2008 International Reunion Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient Citation
THE SCIENCES CATEGORY
Dr. Oluyinka O. Olutoye, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
The winner of the 2008 Great Ife Alumni Award for Excellence in the Sciences category is Dr.Oluyinka Olutoye. This award is in recognition of his remarkable achievements in the area of human fetal surgery, and outstanding contributions to his chosen career of Medicine.
Abridged Profile
Dr. Olutoye graduated from the Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife) with a M.B.Ch.B honors degree in 1988. He was the Valedictorian, Graduating Class of 1988 at the Obafemi Awolowo University Medical School, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye is a pediatric surgeon with a long-standing interest and experience in wound healing research. In collaboration with Shannon McCord MSN, WOCN and the wound care team at Texas Children’s Hospital, he cares for complex wounds in children from premature infants to adolescents.
Dr. Olutoye, the recipient of the prestigious James IV traveling fellowship, was described by the Association for Academic Surgery as an individual “who has made outstanding contributions to the art and science of surgery.” The James IV Association of Surgeons was founded in 1957 by three distinguished surgeons from England, Scotland and the United States so that surgeons from around the world could be brought together to exchange ideas and techniques regarding surgery.
Dr. Olutoye is amongst a rare breed of pediatric surgeons that operate on babies that are still in the womb of their mothers. Recently, Dr. Olutoye, a fetal surgeon operating under significant grace, was described by NBC News Dateline program as a “miracle worker operating where few have ever gone before.”
Most recently, CBS Evening News describing another rare fetal surgery that Dr. Olutoye conducted described it as “nothing short of a miracle” after Dr. Olutoye performed prenatal surgery to remove a grapefruit size tumor on the tailbone of a growing fetus in the womb of the mother
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/06/eveningnews/main4161410.shtml)
Dr. Olutoye is a distinguished academic and author and co-author of several medical publications, and is a tenured Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine. He is the recipient of numerous awards: he has being inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Educators; recipient of the Fulbright and Jaworski LLP Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluations; and recipient of the Molecular Surgeon Research Achievement Award.
A fellow of several medical bodies, Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye is a committed member of the Houston branch of the Great Ife Alumni Association. He is married to a Great Ife Alumna, Dr. Olutoyin Olutoye (nee Balogun) and they are blessed with two children.
By receiving this Award for Excellence, Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye is automatically inducted into the Great Ife Alumni Hall of Distinction.