SAMUEL ACHILEFU AND HIS INVENTION
Samuel Achilefu is a Nigerian man, born in the mid-60’s who was forced to relocate from his comfortable home in Northern Nigeria when the Biafra war broke out. Samuel and his family relocated to the east in Nigeria carrying only their reputations with them. Motivated in those days by his father, a practicing medical doctor at the time, who unscripted on the wall of their new home that a good name could survive what wealth could not, Samuel aimed to help in eradicating cancer worldwide in order to build a name for himself.
Achilefu started his education in Nigeria and subsequently, received a French government scholarship to attend a graduate school in France and obtain a PhD. After his doctoral studies, Achilefu moved on to Oxford University as a research fellow before he finally ended up at the St. Louis Discovery Research Department at Mallinckrodt Medical Inc.
Achilefu’s invention, the goggles that can are able to identify cancer cells in a person’s bloodstream, operate in a dark room. The cells that are cancerous glow blue when viewed through the goggles, making it easy to identify even stray traces of tumors. In Jury of 2015, Achilefu was recognized for leading a team that developed high-tech goggles that helped surgeons “see” cancer with aSt. Louis Award from the Eric P. Newman Center.
Currently, he is working on a new method of tackling cancer that involves a “light-based therapy” that would be able to eliminate cells that are hidden deep in the tissue. Achilefu’s story is a motivating one for all of us who aspire to make a difference but have felt constrained at any point in time by money. For more on his inspiration and his work check out this link.