Meet Oladele (Dickson) Owasoyo
Oladele (Dickson) Owasoyo, PhD, is the newest addition to the research team in the Hascup Labs, coming to the Smith Alzheimer’s Center at SIU Medicine after receiving his PhD in biology with focus on physiology at University of Benin in Nigeria, and then most recently a Masters in biology at Western Illinois University.
Q: What sparked your curiosity in neuroscience?
A: Right from my childhood, I have always loved to understand the delicate but complex and multi-functional nature of the human brain. Also, reading and hearing about neuroscience research, coupled with wondering about how surgeries are done on the brain despite its delicate nature ignited me into learning more about the brain, and thereby learning more about neuroscience.
I have also developed over the years love for those with neurodegenerative diseases and passion for its treatment and cure, hence, that has really encouraged me to further study neuroscience in order to figure out how I can contribute in the quest for their successful treatment and cure.
Q: What excites you about the future of neuroscience?
A: The use of stem cells to treat or cure neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Stem cells are one of the recent medical approaches used as a therapy to treat or cure diseases. It has the potential to be used to regenerate new cells and tissues in human brain or body which in the future may form a basis for treatment or permanent cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
With the help of funding from the National Institutes of Health and generous donations, and the effort of the brilliant medical professionals and scientists at SIU Medicine working in harmony to find treatment and cure to Alzheimer’s disease, coupled with the promising results we are currently seeing, I am certain we are making great strides to determine early biomarkers and novel treatments that have the potential to decrease the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.
Q: What’s your favorite piece of advice you’ve received?
A: Always set your goals and work towards achieving them. You may get tired on the way, but you just need to persevere and be encouraged.
