Dr. Fayanju is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health Sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine, Associate Director for Disparities & Value in Healthcare with Duke Forge (the university’s center for actionable data science: https://forge.duke.edu/oluwadamilola-fayanju-md-ma-mphs), and Director of the Durham VA Breast Clinic.
She received her undergraduate degree in History and Science and an MA in Comparative Literature from Harvard. She received her MD and a master of population health sciences (MPHS) from Washington University in St. Louis, where she also completed her residency in General Surgery. She completed fellowship training in Breast Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Her research, which is supported by an NIH K08 career development award, has 3 areas of focus: (1) addressing disparities in breast cancer presentation, treatment, outcome, and clinical trial participation; (2) improving prognostication and treatment for biologically aggressive variants of breast cancer that are often more common among racial and ethnic minorities; and (3) creating value in oncologic care, especially through the collection and application of patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Her scholarship has been published in a variety of journals including Annals of Surgery, Cancer, and JAMA.
She is active in several national organizations, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Surgical Outcomes Club and on various committees including the Breast, Cancer Care Delivery, and Health Disparities Committees for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology; the Patient-reported Outcomes, Patient Safety and Quality, and Publications Committees for the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS); the Nominating and Program Committees for the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS); the Women in Surgery Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS); and the Locoregional and Patient-reported Outcomes Committees for the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC).
Education and Training
- Breast Surgical Oncology Fellow, Surgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2015 - 2016
- General Surgery Resident, Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 2007 - 2015
- M.P.H.S., Washington University School of Medicine, 2011
- M.D., Washington University School of Medicine, 2007
- M.A., Harvard University , 2001
- A.B., Harvard University , 2001
In the News
- Providing Care Beyond the Medical ChartJuly 6, 2020
- Seeking a Just World and Doing Research as a Surgeon-Scientist and a Mother of Biracial BoysSeptember 6, 2019
- Big Data: Duke positions itself to lead as health care enters a new eraJune 4, 2019
- Fine-tuning Treatments for Breast CancerJune 4, 2019
- National Academy of Medicine announces 10 Emerging Leaders in Health and MedicineMay 23, 2019
- Forge Associate Director Lola Fayanju, MD, Recognized as an Emerging Leader by National Academy of MedicineMay 23, 2019
- Fayanju Awarded ACS/ASBrS Health Policy And Management ScholarshipApril 25, 2019
- Duke Surgeon Champions Equity In Breast Cancer Support And CareJuly 12, 2018
- Surgeon's Input Influences Decision for CPM in Breast CancerDecember 21, 2016