A big Congratulations
There are probably not many people who can say they are members in good standing with both the Georgia Bar Association and the Georgia State Board of Dentistry, but Kalu U.E. Ogbureke can.
The Medical College of Georgia researcher worked toward his law degree from Suffolk University in Boston while also completing a doctorate in oral biology from Harvard University, where he was also completing a residency in oral and maxillofacial pathology. The way he decided to do it makes it sound reasonable.
"I had completed the residency requirements and all of the training rotations, and I had gotten significantly ahead of the timetable on my lab work," Ogbureke said. "So I began to ask myself what I was going to be doing for the next two years. Am I just going to be writing the thesis and writing the papers? So I decided to apply to law school."
He read his case law commuting on the train between school and lab, and by the time he had his doctorate he had only one more year to go for his law degree.
He has a simple explanation for how he pulled it off.
"It taught me a lesson fundamentally in time management," Ogbureke said. "I realized that there was a lot of time to use for the things that we wanted to do that we often are not quite mindful of."
That was not the end of his academic career. He has earned so many degrees and certificates that he was stumped recently trying to come up with the exact number.
"I tend to lose count," he admitted sheepishly.
All of that studying has given him a solid base to pursue research into cancer and the potential role of a family of proteins (appropriately called Sibling proteins) in the spread of cancer. Ogbureke recently published a study in the journal Cancer on two of those proteins and their role in oral cancer lesions.
When a clinician finds a lesion that has yet to turn cancerous, it becomes a guessing game, he said.
"We don't have any means of knowing which lesion will progress and which won't," Ogbureke said. "The problem is not identifying potential lesions. It is identifying those with the highest propensity to progress."
To just go ahead and cut out the lesion presents its own problems and causes damage, he said. About 59 percent of all patients with oral and pharyngeal cancers survive five years or more, and more than 50 percent of those whose cancer comes back die, statistics show.
"That emphasizes the urgency to identify biomarkers that more precisely or even uniquely identify lesions that will ultimately progress and segregate those from lesions that will not," Ogbureke said.
In looking at oral cancer patients and others with lesions, the Cancer study showed that those precancerous lesions expressing a particular Sibling protein were four times more likely to progress to cancer. In contrast, another Sibling protein indicated a decreased likelihood of becoming cancer, Ogbureke said.
The proteins could not only serve as an important clue about who should get surgery but might also make good targets for chemotherapy drugs, he said.
While he is making good use of his dental and scientific training, the law career has yet to flourish -- mainly for a lack of time -- except in the area of forensic science. Ogbureke was an invited member of a team from the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences who performed an autopsy in an internationally known murder case in Liberia.
Meideh "Angel" Togba, 13, was found hanging in a relative's house, and one of the first two autopsies concluded she had been strangled and assaulted. Her caretakers were charged with murder, and the U.S. team was called in to help. Their autopsy found no evidence of strangling or assault.
"We concluded that she committed suicide," Ogbureke said.
Growing up in Nigeria, it had been his childhood dream to be a lawyer.
"My family did not quite encourage me to do that," Ogbureke said. "I come from a strong Christian home, and at that time there was this misconception about lawyers, not being truthful people. The natural default was either to go to medical school or go to dental school."
Now health law or more forensic science could become one more thing he adds to his already busy schedule.
"We try to stay busy," he said jokingly. "I'm told that's one way to stay out of trouble."
AGE: 54
POSITION: Associate professor in the Department of Oral Biology, Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry
EDUCATION: Dental degree from University of Ibadan School of Dentistry, Nigeria; master's degree in medical science, University of Glasgow, Scotland; doctor of medical sciences, Harvard University; law degree from Suffolk University School of Law, Boston; clinical specialty certificate in oral and maxillofacial pathology, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine; fellowship in dental surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England; graduate certificate in the business of medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; research fellow, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health
FAMILY: Wife, Dr. Ezinne Ogbureke; children, Chinasa, 17, Kalu Jr., 16, Amanda, 10, and David, 5
Comments
A big Congratulations
He can pull out the wrong tooth and say, "So sue me."
There must be some sort of financial incentive offered by the government for someone from a foreign country to come to the United States and pursue so much education. The Government education funding source is threatening to follow me to the grave because I am having difficulty repaying student loans because of my employment situation, and what is so bad is I have not yet completed my bachelor's degree. The federsl government has given Sallie Mae and all other student financial aid providers power to pursue and harass one to the ends of the earth.So while I commend this man on all his academic accomplishments, he is either deeply in debt, comes from a very wealthy family, or there is a government program that promotes free education to foreigners.
The smartest person for a particular job is usually not the one doing the job.
The only thing left for Mr. Ogbureke is to go to Theology school and become an ordained minister.
Sometimes I am so ashamed to live in Augusta. These comments here betray the ignorance, racism, and xenophobia that still exist in this town. Do you realize that this is exactly how people around the country continue to think about the South?
Dr. Ogbureke clearly worked extremely hard to get where he is. I have worked with him personally in the past and he is a very kind man. You disparage him for being from another country, but I guarantee you would be singing his praises if you really knew the kind of research he is doing and how it might affect your family.
His work on cancer may allow physicians in THIS country to be more precise in removing cancer and being sure they removed it all (Google his papers on SIBLINGS research if you don't believe me). If your spouse or child were one day helped by this, would you still be so judgmental?
Thank you Dr. Ogburke for the good work that you do in this city and please do not think these ignorant few speak for all of us.
If you look at the caption you will see bad grammar. Maybe he can teach English to AC's writers
Just a cotton picking minute there, MedCollege guy 64. No one disparaged Dr. Ogburke personally or made any hint of a racist post. I made a good natured joke about him pulling the wrong tooth. Another poster questioned how someone from another country could have found a way to acquire so much education when he, himself, was in debt from student loans.
This is exactly what the poster said: "So while I commend this man on all his academic accomplishments, he is either deeply in debt, comes from a very wealthy family, or there is a government program that promotes free education to foreigners."
For you to call these posters ignorant and say they are racist shows you didn't read the comments very well. You could have presented a better argument to show your loyalty to this energetic person you have worked with. We all wish him well in his research and personally.
Like medcollegeguy 64, I say a big kudos to this guy.
This is highly commendable.
Unfortunately bigotry (especially in the south) will never go away completely but certainly hard work will always be recognized by any right thinking persons.
Thankfully not all southerners are racist bigots.
This is a guy worth emulating in my humble opinion.
I smell a tinge of jealousy somewhere.It's not too late for anyone who feels challenged to send their applications into Harvard and the various other institutions Mr Ogburke graduated from and "try their luck"
Truth456, nice to see a "newcomer" to the boards. Welcome. I always pay attention to someone posting for the first time. I'm sorry I don't agree with medcollegeguy64's viewpoint and you do for your first post. It's also interesting that you both find fault with the South. Smile. Again, no one slammed the good doctor, read the comments again like I said earlier.
Riverman1, "themaninthemirror" also said:
"There must be some sort of financial incentive offered by the government for someone from a foreign country to come to the United States and pursue so much education."
I just wonder if people would still have remarks like these if Dr. Ogbuke was a good old boy from Georgia. The statement I quoted above is a backhanded way of trying to take credit away from this guy's hard work because he is from another country. I have no idea how he financed his education, but neither does the other poster. To insinuate that he was somehow getting a free ride because he is a "foreigner" is just too much.
That's the kind of talk that I was referring to. The AC article is talking about how amazing it is that this guy has accomplished as much as he has. And the last time I checked, Harvard isn't exactly a diploma mill. This guy worked hard. And he seems to be using it to help people by doing important cancer research. Can't we just say, "Nice job, Dr. Ogburke" instead of "Oh, I bet he got all kinds of money because he's a foreigner".
That smacks of xenophobia. And would people use labels like "foreigner" and question how he did this if he was a white guy from Britain? That's what makes me wonder about race in the equation. Not that the comment was overtly racist, but that I don't think we would say the same if Dr. O was white.
I'm saying that if Augusta wants people to have a little higher opinion of it, it might help to have a little more constructive dialogue about a successful guy who doesn't happen to be from here.
AND after seven years in this country he has most likely become an American citizen. He could run for public office and become your next Governor, and wouldn't it be nice to have someone in office with that kind of an education? In terms of money the median salary in Atlanta for dentists is $134,444; dental professors $117,299; and for lawyers $114,585. Apparently it pays to get an education.
This guy has 13 papers on PubMed covering 6 years; more than 2 papers per year average.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Kalu%20U.E.%20Ogbureke
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