Taofeek K. Owonikoko, M.D., Ph.D.

Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, is the Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center and in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Owonikoko also serves as Associate Director for Translational Research and Co-Leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program at Hillman. He also holds the Stanley M. Marks – OHA Endowed Chair in Hematology/Oncology Leadership. Dr. Owonikoko also currently serves as Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Hematology and Oncology, leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program and co-leader of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He previously held the position of the Medical Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at Winship where he saw to the growth of the early phase clinical trials through the design and execution of innovative investigator-initiated trials and first-in-human trials in collaboration with pharmaceutical sponsors.

Dr. Owonikoko received his MBChB (MD equivalent) from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and his PhD from Heinrich Heine University in Germany. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University followed by residency in internal medicine at Drexel University. He also holds an M.S. in clinical research from Emory University. Dr. Owonikoko completed his hematology/oncology fellowship training at UPMC. Dr. Owonikoko has co-authored over 220 publications and serves on the editorial boards of several organizations. He has received numerous awards, including the Michaele C. Christian Oncology Development Lectureship and Award from the National Cancer Institute in 2020, the Heine Hansen Award for Small Cell Lung Cancer research from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the Leadership Development Program award from the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO). He began a four-year term on the ASCO Board of Directors in June 2021.