Dr. Omowumi Femi-Akinlosotu
Senior Lecturer University of Ibadan, Nigeria
PhD University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Neuroscience was not on Dr. Omowumi Femi-Akinlosotu’s radar while she was completing her bachelor’s degree in dental surgery at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. However, a couple years later, her interactions with a neurosurgeon opened her eyes to the incredible unsolved mysteries of the brain. Omowumi became fascinated with the brain’s complexity and the seemingly endless outstanding questions about its structure and function. Her path shifted towards neuroscience, and today she is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Ibadan, where she researches both neurobiology and forensic anatomy.
After graduating with her degree in dental surgery, Omowumi spent a year in the National Youth Service Corps, a compulsory service program for all university graduates in Nigeria. Upon returning, and after working for a few months in a private hospital, she was invited to be an anatomy lecturer at the University of Ibadan. To Omowumi, teaching felt like a natural choice; her mother and three of her siblings are also teachers. A master’s degree was required for the university lecturer position, so Omowumi began her master’s in anatomy.
During her master’s studies, Omowumi connected with a teacher and mentor, Dr. Shokunbi, who was also a neurosurgeon, and his passion for the mysteries of the brain was infectious. From their discussions, Omowumi was immediately drawn to the field of neuroscience. She marveled at the fact that virtually every function of the body depends on the brain, and that answering questions about the brain always seems to generate even more questions. Thus, after finishing her master’s degree in anatomy, she decided to pursue a PhD in Neurobiology and Neurosciences at the University of Ibadan.
During her PhD, Omowumi studied hydrocephalus, a condition in which the brain’s ventricles become enlarged, leading to pressure on surrounding brain tissue and disruptions in normal brain function. The ventricles are hollow spaces within the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and hydrocephalus can occur when there is a blockage in the ventricles or overproduction of CSF. Omowumi wanted to better understand how ventricular enlargement affected neuronal synapses. Using a mouse model of developmental hydrocephalus, she employed histology, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy to characterize the effects of hydrocephalus on neurons. She found that, compared to control mice, hydrocephalic mice had increased neuronal density in sensorimotor cortex, decreased cortical thickness, loss of dendritic spines in pyramidal cells, and evidence of defective synaptogenesis.
In the few years since obtaining her PhD, Omowumi has led a research team at the University of Ibadan, and her work has branched in many different directions. In part, she has continued to work on hydrocephalus. Recently, her lab made the surprising finding that vanadium, a trace element that can leach into the environment during oil spills, is (at low doses) neuroprotective in a hydrocephalus model, despite its toxicity at higher doses. In addition to this work, Omowumi also uses her expertise in dentistry and anatomy to collaborate on projects outside neuroscience. For instance, she has studied comparative anatomy of the facial skeleton among several different species, including bats, which are particularly prevalent in her region.
In addition to her passion for research, Omowumi is devoted to encouraging young women to pursue a science education. She serves as the president of the Oyo State’s chapter of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), whose mission is to use grassroots communication—on social media, radio, TV, and in schools—to bring awareness and appreciation for the ways in which women contribute to society beyond motherhood. Those at MWAN believe that women’s motherly instincts actually give them an advantage as medical doctors, as they “heal with the heart of a mother”. As a leader of MWAN in her state, Omowuni has been able to gear MWAN’s agenda towards introducing young girls to science research, particularly neuroscience. Her advice to them is simple: “Rome was not built in a day. You don’t get there overnight. You have to be hard-working and dutiful. But if you have the passion, you can do it—the sky’s the limit.” Omowumi’s deep passion for research continues to lead her as she asks and answers scientific questions. With this passion fueling her, the sky’s the limit for her future career and for the impact she will have on the next generation of Nigerian women in science.
Find out more about Omowumi and her lab’s research here.
Listen to Omowumi’s full interview with Margarida on August 10, 2024 below!
