Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 9/1/2023 12:00:00 AM

Akinyemi Oni-Orisan, PharmD, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Who Has Inspired You in Your Career?
My mother has inspired me more than anyone else in my career. While working full-time as a nursing assistant and raising four kids, my mom enrolled in nursing school to become a nurse. The goal was to ensure that my three siblings and I had better opportunities growing up. I actually remember some of the homework assignments that my mom had to do. I was in elementary school at the time, so I did not really appreciate then how difficult it must have been for her to juggle so many things at once. Her and my father's sacrifices are some of the strongest motivators in my career to work hard and strive for excellence.

Do You Have a Favorite Tip or Trick For Clinical Practice or Research That You Want to Share with Fellow Members?
I'm not sure how common this is, but I try to write as much as an original research paper as possible early on in the project before the bulk of the analyses are finished. I find that this allows us to keep our analyses focused on the main objectives of the study. I work with large observational datasets and the amount of ad hoc secondary/sensitivity analyses one can do are endless for studies of this nature. One can easily lose track of the primary research question. Using this approach, I have found the Intro, Methods, and Results sections often do not change very much even after the analyses are completed (other than filling in the blanks for the data within the Results).

What is Your Favorite Society Memory?
I do not know if I can pinpoint a favorite Society memory, but a memorable one was at the ASCPT 2013 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. For one, it was my first time attending. Second, there was a big snowstorm, which forced everyone to stay indoors. Third, I forgot to pack my dress shoes, but fortunately there was a mall connected to the hotel, so I was able to find a Payless and buy a new pair (without having to go outdoors). And finally, I remember seeing a sharp, fierce, and confident leader speaking during some of the sessions as the then ASCPT President. That person turned out to be Kathy Giacomini, who is now the Dean of my school and with whom I get to work regularly.

How Do You Keep Focused and Motivated?
I find myself most productive when doing work that has the potential to not only improve health outcomes, but also to impact society as a whole. Thus, one way that I try to stay focused is to align my personal passions with my professional endeavors. For example, I am a member of a group under-represented in pharmacogenomics research. This makes me more motivated to conduct studies that help ensure the advances of precision medicine benefit diverse patient populations. To direct my work toward this social cause, my research hypotheses, grant proposals, service activities, and overall career goals have shifted over the past few years.

What Was Your Childhood Dream Job?
I spent a good chunk of the summer in 1998 watching the FIFA World Cup and dreaming that I could play in it one day. My dreams were cut short freshman year of college when I did not get a chance to walk on the varsity team (it was an invite-only tryout, and I did not realize I needed a video tape of my highlights). But I did make the JV team (aka club soccer) and it turned out to be a great experience. It was still incredibly competitive, and we still got to travel all over the country competing against other schools. The highlight was during my senior year when our team won the national championship. Fast forward to now and I would consider what I do today to be quite close to a dream job.

Dr. Oni-Orisan has been a member of ASCPT since 2016.