One of the most brilliant luminaries in the field of Medicine, Professor Adeboye Oluwaseyi Osunkoya is a globally recognised expert in urological and genitourinary pathology. He has a special interest in the diagnosis of bladder, kidney, testicular, and prostate cancers. He currently serves as professor of Pathology and Urology at Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia, USA, where he directs the urologic pathology service and the surgical pathology fellowship programme of the institute. He also serves as senior staff pathologist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, also in Georgia.
As a testament to his exceptional expertise and erudition, Osunkoya recently emerged president of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP). Founded in 1906, to create “better pathologists”, USCAP is the largest North American organisation of pathologists. It provides advanced continuing medical education and translational research to improve practices and patient outcomes globally.
Osunkoya is the first African to attain such a level of prominence in the history of the 117-year-old prestigious academy. The erstwhile president, Prof. John Hart, while presenting the crystal gavel of the academy to the man he considered a worthy successor on 12 March, 2023, said of Osunkoya: “His exemplary career as a diagnostician, educator and researcher has led to this honour.”
Career milestones
Prior to his current engagements, Osunkoya had served in several international leadership roles. He previously served as chairman of the Prize and Awards Committee and member of Council of the Arthur Purdy Stout Society (2019-2023). He was elected first African member of the Board of Directors of the USCAP (2017-2020). He was also director of Urologic Pathology at the USCAP Interactive Microscopy Centre (2018-2020).
Osunkoya equally served as chairman of the Excellence in Urological Pathology Resident/Fellow Research Award Committee of the International Society of Urological Pathology (2013-2018). He was the chairman of the Stephen Vogel Award Committee of the USCAP (2014-2016). He was also a member of the Education Committee of the USCAP (2012-2016), member of the Stowell-Orbison Award Committee, member of the Abstract Review Committee, in addition to being USCAP ambassador.
The renowned pathologist currently serves on the Editorial Board of prominent journals. These include Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Section Editor: Urologic Pathology), Human Pathology, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology and USCAP’s Open Mind.
He has presented several lectures at conferences and seminars in several parts of the world, including the International Academy of Pathology, Asia Pacific International Academy of Pathology, and European Congress of Pathology/European Society of Pathology meetings. He has also been a visiting professor/grand rounds speaker at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine.
In addition, he has directed and presented at several Interactive Microscopy Courses in Palm Springs and Short Courses and Interactive Microscopy Courses at the annual meetings of the USCAP. He has also been an invited speaker at the USCAP Long Course and Practical Pathology Seminars.
Osunkoya has been published over 200 times in a variety of academic journals, including Modern Pathology, Human Pathology, American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Pathology, and Urology. He has also authored or co-authored 25 book chapters and has a plethora of other publications, including contributions to the 4th and 5th editions of the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs.
He has recently been named in the MilliPub Club, which recognises current Emory University School of Medicine staff who have published one or more individual papers throughout their careers that have garnered more than 1,000 citations.
Background to prominence
Prof. Adeboye Osunkoya is a son of Prof. B.O. Osunkoya, the celebrated professor of Immunology and Pathology at the University of Ibadan, who made significant contributions to the literature on Burkitt’s lymphoma. The younger Osunkoya graduated from the University Of Ibadan College of Medicine in 1998.
Following his internship and NYSC programme, he started his pathology residency training at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan in 2000. He later emigrated from Nigeria to the United States and completed his pathology residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre, where he served as chief resident from 2004 to 2006.
Osunkoya proceeded to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for his Urologic Pathology Fellowship. He subsequently joined the distinguished Faculty of the Department of Pathology at Emory University in 2007 as an assistant professor and was promoted to professor of Pathology and Urology in 2016.
Awards and recognitions
In recognition of his mammoth contributions to the field of pathology, Osunkoya has won numerous institutional, national and international awards. These include the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Resident Education, from the Department of Pathology of Emory University School of Medicine; the Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, from the Department of Pathology of The Johns Hopkins Hospital (2007);, the Perry Lambird Award for Outstanding Resident in Clinical Pathology, from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre; the Parker-Heartland Award for Outstanding Resident in Anatomic Pathology; the Nancy K. Hall Award for Most Outstanding First Year Resident, from the Department of Pathology; and the very prestigious Benjamin Castleman Award for the best paper published in Human Pathology (2010).
In 2015, Osunkoya won the Arthur Purdy Stout Prize, one of the top honours in surgical pathology in North America. The international award recognises significant career achievements in surgical pathology by a surgical pathologist (less than 45 years old) whose publications have had a major impact on diagnostic pathology.
