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How I got my doctorate at age 24 – Alexander Oladele
By Ayo Onikoyi
There are many Nigerians in Diaspora who have distinguished themselves remarkably in their chosen fields of human endeavours and undoubtedly, Nigerian US-based Alexander Oladele is one of them.
He was born in Nigeria but moved to the United States of America by the age of six. He grew up in New Jersey and attended Howard University.
By the age of 24 he has got his doctorate in pharmacy but that is not all about him as there are other feats that could be credited to him. In this interview he speaks with AYO ONIKOYI on his life, career and passions. Excerpt:
Who are you and what do you do?
Currently, I am a pharmacist. I obtained my doctorate at the age of 24 and right now works as a medical science liaison for a major pharmaceutical company. After I obtained my doctorate at the age of 24 I did some additional post doctoral training (3 years in total) to have my current role.
Can you give us full details of your educational background?
I attended Howard university, where I began undergrad in 2008 and majored in biochemistry. After 2 years of undergrad, I was accepted to the pharmacy program at Howard University College of Pharmacy and began in Fall of 2010. I was in pharmacy school for four years and obtained my doctorate in May of 2014. Following completion, I was accepted to PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Howard University Hospital where I completed one year of general residency. This was from 2014-2015. Following this, I was accepted into the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program, a prestigious program that helps post doctorals transition into careers in the pharmaceutical industry. During that time (2015-2017) I was a medical research and strategy fellow while serving as an adjunct faculty at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy over at Rutgers University
What do you do presently?
I’m currently a Senior Medical Science Liaison for Astellas Pharmaceuticals. In my role, I am a scientific resource to Doctors and other healthcare professionals where I help to ensure the safe and effective use of drugs. The cornerstone of my role as a medical science liaison is to build relationships with members of the medical community and be available for any questions regarding the safe and effective use of drugs.
Are there other things you do aside being a medical science liaison to Estella’s Pharm?
I’m the founder of Reseau Docteur Inc., a 501c(3) non profit organization that began in August of 2015. The company began as a way to highly minority professionalism and excellence via social media outlets and now is a media page for inspired members to the global community. One year into the company being founded, we started National Mentorship programs via Webinar based discussions where students interested in the medical and legal fields would join an 8-10 week program that provide some important topics needed for success. These topics were led and presented by professionals within the Reseau Docteur Network. Following the program, the students would receive a certificate of completion.
What about other interests?
I have a passion for travel and in 2018 I started a travel company for me and my friends called JetBlack Travel Group. What inspired this was the need for more African Americans to gain exposure to countries all over the world by way of group travel. Jetblack Travel Group now curates trips and life changing experiences for anyone interested in immersing themselves and learning about cultures outside of the US. Jetblack Travel Group has curated trips to: Ghana; South Africa; Spain; Morocco; Bali; Colombia; Cuba; Thailand and Jamaica. Speaking more about the JetBlack Travel experience. One of the reasons that makes it possible to do this is understanding the value of relationships. We typically take people to countries we’ve never been before as a team but because we know people in those countries or people who know people in that area, we are able to curate a wide range of activities for our travelers all by networking.
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