By Dheeraj Chilamakuri, MHA
Dr. Abidoye was recognized as the Overall Resident Researcher for the 2021-2022 Academic Year.
What was your childhood and family like?
I was originally born in the United Kingdom, but I was brought up in Nigeria and come from a family of five children. I am the fourth born and the youngest of four brothers and have a younger sister. For most of my education, from kindergarten to undergrad, I did it in Nigeria. My parents were in the academic field; my Dad and Mom were both professors.
Did you always dream of coming to the United States and going into health care? Who was the inspiration over there? Tell us about your journey towards NGHS.
The idea all started with my brother. My brother is an oncologist and basically went through the same experience as I. He was born in the United States, raised in Nigeria, and went to medical school in Nigeria as well. He eventually moved to the states for his residency and became an oncologist. So, the idea of training in the United States started with my brother; just seeing his experiences kind of piqued my desire to pursue my training in the United States. I saw what he went through with his training, and I knew that coming to the United States would be one of the best opportunities for me, if not the best. I prepared for my board exams, cleared them, and pursued a master’s degree in public health, with a focus in epidemiology, from the University of Texas at San Antonio. I applied for residency and am so fortunate to match at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
What do you do when you’re not in the hospital? Tell us your hobbies and passions outside the hospital and the medical realm.
One thing I like to do is to watch movies. I’m a movie fan and like to watch action movies and comedy movies. I have so many favorites in my mind, but majorly I like action movies. If I’m not watching movies, I like playing sports; Major League Soccer and basketball are two of my favorites. Other things I enjoy doing too is going out and exploring different places in terms of like foods from different cultures. Before I started residency, I used to go out and try different cuisines like Mexican and Italian dishes; it’s something I enjoy doing. I wish I had learned how to cook. Cooking is something I’m still learning. But, you know, for the most part, I enjoy eating food rather than cooking, but it’s something I look forward to getting my cooking skills a lot better. Also, if I have the chance, I love traveling, but unfortunately, you can’t do that with residency.
Tell us about your introduction to research; what motivates you to participate in research?
In Nigeria, I had little experience with research, but it wasn’t extensive research; it was more or less like getting involved and doing cross-sectional studies on patients in the hospital. That little experience kind of opened my mind. I became interested in research, and when I came to the United States, I tried to work on projects that focused on improving patient outcomes and preventing diseases. I got involved in a project in San Antonio, TX, that focused on improving the HPV vaccination. The project looked at ways to reduce cervical cancer rates in that community. So for me, I’m passionate about getting more involved in research that focuses on improving our patients’ outcomes and reducing and preventing diseases. Since I’ve been here at NGHS, I’ve tried to be more involved in both retrospective and prospective research, and it’s been a good experience so far.
Tell us which specialty you want to become a physician-researcher in, and why the interest.
My goal is to become a hematologist oncologist. I think one of the reasons was my personal experience with cancer. My father passed away roughly five years ago from prostate cancer. Seeing the things he went through made me realize that lot more should be done with hematology and oncology. I think that’s what drives me. There are new breakthroughs in radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which kind of interests me. My goal is, you know, being an oncologist, getting involved in research that is tailored towards discovering new cancer treatments, and seeing if we can ultimately get patients completely cured of cancer.
Can you tell me about any cool research projects you are involved in?
I have so many research projects I’m on right now, and the one that stands out for me was the COVID ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) with Dr. Rami Arfoosh. We assessed the pulmonary function and the overall recovery of patients with COVID-induced respiratory distress syndrome by evaluating their pulmonary function following COVID infection. It was an interesting project, and we had the opportunity to present our findings during the NGMC GME Research Day 2022. I’m currently working on a project with Dr. Celine Fadel to look at colorectal cancer treatment in patients with advanced colorectal cancer and to see if different treatments can increase their outcomes or prolong their survival.
To learn more about research at NGMC, visit https://www.ngmcgme.org/home/gme-research-scholarly-activity/