Silas Rofino Amu Dodu, (11 December 1924 – 2007) was a
Ghanaian physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and academic. He was a professor of medicine, the second Dean at the
University of Ghana Medical School
The University of Ghana Medical School also UGMS is the medical school of Ghana's first public research institution, the University of Ghana. It is currently located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The medical school was first plann ...
and a pioneer cardiologist in Ghana. He and others have been described as pioneers of the medical profession in Ghana.
Early life and education
Silas Rofino Amu Dodu was born on 11 December 1924 in
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
,
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
(present-day Ghana), to the
Very Reverend Edward Maxwell Dodu, a Presbyterian minister who served as the Moderator of the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a mainline Protestant church denomination in Ghana. The oldest, continuously existing, established Christian Church in Ghana, it was started by the Basel missionaries on 18 December 1828. The missionaries had ...
between 1955 and 1958. His mother was Margaret Lovering Dodu (''née'' Pinto). After attending Presbyterian mission primary school and the boarding middle school, the
Salem School, Osu, he had his secondary education at
Achimota School
Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school wa ...
from 1932 to 1945. He obtained his medical degree from the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
and performed research on diabetes in Ghana.
Career
Dodu returned to Ghana in 1953 already a member of the
Royal College of Physicians of London. According to the Ghana Medical Association; he rose to the consultant status of the Physician Specialist grade; he was special grade medical officer for four years at the
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is a public teaching hospital located in the Ablekuma South Metropolitan District in Accra, Ghana. It is the only public tertiary hospital in the southern part of the country. It is a teaching hospital affiliate ...
. In 1958, he co-founded the
Ghana Medical Association together with
Charles Odamtten Easmon
Charles Odamtten Easmon or C. O. Easmon, popularly known as Charlie Easmon, (22 September 1913 – 19 May 1994) was a medical doctor and academic who became the first Ghanaian to formally qualify as a surgeon specialist and the first Dean of t ...
, Anum Barnor,
Evans Anfom and Schandorf. He was president of the association from 1966 to 1968. In 1965 he became the first head of the department of medicine at the
University of Ghana Medical School
The University of Ghana Medical School also UGMS is the medical school of Ghana's first public research institution, the University of Ghana. It is currently located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The medical school was first plann ...
. He became the vice dean and later dean of the medical school. He joined the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
as the chief of the cardiovascular diseases unit. He was also a founding member of the
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Personal life
In 1953, he married Joan Handley, daughter of William Handley, a cutlery designer. Together they had four daughters.
Death
Dodu died in 2007 at the age of 82.
See also
*
University of Ghana Medical School
The University of Ghana Medical School also UGMS is the medical school of Ghana's first public research institution, the University of Ghana. It is currently located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The medical school was first plann ...
*
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodu, Silas
1924 births
2007 deaths
Alumni of Achimota School
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Ghanaian cardiologists
Ghanaian Presbyterians
Academic staff of the University of Ghana
20th-century Ghanaian educators
Osu Salem School alumni
Academic staff of the University of Ghana Medical School
Fellows of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences