Tolullah "Tolu" Oni (born 1980) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

urban

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She is a

NextEinstein The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a tertiary education and research institute in Muizenberg, South Africa, established in September 2003, and an associated network of linked institutes in Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzan ...

Forum Fellow and

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

Young Global Leader.

Early life and education

Oni was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. At the age of seven Oni watched a documentary about cardiac surgery and wanted to become a pediatric cardiac surgeon. She attended boarding school. She trained in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

with

international health International health, also called ''geographic medicine'', '' international medicine'', or ''global health'', is a field of health care, usually with a public health emphasis, dealing with health across regional or national boundaries. One subset ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in 2001. She completed house jobs in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and became interested in

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

. She was made president of the Medical Students' Union. Oni was a doctoral student at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, where she started to study health outcomes. She explored how social determinants impacted health conditions, and finished her PhD in 2012. Oni was awarded the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Medical Student Elective Prize, and moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Research and career

Oni worked in

, where she established an interdisciplinary program ''Research Initiative for Cities Health and Equity'' (RICHE) at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 2007. RICHE works on urban health, identifying opportunities to implement

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

policies in fast growing cities. She worked as a registrar in the

Western Cape Department of Health The Western Cape Department of Health is a department of the Government of the Western Cape, responsible for providing public healthcare to the population of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The political head of the department is the ...

. She became interested in interventions that can manage chronic infections and non-communicable diseases. Oni was made a senior lecturer at the

. Here, she developed the

's first undergraduate degree in global health, which launched in 2014. The course created by Oni is one of the first to teach global health from the perspective of the

Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...

. She moved to the

, where she joined the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit as a senior research fellow. Here she is a member of the Global Diet and Activity Research Group and Network (GDAR) network, which works to prevent non-communicable diseases in

low-income countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

Public engagement and policy

Oni has presented at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, 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 ...

and

. Onu is a board of Future Earth and the

African Academy of Sciences The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and ...

platform for open research. Oni is a Fellow of the

, and was elected a Fellow of

in 2015 and the Stellenbosch University Institute for Advanced Study in 2017. She was elected one of the Co-Chairs of the

Global Young Academy The Global Young Academy is an international society of young scientists, aiming to give a voice to young scientists across the globe.... Membership strength is capped at 200, and the membership tenure is 5 years. Organization and membership Th ...

in 2018. Oni serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Urban Health and

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

Planetary Health Planetary health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends". In 2015, the Rockefeller Foundation and ''The Lancet'' launched the concept as the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on ...

. She has written for The Conversation. Oni serves as a judge for the

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

Inspiring Science Award.

Awards and honours

* 2013 Elected to the South African Young Academy of Science * 2014 Young Physicians Leadership Programme by the Inter-Academy Medical Panel * 2019

Young Global Leader

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oni, Tolullah Academics of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Alumni of University College London Alumni of Imperial College London 1980 births People from Lagos Nigerian epidemiologists Living people British women epidemiologists