Adebowale Adeniran, MD is a surgical pathologist and cytopathologist currently practicing at Yale University and serves as the Director of Cytopathology there. He completed his medical school training in Nigeria and moved to the United States to complete a residency and fellowship.
I am fortunate enough to know him as my future attending, as I will be joining the cytopathology fellowship program at Yale in 2020. I also know him through attending last year’s Friends of Africa meeting at USCAP, where he gave a presentation about the status of pathology services in Africa. His points were compelling and he spoke with passion and heart about the issue. He is a true global health advocate and I was delighted to have the chance to talk with him about the work that he is doing in Africa and learn more about the USCAP Friends of Africa group. Read on to be inspired by his commitment to global health and learn how you can also get involved!
Q: How did you recognize the need to contribute to improving pathology services in Africa?
A: Being from Nigeria and having worked there for a short time as a House Officer, I knew that there were improvements to be made in the healthcare delivery system, but I hadn’t thought of improving pathology services specifically. It wasn’t until I was in my second fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering that I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Brian West. He told me about the USCAP Friends of Africa group in which he was an active part and had been since the start. He was involved in education initiatives and would routinely travel to Africa to give lectures and educational seminars.
I went to the next Friends of Africa meeting at the annual USCAP meeting and was able to speak to others doing similar work to Dr. West. This inspired me to also get involved and have been participating in the group ever since. I learned that pathologists practicing back home in Nigeria, and in most other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, face challenges in practicing pathology that we don’t have in the US. It only takes seeing the situation once to realize the great need there is. There are a range of problems, from outdated equipment, to supply shortages, to all of the things that we take for granted like consistent access to electricity and water supply. In general, governments tend to be apathetic to funding healthcare and especially pathology services, which results in compromised patient care with very few pathologists to read cases, long turnaround times, and limited diagnoses. The training programs are usually working with few or old textbooks and limited exposure to advanced testing modalities. You see these problems and your heart bleeds; you feel compelled to get involved and give back.
Q: What is the mission of the USCAP Friends of Africa?
A: The organization has evolved and expanded over the years to increase their outreach to Sub Saharan Africa with the aim of improving pathology services there. The main leaders in the group, Drs. Adekunle Adesina, Patrick Adegboyega, Kunle Adesokan, and Jaiye Ogunniyi-Thomas have made big strides since the start and pathology has come a long way because of it. The group is supported by the USCAP Foundation and they work to distribute free educational materials to pathologists and training programs. They also work with the East and West African divisions of the IAP in developing and hosting teaching projects called “Schools of Pathology”, which are special yearly meetings. They are usually around a weeklong of intensive teaching and mentoring, and they will be held in different countries in West and East Africa to equalize the opportunities for people to participate. Pathologists from across the regions travel to be a part of it.
Q: What ways have you found to contribute to improving pathology services in Africa?
A: For the last five or six years, I’ve worked most frequently in Nigeria in my medical school alma mater, where I travel back yearly to give lectures and teach residents with slide sessions. It’s also a good opportunity for me to review any difficult cases with the department and offer an outside consultation. I also send journals and reading materials they don’t have access to otherwise. I’ve also had opportunity to work with three other medical schools in the area in similar ways.
Volunteering with USCAP Friends of Africa, I participated in last year’s School of Pathology meeting that was held in Lagos, Nigeria. This was the first time that I was able to teach in that program and it was a very good experience.
Q: In what ways can the pathology community get involved with global health?
A: One very simple and easy way to contribute is to give a donation to the USCAP Foundation Global Partners. Every year since 2015, they sponsor pathologists from low and middle income countries to travel to the USCAP meeting through a scholarship, the Global Partners Travel Award. This supports those who often don’t have easy access to attending academic conferences and who cannot afford the travel cost and meeting registration fees to travel to USCAP.
Another is by attending the USCAP Friends of Africa meeting at the annual USCAP meeting and signing up for the many ways you can volunteer your time and expertise. Anyone who has the desire and ability to go and teach, organize slide sessions, or collaborate on research projects, has the opportunity to do so through this organization. These things go a long way and are really appreciated.
Donations of textbooks, supplies, and equipment such as cryostats are also needed. Developing the laboratory services in these countries is really needed and I would encourage those who can to set up private pathology laboratories to help meet the need.
Academic institutions in the US can offer ways of enhancing training opportunities for African pathologists and trainees by offering short- or long-term exchange programs. This helps to bridge the gap between practiced based learning in resource limited vs. US institutions.
-Dana Razzano, MD is a Chief Resident in her third year in anatomic and clinical pathology at New York Medical College at Westchester Medical Center and will be starting her fellowship in Cytopathology at Yale University in 2020. She was a top 5 honoree in ASCP’s Forty Under 40 2018 and was named to The Pathologist’s Power List of 2018. Follow Dr. Razzano on twitter @Dr_DR_Cells.
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