CDU’S Omolola Ogunyemi Named to National Library of Medicine Board of Regents

Dr. Omolola Ogunyemi, Director of the CDU Center of Biomedical Informatics, was recently named to serve on the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
This is a full circle moment for Dr. Ogunyemi, as she received her very first R01 grant from the National Library of Medicine, which was instrumental in her getting her first promotion as an academic instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School to Assistant Professor.
“It is a tremendous honor and privilege to accept this nomination,” said Dr. Ogunyemi. “I couldn’t believe it at first.”
The NLM funded a grant that helped Dr. Ogunyemi to examine the role that machine learning can play for diabetic retinopathy detection in medically underserved settings. Dr. Ogunyemi has also previously served on NLM’s Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee, as well as, NLM’s Literature Selection Technical Review Committee.
She served as a faculty member in the Boston-area National Library of Medicine-funded biomedical informatics fellowship training program from 1999-2007 and was principal investigator on an NLM-funded R01 study of computerized decision support for penetrating trauma.
Most recently she delivered the NLM Ada Lovelace Lecture titled “Tackling Diabetic Retinopathy in a Safety Net Healthcare Setting with Telehealth and Machine Learning.”
“I will do my best to ensure that the needs of medically underserved communities continue to be taken into consideration in the NLM’s vast array of services, that attention is paid to literacy levels and community engagement as new products and services for lay audiences are rolled out,” Dr. Ogunyemi shared about taking on this new role.
The National Library of Medicine is the world’s largest biomedical library and a leader in research in computational health informatics.
NLM plays a pivotal role in translating biomedical research into practice. NLM’s research and information services support scientific discovery, health care, and public health.
NLM pioneers new ways to make biomedical data and information more accessible; builds tools for better data management and personal health; and helps create a more diverse and data-skilled workforce. NLM enables researchers, clinicians, and the public to use the vast wealth of biomedical data to improve health.