Meet Dr. Adebola Ajao, Deputy Director of Epidemiology and Founder of Empowering Initiatives LLC

Dr. Adebola Ajao has used her medical background to provide global health services and mentorship opportunities to advance young women’s professional goals.

By: Leila Olukoga, SemegaChange Inc.

What began with a college course on Epidemiology served as a catalyst for her career trajectory into the world of health science. Born in southern Nigeria, Dr. Adebola Ajao had several career interests but was deeply enamored by public and women’s health and its impacts on various populations.

Now serving as the Deputy Director of Epidemiology at the FDA, Dr. Ajao is a pharmacoepidemiologist and published author that has dedicated her career both to advancing national healthcare in epidemiological practice and mentoring young women in the medical field. Dr. Ajao received her Doctor of Philosophy in epidemiology from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in public health from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with a minor in Psychology from Purdue University.

“During my time at Boston University, I was engaged in a number of research projects and I really loved it,” Dr. Ajao said. “[Afterwards], I moved to Maryland, and I got a job at the University of Maryland doing HIV prevention and that took me back to Nigeria to work. That was one of the most amazing experiences, being in the field and really relating to the people that are affected by the epidemic and being able to make a difference in their lives.” 

Dr. Ajao said that her work inspired her to treat various populations and to serve as a role model to young women of color because of that lack of representation for her during her educational and professional careers.

“I think part of the challenge that I had professionally is that I never really found somebody who looked like me to look up to,” Dr. Ajao said. “Everybody that was my mentor was a male figure, and they were not black. In my journey, it was important to find another woman that you could look up to.” 

After publishing her book, Empowered Woman, in 2021, Dr. Ajao founded Empowering Initiatives LLC, a non-profit organization dedicated to uplifting women of color professionally in various sectors such as financial literacy and networking opportunities. Founded in 2022, Empowering Initiatives equips professional women to find their passion and walk in their purpose so they can maximize their highest potential and impact in service.

“[I wanted] to support other professional women that could be in the same position that I'm in with feeling stuck and trying to figure out how to navigate growth and really helping them, supporting them,” Dr. Ajao said. “Because who you are meant to be is already in you, what your passions are, what your strengths are, and how you can use that to serve.” 

Dr. Ajao hopes to delve further into drug safety research through her role at the FDA as well as grow Empowering Initiatives to expand its scope and impact for professional women to develop their careers across the globe. Specifically, Dr. Ajao hopes to hone her focus on Nigeria to launch women’s health initiatives dedicated to building and working with maternity homes and supplying prenatal vitamins to women. 

“One thing that I make sure that I make myself really accessible and really available to other young women in STEM that are also trying to navigate [their careers],” Dr. Ajao said. “I was once there, you know, and I'm still navigating that. Even for my events, I tailor it to women of African descent because I feel like that's the population that I think needs the support my organization provides.”

Dr. Ajao said that she hopes her work will continue to inspire and support young women in various health and professional sectors. 

“Sometimes it's easier when we see somebody who looks like us, because that rapport may be better initiated and better established, and that relationship could grow in a different way,” Dr. Ajao said. “I'm someone who likes to nurture, I'm someone who likes to mentor and so that [makes me] feel like I'm not just doing public health or just doing science, but I get to guide these young scientists too.”