Keynote Speaker
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, MD, PhD
20th Annual NAPPSA Scientific Conference · September 17–20, 2026 · Hyatt Regency Aurora–Denver
At a Glance
Role: Surgeon-in-Chief, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, OH) — leading 11 surgical departments, among the largest pediatric surgery enterprises in the world.
Academic: Professor & E. Thomas Boles Jr. Chair of Pediatric Surgery, The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Signature achievement: Co-led a landmark in-utero operation to remove a fetal tumor and return the baby to the womb to complete the pregnancy.
Education: MD (valedictorian), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; PhD in Anatomy, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Honors: Nigeria’s National Order of Merit (2022); Denton A. Cooley Surgical Innovator Award; Molecular Surgeon Research Achievement Award.
About Dr. Olutoye
Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye is a world-renowned fetal and neonatal surgeon and the Surgeon-in-Chief at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he leads 11 surgical departments — one of the largest children’s hospital surgery enterprises in the world. He concurrently serves as Professor and the E. Thomas Boles Jr. Chair of Pediatric Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
He is celebrated globally for pioneering advances in fetal surgery, most notably co-leading a historic operation in which a baby was temporarily lifted from the womb to remove a massive tumor before being returned to complete the pregnancy — a feat that drew international acclaim. His research program spans scarless fetal wound healing, in-utero correction of severe congenital malformations, and the earlier detection of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.
A son of Nigeria, Dr. Olutoye graduated as class valedictorian from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, before earning a PhD in Anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University and completing fellowships in pediatric and fetal surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the West African College of Surgeons, and a past president of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society. In 2022, Dr. Olutoye received Nigeria’s National Order of Merit, the nation’s highest honor for academic and intellectual achievement.
His journey — from King’s College, Lagos and Ile-Ife to the leadership of a premier American surgical program — embodies exactly the diaspora excellence and global impact that NAPPSA exists to celebrate.
What to Expect from the Keynote
Dr. Olutoye’s address is centered on the conference theme:
“Globalizing Innovations in Healthcare: Bridging Science, Access, and Impact.”
- How bench-to-bedside surgical and pharmaceutical innovation can be made accessible across resource settings — the heart of bridging science, access, and impact.
- Lessons from building world-class clinical programs that the pharmacy and pharmaceutical-science community can apply to patient access and outcomes.
- The role of the African diaspora in driving healthcare innovation worldwide.
Watch Dr. Olutoye
Dr. Olutoye on his pioneering fetal surgery work.
The landmark in-utero operation, in his own words.
Secure your spot today. Join us in Denver to be inspired by one of the leading minds in global medicine — and to connect with peers across the pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Early registration is highly recommended.