Nigerian professor Adetunji Toriola, named Washington University’s Physician-scientist scholar

Adetunji Toriola, a professor of surgery in the Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States; has been named a Physician-scientist scholar by the institution. Professor Adetunji Toriola was the second Physician-researcher named as part of the School of Medicine’s new Physicians-scientist Investigators Initiative. The new physician-scientist initiative focuses on MD and MD/Ph.D. researchers at the associate or full professor rank with an established track record of exceptional research contributions and funding. Professor Toriola is a molecular cancer epidemiologist who joined the university’s School of Medicine in 2012. He is also a public health scientist investigating ways to reduce the risk of premenopausal breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

The Professor is a principal investigator on two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – one funds research to understand the molecular basis of breast density and the mechanisms by which dense breasts increase the risk of breast cancer; the other, a MERIT Award, supports a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating whether targeting a signaling pathway can reduce breast density and levels of biomarkers known to increase breast cancer risk. Additionally, he is a collaborator on a major multicenter study, also funded by NIH, that aims to enroll 5,000 patients, from diverse backgrounds, who are newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer to understand how lifestyle and other factors affect outcomes of the disease. The university’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs, Professor David Perlmutter, while speaking on professor Toriola’s appointment said, “Toriola’s appointment builds upon the School of Medicine’s legacy as home to some of the world’s most influential physician-scientists and our commitment to continuing in that purpose. “He is bringing a public health science approach to the identification of key targets for the prevention of breast cancer, one of the holy grails of the personalized medicine paradigm. I’m delighted that the Bill Danforth WashU Physician-Scientist Investigator Initiative will help support his exciting work.” Professor Toriola earned a medical degree at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He also completed an advanced medical degree in anesthesiology from the West African College of Surgeons, Lagos, Nigeria; a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland; and a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer epidemiology and prevention from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. Professor Toriola has developed a research program characterizing the biological determinants of mammographic breast density and breast cancer. The Professor’s research focuses on applying various omics approaches — metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics — to identify novel targetable markers and pathways that are associated with mammographic breast density and breast cancer development, especially in premenopausal women. Professor Toriola’s lab provided evidence that the Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB Ligand (RANKL) signaling is positively associated with mammographic breast density. Reacting to his latest achievement, he said, “It is a great honor to be named a William H. Danforth Physician Scholar and continue leading transformative breast cancer prevention research at the School of Medicine with its collaborative, creative, and impressive community of physician-scientists.” Congratulations professor Adetunji Toriola.