Health, Heart and Hands: Meet Dr. Folakemi Odedina

4 days ago | Jasmine Souers | @jasminesouers

"Health, Heart, and Hands" is an inspiring Q&A series that offers a behind-the-scenes look into the minds of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's Community Outreach and Engagement team. This series shines a spotlight on the dedicated individuals who are at the forefront of advancing health equity, fostering community connections, and driving impactful outreach initiatives. Through their heartfelt narratives and professional insights, we explore the passion and commitment that fuel their efforts to make a tangible difference in the lives of those they serve.

Meet Dr. Folakemi Odedina

Alma Mater(s):

- University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), BSc in Pharmacy (1986)

- University of Florida, PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Outcomes (1994)

Field(s) of Study:

- Transatlantic roots of prostate cancer disparities in Black males

- Prostate cancer care and survivorship model for Black males

- Vaccine diversity

- Global health equity

- Global oncology research

- Diversity in clinical trials

Years at Mayo Clinic: 4+

Tell us about your role at Mayo Clinic:

I am a professor of hematology/oncology, and enterprise deputy director for the office of Community Outreach & Engagement at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. Also, I am a member of the Mayo Clinic Clinical Trials Committee and lead the community engagement/health equity clinical trials strategy.

In addition, I am the principal investigator (PI) and founding program director of the Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium (CaPTC) supported by the National Cancer Institute's Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (NCI-EGRP). I am also the consortium director/contact multiple principal investigator (MPI) for the iCCaRE for Black Men Consortium funded by the Department of Defense. Additionally, I lead the Cancer Health Equity Research Program Lab at Mayo Clinic Florida supported by over $20 million funding from the NCI and Department of Defense.

What inspired you to focus your research on health disparities and community engagement?

The primary reason I am in this field is because I grew up seeing my mom struggle with asthma on a daily basis. Her quality of life was compromised and she struggled because of what we now recognize as social determinants of health. Lack of health care access, economic instability and our neighborhood environment, with all the environmental pollutions, all affected her. It was thus an easy decision for me to devote my career to addressing health and wellness in our community. I have been doing this for over 30 years now.

Can you share a memorable moment from your extensive COE activities?

One of the most impactful moments was a COE activity that we conducted in Africa. I travelled with our Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Dr. Cheryl Willman and several other Mayo colleagues to Nigeria in 2024 for a global oncology program.

As part of our Cancer Center initiatives, we adapted our Wellness RX program, which is called Nutrition Rx in Africa. This program addresses food insecurity while educating men about prostate health. We planned to reach about 400 men and ended up expanding the program to support over 650 men over two days. Seeing Dr. Willman interacting with the men was a memorable moment as it underscores the impact of our Cancer Center globally.

How do you envision the future of global health equity initiatives?

I see the world as one global village and there is no way to address health disparities by focusing on just one population or country. It is going to take the global village to achieve health equity, and we must focus on precision public/community health. Precision public health focuses on empowering communities by using community engagement, community data and technology with geographical precision to prevent cancer, predict cancer risks, develop tailored and targeted programs to improve community health, and foster public health policies to reduce cancer disparities. To be successful, global health equity initiatives must be led by community members, community-living and address barriers at all levels (individual, interpersonal, organizations, community and policy).

What challenges have you faced in your work, and how have you overcome them?

This is a tough question that can be answered in multiple ways. Relative to overcoming challenges working with diverse communities, I focus primarily on building a strong relationship based on trustworthiness and honesty. Even if things are not going the way that community members want it to be, as long as you are honest, they will understand and work with you to find the best solutions.

As a Black woman, I have faced multiple challenges at the institutional level and continue to face challenges due to systematic barriers often associated with racism, prejudice and bias. I have learned over the years to "know my truth" and strongly advocate for myself as well as others. At this stage of my career, what is most important is to serve as "linebacker" for those who cannot advocate for themselves, especially early-stage investigators.