He talks about the prized possessions in his office such as Latin American artwork from a patient and discusses his goals for the cancer center in the latest issue of “CATALYST.”
Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, executive director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, proudly displays on his desk an award he received in 2016 from the leadership development program of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“They take a number of midcareer faculty from across the country, about 10 or 15 of us, and you go through a yearlong training in leadership as a way to prepare you for future responsibilities,” Owonikoko said. “That was one of the key, important career development steps for me as an administrative leader.”
Owonikoko has returned to Baltimore, the first city he lived in when he came to the United States from Nigeria in 2000, assuming his post at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in January.
“They say that the first city where people live when they come to the U.S. as a new immigrant is where they tend to stay for the longest,” said Owonikoko, who lived in Baltimore as a research fellow at Johns Hopkins University for two years. “The attraction for coming back is No. 1, the city. I loved the city when I lived here.”
He also was drawn by the cancer center’s relationship with the community.
“We have an institution that is embedded in the community. I’m always fascinated about the possibility of us as an institution to engage with the community and do something that would positively impact that community,” he said. “So when the opportunity came for me to come back as the cancer center director, that was one of the main attractions for me to say, ‘I want to go to a place where the cancer center is part and parcel of the community. The community trusts them.’ ”
Owonikoko, who also is the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the Program in Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), is an internationally recognized physician-scientist who specializes in treating patients with lung cancer. He joined the cancer center after serving as chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and the Stanley M. Marks-Oncology Hematology Associates Endowed Chair in Hematology/Oncology Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Owonikoko said photos are among some of the most meaningful items decorating his new office. On his desk are photos of his wife of 17 years and their two teenage daughters and teenage son, including a photo from a recent vacation to Jamaica and a photo of Owonikoko and his wife on their honeymoon to the Poconos. On a shelf, there is a photo of his leadership development group in 2019 when he was at Emory University, where he was professor and vice chair in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the School of Medicine and its Winship Cancer Institute.
Read more about Taofeek K. Owonikoko here.
You can read the Fall 2024 issue of CATALYST magazine, which highlights the School of Dentistry's efforts to provide dentures to seniors through a grant program; School of Pharmacy recent graduate Alena Abraham's podcast dedicated to supporting the blind and visually impaired community; Mary Maldarelli, a fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and 2019 School of Medicine graduate using her musical talents to create a therapeutic healing environment; and much, much more!