Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)

Inspiring and Developing Young Academic Surgeons

AAS Member Spotlight for May 2021: Oluwadamilola “Lola” Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS

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Each month, the AAS Membership Committee presents the “Membership Spotlight” – an opportunity to introduce you to a member of your association.

Article by Jennifer Plichta, MD MS

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, and Director of the Durham VA Breast Clinic. Effective July 1, she will be the inaugural Helen O. Dickens Presidential Associate Professor of Surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Chief of Breast Surgery for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She will also be Surgical Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center and an Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) in the Abramson Cancer Center.

As an academic breast surgical oncologist, Dr. Fayanju’s research focuses on health disparities, aggressive breast cancer variants, and improving value in oncology. Her research is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and has been published in a variety of journals including Annals of Surgery, Cancer, and JAMA.

She received her undergraduate degree in History and Science, and an MA in Comparative Literature from Harvard. She received her MD and a master’s 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. In 2019, she was recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar.

Within the AAS, she has served on several committees, including the Publications Committee, Nominating Committee, and Membership Committee. She is also the current Society of Black Academic Surgeons representative to the AAS. In 2020, she had the honor of receiving the International Visiting Professorship Award from the AAS and West African College of Surgeons (WACS), and she attended the annual WACS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.

Jennifer Plichta

Jennifer Plichta

Dr. Jennifer Plichta is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Director of the Breast Risk Assessment Clinic at Duke University, where she cares for patients with breast cancer, benign breast problems, and those with an increased risk of breast cancer. Her clinical interests include establishing routine breast cancer risk assessment for women undergoing annual mammography and creating personalized management strategies for those found to be “high risk”. Dr. Plichta’s research focuses of identifying and managing women with risk factors for breast cancer, including those with genetic mutations, such as BRCA, those with abnormal breast biopsies, and those with a family history of breast cancer. She is also studying how breast cancer staging can be used to improve patient care and education. She was recently awarded grant funding from Color Genomics to perform genetic testing in a group of high risk patients. However, her dedication to breast cancer extends beyond her clinical and research interests. She also enjoys educating the community about breast cancer and helping to raise money for breast cancer research and education. She was the creator and primary coordinator of Duke’s free breast education day for the community, “What’s best for breasts?” which has expanded to include a quarterly education series.
Jennifer Plichta
Jennifer Plichta
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About Jennifer Plichta

Dr. Jennifer Plichta is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Director of the Breast Risk Assessment Clinic at Duke University, where she cares for patients with breast cancer, benign breast problems, and those with an increased risk of breast cancer. Her clinical interests include establishing routine breast cancer risk assessment for women undergoing annual mammography and creating personalized management strategies for those found to be “high risk”.

Dr. Plichta’s research focuses of identifying and managing women with risk factors for breast cancer, including those with genetic mutations, such as BRCA, those with abnormal breast biopsies, and those with a family history of breast cancer. She is also studying how breast cancer staging can be used to improve patient care and education. She was recently awarded grant funding from Color Genomics to perform genetic testing in a group of high risk patients.

However, her dedication to breast cancer extends beyond her clinical and research interests. She also enjoys educating the community about breast cancer and helping to raise money for breast cancer research and education. She was the creator and primary coordinator of Duke’s free breast education day for the community, “What’s best for breasts?” which has expanded to include a quarterly education series.