Alumni Profile – meet Adetoun Sodimu, MPH, MBA

July 23, 2019 • Uncategorized

By Sally Crocker

Adetoun SodimuA 2013 UNTHSC MPH-Epidemiology graduate, Sodimu serves as Clinical Research Manager at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. In this position, she oversees pulmonary disease clinical trials, mainly involving rare lung diseases.

Over the three-plus years she has worked for UT Southwestern, Sodimu has also held positions as a Clinical Data Specialist and Research Study Coordinator.

How did UNTHSC prepare her for the work she’s doing now?

“The MPH degree helped me in understanding study protocols, reviewing study data and effectively managing projects,” she says. “Most importantly, I was able to appreciate the significance of paying attention to details, being aware of possible biases and confounders that could compromise data integrity and possible ways to prevent or minimize them.”

Two experiences helped lead her to UNTHSC to pursue a public health degree.

As an undergraduate working on her BS in Zoology, Sodimu’s final thesis focused on intestinal parasites found in South West Nigerian school children. As her interest in the children grew, so did her interest in the general state of the environment. Later, after graduation, she volunteered with a not-for-profit organization serving a population at risk for sexually transmitted disease.

“Both experiences confirmed my passion for public health, specifically epidemiology. UNTHSC seemed the best fit for me when I decided to pursue my passion,” she says.

Her advice for current students: “Be open, be flexible and be eager! The research world is filled with opportunities that you may never know existed until you venture into them. My passion started with field epidemiology, from pre-graduate school experiences, moved on to data analysis during my graduate program, and finally settled on clinical research after graduation. I am still serving the same purpose but in different capacities. Each experience has contributed to who I am today, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.”