Some may describe her latest appointment as the Ag. Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious University of Lagos as luck, while some may say it is a result of her hard-work. But, one thing is certain, Prof. Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, a Professor of Clinical Microbiology, has dedicatedly paid her dues in the academic world.
With her research interest and work centered around the diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance, recognized by the World Health Organisation and her recent article “Nigeria and disease outbreaks. Better prepared, but still weak spots”, it is safe to say, Prof. Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola earns what came her way.
Interestingly, her childhood prepared her for her current achievement as a Professor of Clinical Microbiology of repute. As a child, she mimicked medical practitioners by using dolls as patients, while offering medical care to them. Between 1974–82, Ogunsola obtained her first degree from University of Ife. She got a master’s degree from College of Medicine, University of Lagos, then proceeded for her doctorate at University of Wales between 1992–97.
She has for two decades been involved in raising awareness on Infection Control in Nigeria. She was a founding member of the Nigerian Society for Infection Control in 1998 and has assisted in setting up infection control programs in institutions around the country. She has a strong interest in the application of Infection Control principles for the prevention of disease transmission and antimicrobial resistance in low resource settings. She is a member of the Global Infection Prevention and control Network.
Professor Folasade Ogunsola before her appointment rose through the ranks to become the Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and the Vice Chancellor of the University. She obtained a Masters in Medical Microbiology from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos followed by a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from the College of Medicine, University of Wales, Cardiff. She is the first female Provost at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos in its 50 years of existence.
Professor Ogunsola is the Principal Investigator of the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) (a PEPFAR grant) at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and Site Principal Investigator of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative in Nigeria (MEPIN).
She has been instrumental in setting up infection control programs in a number of institutions in Nigeria and was the Chair of the Infection control committee of the Lagos University Teaching hospital till December 2012. She is a member of the WHO technical working group on Infection Prevention and Control and a member of the WHO AFRO regional rapid response group of experts.
She has received a number of awards and recognitions including the Federation of European Microbiological Societies Overseas research Scholarship in1993, the Keystone Symposia Global Health Travel Award in 2010, Medical Women’s association of Nigeria Distinction in Medicine Award in 2013 and the Distinguished Alumni Lecturer at the 7th Prof. T. Adesanya Ige Grillo Memorial Lecture of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria in May 2014.
Born 1958, Professor Ogunsola specializes in disease control, particularly HIV/AIDS. Ogunsola is reputed as being the first woman to occupy the position of the Provost, College of Medicine, University of Lagos. She doubled as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (development services) of the institution starting 2017. She was elected as the Acting Vice chancellor of University of Lagos on August 24, 2020 by the university’s senate.
Ogunsola, the acting vice chancellor of the University of Lagos. She has also been the chairman of the Infection Control Committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Additionally, she is the chairman of the National Association of Colleges of Medicine in Nigeria.
In 2018, she expressed concern on disease prevention and control in Nigeria. She identified poor hygiene and overuse of antibiotics as practices that foster antimicrobial-drug resistance. Providing a solution, she maintained that “sustained Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) infrastructure and programs should be built around a set of core components which includes guidelines, training, surveillance, multimodal strategies for implementing IPC, monitoring and evaluation among others”. Speaking during a session with the media, she explained that the solution to reducing the 58% unemployment rate was for Nigerian graduates to begin innovating ideas that will enhance human life. She also noted that knowledge in itself isn’t sufficient, but its application in an appropriate manner to better mankind and enhance the livelihood of others is what youths should be concerned about.
Speaking on her four year tenure as the Provost, UNILAG’s College of Medicine, she said the elective position prepared her for the current position she holds.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial board of TheScript Newspaper.
