Meet the Anambra-born medical doctor who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players.
By Orji, Somtoochukwu
20 March 2022
Anambra has produced brains that are lighting the world from different angles. A good number of Anambra people have been making the world brighter even in the diaspora. We have always been living up to the name Light of the Nation. One of such brains is Dr. Benneth Omalu.
Dr. Benneth Ifekandu Omalu is an illustrious son of Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka’s local government area, Anambra state. He was born to Pa John Donatus Amaechi Omalu in September 1968. His father worked as a civil mining engineer and his mother was a seamstress. He had a part of his early life in Enugu. He attended Federal Government College, Enugu. When he was just 16, he proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to study Medicine and Surgery. After his internship, he started working as a physician in the Northern part of the country. Dr. Omalu moved to the United States of America in 1994. He went to the University of Washington for his fellowship in Epidemiology.
The Anambra-born medical practitioner is not only a physician but is also a scholar. He bagged seven advanced degrees in the medical world. He became a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California.
His passion and zeal for medicine has taken him far and wide where his impact on human health is felt.
Dr. Omalu was the first person to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players. He recognized the existence of tau proteins in the players. This discovery was made when Mike Webster, a player with Pittsburgh Steelers died. The pathologist, Dr. Omalu discovered the presence of CTE in the footballer’s brain tissue.
The physician, pathologist, and neuropathologist is a well-known figure in the field of his work. The discovery was credited to him and this brought him before the whole world.
He published his discovery and it was acted as a movie that featured personalities like Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and so many others.
The Nigerian medical doctor in the diaspora is an American citizen by naturalization. He is married to Prema Mutiso and they are blessed with two children. He also has some books to his credit.
