Dr. Tomi Akinyemiju is a cancer epidemiologist with a research program focused on identifying the impact of social (such as access to healthcare) and biological factors (such as metabolic dysregulation) on cancer-related risk, tumor aggressiveness and survival. Her work has been continuously funded by NIH, and published in over 170 peer-reviewed articles.

She is currently the PI of three ongoing studies on cancer disparities: 1) a study of West African (Nigeria and The Gambia), African-American and White breast cancer cases characterizing the role of ancestry-related factors, metabolic dysregulation and genomic alterations to identify reasons why women of West African descent have the highest global triple negative breast cancer rates; 2) a prospective cohort study of 1,600 Black, Hispanic and White ovarian cancer patients in the US characterizing mechanisms by which healthcare access and microbiome profiles influence treatment quality, supportive care and survival; and 3) a prospective cohort study evaluating the mechanisms through which systemic racism (structural, cultural and interpersonal racism) impacts US breast cancer disparities.

In addition to her primary research portfolio, Dr. Akinyemiju leads impactful programs to advance health equity across the research, training and service missions. This includes strengthening partnerships and building trust with diverse communities, fostering multi-directional stakeholder engagement strategies to enhance impact, and training the next generation of talented, diverse trainees in cancer research and population health. She leads efforts to generate empirical and actionable insights that target specific drivers of health disparities within our institution and nationwide, to eliminate health disparities and advance cancer health equity.