University professor awarded Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship

Dr. Omolola Adepoju, a health services researcher and clinical associate professor at the University of Houston’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, has been awarded the prestigious Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship. This fellowship will support her scholarly research and education projects at the University of Ghana Medical School.

Adepoju, who was recently appointed director of the Humana Integrated Health System Sciences Institute at UH, will spend three weeks in Ghana this summer. "I chose Ghana because I have deep connections there," Adepoju said. "This opportunity is truly humbling as it allows me to return to my roots in an academic role in the same country where my father was born and the same institution where he graduated."

During her visit, Adepoju will work on developing an inter-institutional medical rotation program that aims to provide students at the Fertitta Family College of Medicine with a unique educational experience. "Being a Carnegie Fellow shows the University’s commitment to global health initiatives and will help me better prepare our students to join an increasingly diverse workforce," she stated. "Exposing them to different healthcare systems, cultural practices, and diseases that are prevalent in these regions is invaluable for producing well-rounded and culturally competent primary care physicians."

Adepoju is recognized globally for her innovative research focusing on healthcare inequities and outcomes in underserved communities as well as non-medical drivers of health. She views this fellowship as an opportunity to elevate the College of Medicine’s mission on an international platform. "Houston is the fourth largest and most diverse city in the U.S.," Adepoju noted. "Building partnerships like this will enable us to collaborate on research, create joint academic programs, and exchange faculty which will only raise our profile globally."

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program aims to strengthen capacity at host institutions while fostering long-term collaborations between universities in Africa, the United States, and Canada. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) alongside the Association of African Universities, nearly 650 fellowships have been awarded since its inception in 2013.