Olasubomi Jimmy Omoleye, a physician and Data Science postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago, discusses his background and current role, which focuses on optimising breast cancer risk assessment using informatics. In an interview with Sandra Nwaokolo, Subomi discusses his transition from medical school to research, highlighting his significant achievements in executing projects evaluating AI applications in breast cancer risk prediction.
As a physician and Data Science postdoctoral scholar focusing on clinical and population health informatics, can you tell us more about your current role and career journey?
Absolutely. Currently, I’m a research scholar at the University of Chicago, working in a multidisciplinary group that is focused on optimising breast cancer risk assessment. My journey on this research path started as a 5th-year medical student when I was selected as a global health visiting scholar at the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM), to undergo a surgical oncology clinical elective at the Breast Centre. There, I observed remarkable differences compared to Nigeria, in how breast cancer patients presented and were managed, and this seemed to be largely impacted by differences in breast cancer screening, particularly screening mammography. As a result, I got interested in medical imaging and saw the potential for informatics to impact health on a large scale. I returned for graduate studies in biomedical informatics, and this led to my current research role. At the moment, I work on NIH-funded research projects aimed at optimising breast cancer surveillance in high-risk women (Chicago Alternative Prevention Study) and understanding the etiology of breast cancer in women of African descent (African Breast Cancer Study) under the mentorship of world-renowned experts at the University of Chicago. Recently, I’ve been more interested in the development and application of artificial intelligence tools to leverage breast imaging data for more accurate risk assessment.
What would you consider your most significant achievements as a postdoctoral research scholar?
I think this would be when I executed a project to externally evaluate Mirai, a state-of-the-art mammography-based deep convoluted neural network for breast cancer risk prediction, on a high-risk diverse cohort at UCM. The results from this work helped to further establish that mammography-based deep learning models are viable tools for risk assessment and improved our understanding of how mammography-based machine-learning tools work, through several clinical explainability experiments. My work also provided vital preliminary data that proved useful for securing subsequent NIH grant funding for our lab.
You’ve had quite an impressive career so far. What are your future career and research directions?
I will be starting my residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Chicago in June. I look forward to an exciting career as a physician-scientist at the intersection of medicine and informatics.
You’ve done impactful work studying Artificial Intelligence applications in medicine, particularly for breast cancer risk prediction. What would you consider the most important factors limiting the use of clinical informatics tools in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The challenges faced when trying to implement informatics tools in SSA stem from systemic factors. Lack of reliable electricity supply hampering digital operations, subpar electronic health record implementation, and a lack of institutional and governmental support for these new directions. I think the first step to aid the use of clinical informatics tools in SSA would be to establish strong digital health foundations—digitise as much as can be digitised and pay close attention to data storage best practices.
You recently matched into a Diagnostic Radiology residency at the top program in the United States. What would you advise younger physicians and medical students planning to apply to competitive fields in the United States?
A very good performance on the USMLE board exams does a lot of good. In addition to that, stay curious, stay motivated, and seize opportunities for research as they come.
What are some of your interests outside academic medicine?
I love to sing. I’m a bass vocalist in the Chicago Chorale and do several remote collaborative music projects as well. I also love cooking for friends and family, so you’ll often find me a potlucks during the weekends.
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