Meet the Nigerian molecular imaging innovator Dr Samuel Achilefu

Dr Samuel Achilefu is a Nigerian, who studied chemistry and materials science at the University of Nancy in France as a French Government Scholar before completing postdoctoral training in oxygen transport in biological systems and hematological science at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

He invented high-tech infrared goggles which enable doctors to see cancer cells during surgery.

The invention ensure that no tumour cell is left unremoved. A blue light glows when it's spotted.

In an article published on utsouthwestern.edu, Professor Achilefu is said to have owned 65 patents in the USA and won the 2014 St. Louis Award. Dr Samuel Achilefu is the Vice Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine.

He is also the Director of the Washington University Molecular Imaging Center and Theranostic Innovation Program.

He is the Co-Director of the Center for Multiple Myeloma Nanotherapy and Co-Leader of the Oncologic Imaging Program of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University.

The born and raised Nigerian is a Professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and biomedical engineering.

It was stated that Dr. Achilefu, who has published more than 300 scientific papers, was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2020 to serve on the National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Royal Society of Medicine, the International Society for Optics and Photonics Engineers-SPIE, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and The Optical Society of America (Optica).

Dr. Achilefu’s national and international awards include the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, The Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research, and the Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award from the International Society for Optics and Photonics Engineers-SPIE.

This article was copied from the utsouthwestern.edu.