. So when I started grad school, my goal was to be an organic chemist and synthesize chemicals in the lab. Then my mentor allowed me to play with every project in the lab, and I chose to drop all the synthesis projects and work on the structural ones. My intent was never to become a crystallographer; it just happened.
- [5] Speaking on why she chose her field
- My academic journey started when I decided to run away from Nigeria—I’m joking! I was supposed to go to medical school, but I was fortunate enough to get a United World College (UWC) scholarship. I went to Pearson UWC and did my International Baccalaureate. Then I got another scholarship to go to Trent University in Ontario, where I double majored in chemistry and economics and minored in English. After that, I moved to Texas and did my PhD in chemistry at the University of Houston. Next I did a short postdoc at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland. After that, I went to industry briefly. I’ve been in different academic positions ever since.
- [6] Speaking about her academic journey
- I’ll put it this way: my dad didn’t realize he was mentoring me; he thought I was just coming to hang around in the lab. I remember when I was in elementary school, after school, I would just wander over to his lab. And before long, when I was in middle school, I was coming over and helping with experiments. It was just fun, and it was a way to hang out with my dad.
- Doing research at an HBCU is amazing because the students are hungry. They come with excellence in so many different areas that inform their science. Having the opportunity to nurture the intellectual growth of this pool of students is a privilege.
- I’ve done work on glioblastoma. When I was in industry, I worked primarily on HIV. Right now I’m working on vaccines and drugs for neglected pathogens, working on different diseases like leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis. Occasionally I collaborate with people in industry to work on cancer. I also have some collaborations for infectious diseases like malaria.
- Oh, it’s everything. I think the ability to see connections where people don’t normally see connections is so important. When you’re able to think about problems from a bird’s-eye view rather than being stuck on the small, incremental aspects of it, you come up with solutions that people may think are crazy, but they end up being the best approaches. Of course you also fail a lot more, because you pursue crazy ideas. But in the process of failing, you find new directions that enhance your research.
- One of the constants in my research is I don’t like doing projects that everybody is interested in. So I focused my research on neglected tropical diseases. Traveling, moving, and mixing with people have actually reinforced that idea, because there are all these diseases that affect so many people that don’t get the level of focus because nobody wants to study them, or there’s not enough funding.
- By far, academia! One word: students. I think hanging around with people that still have that passion for learning keeps me excited to learn new things. I believe I’m not going to stop learning until I’m brain dead, so I like being around people that have that zest for life and that passion for science and that optimism. They’re not jaded.
- Uh-huh. I’m one of those people who believe that my role in academia is to nurture that belief students have. Who am I to say that the student standing in front of me is not the one that is going to cure cancer? My purpose is to be a catalyst for them to achieve that vision.
- I’ll put it this way: my dad didn’t realize he was mentoring me; he thought I was just coming to hang around in the lab. I remember when I was in elementary school, after school, I would just wander over to his lab. And before long, when I was in middle school, I was coming over and helping with experiments. It was just fun, and it was a way to hang out with my dad.
- Doing research at an HBCU is amazing because the students are hungry. They come with excellence in so many different areas that inform their science. Having the opportunity to nurture the intellectual growth of this pool of students is a privilege.
- Avoid saying yes or no right away. Instead, say, “I’ll think about it,” and do so. It avoids impulsive decisions and shows that you respect yourself and the other person.
- Nothing beats long walks in nature. After the first 2 mi, I have found solutions or new insights to nagging problems.
