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Bennet Omalu

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Bennet Omalu
Omalu in 2016
Born(1968-09-30)September 30, 1968(age 56)[1]
Enugwu Ukwu,Anambra State, Nigeria
NationalityNigeria
United States
Alma materUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka(MBBS,1990)
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
(MPH, Epidemiology, 2004)
Carnegie Mellon University
(MBA, 2008)
OccupationDoctor
Known forResearch intochronic traumatic encephalopathyin American football players[2]
Notable workTruth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery About the Danger of Contact Sports
SpousePrema Mutiso
Children2
Websitewww.bennetomalu.com

Dr. Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu//ⓘ(born September 30, 1968[1]) is a Nigerian-Americanphysician,forensic pathologist,andneuropathologistwho was the first to discover and publish findings onchronic traumatic encephalopathy(CTE) inAmerican footballplayers while working at theAllegheny County coroner's officeinPittsburgh.[2]He later became the chiefmedical examinerforSan Joaquin County, California,and is a professor at theUniversity of California, Davis,department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine.[3]He is currently the president and medical director of Bennet Omalu Pathology.[4]

Early life

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Omalu is ofIgboancestry, and was born inEnugwu Ukwu,Njikoka,Anambrain southeasternNigeriaon September 30, 1968,[1]the sixth of seven siblings. He was born during theNigerian Civil War,which caused his family to flee from their home in the predominantIgbovillage ofEnugwu-Ukwuin southeastern Nigeria. They returned two years after Omalu's birth.[5]Omalu's mother was aseamstressand his father a civilmining engineerand community leader in Enugwu-Ukwu. The family name, Omalu, is a shortened form of the surname, Onyemalukwube, which translates to "he who knows, should speak."[5]

Education and career

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Omalu beganprimary schoolat age 6, and earned entrance into theFederal Government College Enugufor secondary school. He attended medical College and graduated at 21 from theUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka.After graduation with aBachelor of Medicine and Surgery(MBBS) in June 1990, he completed a clinical internship, followed by three years of service work doctoring in the highland city ofJos.[6]He became disillusioned with Nigeria after presidential candidateMoshood Abiolafailed to win the Nigerian presidency during aninconclusive electionin 1993[5]and began to search for scholarship opportunities in the United States. Omalu first arrived inSeattle,Washington in 1994 to complete anepidemiologyfellowship at theUniversity of Washington.[7]In 1995, he left Seattle forNew York City,where he joinedColumbia University'sHarlem Hospital Centerfor a residency training program inanatomicandclinical pathology.[8]

Omalu holds seven advanced degrees andboard certifications,[9]and later received fellowships in forensic pathology and neuropathology from theUniversity of Pittsburghin 2000 and 2002 respectively, amaster of public health(MPH) in epidemiology in 2004 fromUniversity of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health,and amaster of business administration(MBA) fromTepper School of BusinessatCarnegie Mellon Universityin 2008.[10][11]

Omalu served as chiefmedical examinerofSan Joaquin County, Californiafrom 2007 until he resigned in 2017 after accusing thecounty's sheriffSteve Moore, who doubles as coroner, of repeatedly interfering with death investigations to protect law enforcement officers who killed people.[4]An assistant forensic pathologist who joined the office for the opportunity to work with Omalu resigned a few days earlier, citing similar allegations.[12]

Omalu is a volunteer associate clinical professor at theUniversity of California, Davis(UCD) Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.[11]

Research

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

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Omalu's autopsy of formerHall of FamePittsburgh SteelersplayerMike Websterin 2002 led to the re-emergence of awareness of a neurologic condition associated with chronic head trauma calledchronic traumatic encephalopathy,or CTE, which had been previously described in boxers[13]and other professional athletes. Webster had died suddenly and unexpectedly following years of struggling with cognitive and intellectual impairment, destitution, mood disorders, depression, drug abuse, and suicide attempts. Although Webster's brain looked normal at autopsy, Omalu conducted independent and self-financed tissue analyses.[14]He suspected that Webster suffered fromdementia pugilistica,a form ofdementiainduced by repeated blows to the head, a condition found previously in boxers. Using specialized staining, Omalu found large accumulations oftau proteinin Webster's brain, which affect mood, emotions, andexecutive functionssimilar to the way that clumps ofbeta-amyloid proteincontribute toAlzheimer's disease.[14]

Together with colleagues in the department of pathology at theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Omalu published his findings in the journalNeurosurgeryin 2005 in a paper entitled, "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player." In it, Omalu called for further study of the disease: "We herein report the first documented case of long-term neurodegenerative changes in a retired professional NFL player consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This case draws attention to a disease that remains inadequately studied in the cohort of professional football players, with unknown true prevalence rates."[15]Omalu believed theNational Football League(NFL) doctors would be "pleased" to read it and that his research could be used to "fix the problem."[14]The paper received little attention initially, but members of the NFL'smild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) committeelater called for its retraction in May 2006.[16]Their letter requesting the retraction characterized Omalu's description of CTE as "completely wrong" and called the paper "a failure."[5]

Omalu later partnered with Julian Bailes, a neurosurgeon, concussion researcher, and then chairman of the department of neurosurgery atWest Virginia University School of Medicine,and West Virginia attorney Robert P. Fitzsimmons to fund theBrain Injury Research Institutewhich established a brain and tissue bank.[5]

In November 2006, Omalu published a secondNeurosurgerypaper based on his findings in the brain of former NFL playerTerry Long,who suffered from depression, and died by suicide in 2005.[17]Though Long died at 45, Omalu foundtau proteinconcentrations more consistent with "a 90-year-old brain with advanced Alzheimer's."[14]As with Mike Webster, Omalu asserted that Long's football career had caused later brain damage and depression.[18]Omalu also found evidence of CTE in the brains of retired NFL playersJustin Strzelczyk(d. 2004 at 36 years old),Andre Waters(d. 2006 at 44), andTom McHale(d. 2008 at 45).

In summer 2007, Bailes presented his and Omalu's findings to NFL CommissionerRoger Goodellat a league-wide concussion summit. Bailes later said that the research was "dismissed". The NFL's MTBI committee chair,Dr. Ira Casson,told the press: "In my opinion, the only scientifically valid evidence of a chronic encephalopathy in athletes is in boxers and in some Steeplechase jockeys."[16]

The NFL did not publicly acknowledge the link between concussions sustained in football and long-term neurological effects until December 2009,[16]seven years after Omalu's discovery. However, as late as 2013, the annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) included a debate between two sports concussion experts regarding the validity (or existence) of CTE.[19]Finally, in March 2016, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety policy, Jeff Miller, testified before congress that the NFL now believed that there was a link between football and CTE.[20]In 2016, the American Medical Association awarded Omalu with their highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, for his work on CTE.[21]

Omalu also discovered CTE in the brains of military veterans, publishing the first documented case in a November 2011 article.[22]Omalu found evidence of CTE in a 27-year-oldIraq Warveteran who suffered frompost-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) and later died by suicide.[23]Omalu's paper links PTSD to the CTE spectrum of diseases and calls for further study.

Omalu was the lead author in a study published in November 2017[24]that for the first time confirmed CTE in a living person. A chemicaltracer,FDDNP, binds to tau proteins, detectable bypositron emission tomography,and associated with the distinctive topographical distributions characteristic of CTE. Tested on at least a dozen former NFL players, it was confirmed postmortem in former linebackerFred McNeill.[25]

Konstantine Kyros, an attorney who represented over 60professional wrestlersin aclass actionlawsuit againstWWE,claimed that Omalu posthumously diagnosed six wrestlers Kyros represented with CTE.[26]

Other

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In March 2018, Omalu conducted an independentautopsyof Stephon Clark, whohad been shotbySacramentoPolice officers.[27][28][29]On March 30, he released his findings, stating that Clark had been shot eight times from the back or side, adding, "You could reasonably conclude that he received seven gunshot wounds from his back."[30][31]TheSacramento Countycoroner published an autopsy that said Omalu's autopsy was "erroneous" and that a review does "not support the assertion that Clark was shot primarily from behind". According to the coroner, Clark was shot seven times. The examination was conducted by Dr. Keng-Chih Su, reviewed by three county pathologists, and independently reviewed by aPlacer Countyforensic pathologist.[32]Omalu said he was standing "firmly in defense" of his findings.[33]

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Concussion,book and film, and NFL controversy

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See also:Concussion(2015 film)

Omalu's efforts to study and publicize CTE in the face of NFL opposition were reported in aGQmagazine article in 2009 by journalistJeanne Marie Laskas.[14]The article was later expanded by Laskas into a book,Concussion(Penguin Random House, 2015), and adapted into a dramafilm of the same name.In the film, Omalu, portrayed byWill Smith,is the central character. Although the film claims merely to be "based on real events", it has been criticized for inaccuracies.[34][35]Nevertheless, the movie's production led to the creation of a foundation named after Omalu to advance CTE and concussion research.[36]

A January 2020 article[37]byWill Hobson,published inThe Washington Post,contended that Omalu "routinely exaggerates his accomplishments and dramatically overstates the known risks of CTE and contact sports, fueling misconceptions about the disease, according to interviews with more than 50 experts in neurodegenerative disease and brain injuries, and a review of more than 100 papers from peer-reviewed medical journals." Further, "Omalu did not discover CTE, nor did he name the disease. The alarming statistics he recites about contact sports are distorted, according to the author of the studies that produced those figures. And while Omalu cultivates a reputation as the global authority on CTE, it's unclear whether he is diagnosing it correctly, according to several experts on the disease.".[37]On January 28, 2020 Omalu released a rebuttal titled "We are Becoming a Nation of Lies"[38]to theWashington Postarticle. He also responded with a statement, titled "Top 10 Lies Behind the Washington Post's Personal Attack on Dr. Bennet Omalu" on his website.[39]

Omalu's book,Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports,was published in August 2017 byHarperCollins.[40][41]He previously wrote,Play Hard, Die Young: Football Dementia, Depression, and Death,published in 2008.[42]

Other

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In September 2016, Omalu attracted media attention when he suggested onTwitterthatHillary Clintonwas possibly poisoned and advised members of herpresidential campaignto "perform toxicologic analysis of Ms. Clinton's blood." He further tweeted, "I do not trust Mr.Putinand Mr.Trump.With those two, all things are possible. "[43]

Personal life

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Omalu is married to Prema Mutiso, originally fromKenya.They live inElk Grove, Californiaand have two children, Ashly and Mark.[5]He is a practicingCatholicand became anaturalized U.S. citizenin February 2015.[44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abc"About Bennet Omalu"Archived2019-01-06 at theWayback Machine,Bennet Omalu Foundation website.
  2. ^abLaskas, Jeanne Marie(24 November 2015)."The Doctor the NFL Tried to Silence".The Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 25 November 2015.Retrieved25 November2015.
  3. ^"Dr. Who Inspired Will Smith Film Speaks At UC Davis Commencement".Patch Media.14 May 2019.Retrieved5 November2019.
  4. ^abSmall, Julie (December 4, 2017)."Autopsy Doctor Resigns, Says Sheriff Overrode Death Findings to Protect Officers".KQED.Retrieved2017-12-11.
  5. ^abcdefLaskas, Jeanne Marie (2015-11-24).Concussion.Random House Trade Paperbacks.ISBN9780812987577.
  6. ^Knowledge Bylanes (2019-06-02)."Bennet Omalu: US-Based Nigerian Forensic Pathologist, Neuropathologist".Gale Onefile.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  7. ^AYODALE BRAIMAH (2016-05-16)."BENNET IFEAKANDU OMALU (1968- )".Black past.Retrieved2024-06-12.
  8. ^"Meet Dr. Bennet Omalu, The Nigerian Immigrant whose Brilliant Discovery Inspired the Hollywood Blockbuster" Concussion "".Africans Abroad.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-07-07.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  9. ^IFV 2013 Dr. Bennet Omalu on CTE and Brain Injuries - YouTube
  10. ^"CV: Bennet Omalu",UC Davis Medical Center
  11. ^ab"Bennet Omalu, M.D., M.B.A., MPH, CPE, DABP-AP, CP, FP, NP".University of California, Davis Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2017.Retrieved1 September2015.
  12. ^Small, Julie (November 27, 2017)."Autopsy Doctor Quits, Alleges Sheriff Interfered in Death Probes".KQED.Retrieved2017-12-11.
  13. ^Sabharwal RK, Sanchetee PC, Sethi PK, Dhamija RM. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in boxers. J Assoc Physicians India. 1987 Aug;35(8):571-3.
  14. ^abcdeLaskas, Jeanne Marie."Game Brain: Football Players and Concussions".GQ.Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2015.Retrieved9 November2015.
  15. ^Omalu, Bennet I.; DeKosky, Steven T.; Minster, Ryan L.; Kamboh, M. Ilyas; Hamilton, Ronald L.; Wecht, Cyril H. (2005-07-01). "Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a National Football League player".Neurosurgery.57(1): 128–134, discussion 128–134.doi:10.1227/01.neu.0000163407.92769.ed.ISSN1524-4040.PMID15987548.S2CID196391183.
  16. ^abc"Timeline: The NFL's Concussion Crisis – League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis - FRONTLINE".FRONTLINE.PBS.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  17. ^Galgano, Michael A; Cantu, Robert; Chin, Lawrence S (2016-03-01)."Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: The Impact on Athletes".Cureus.8(3): e532.doi:10.7759/cureus.532.ISSN2168-8184.PMC4831982.PMID27088064.
  18. ^Omalu, Bennet I.; DeKosky, Steven T.; Hamilton, Ronald L.; Minster, Ryan L.; Kamboh, M. Ilyas; Shakir, Abdulrezak M.; Wecht, Cyril H. (2006-11-01). "Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a national football league player: part II".Neurosurgery.59(5): 1086–1092, discussion 1092–1093.doi:10.1227/01.NEU.0000245601.69451.27.ISSN1524-4040.PMID17143242.S2CID7460284.
  19. ^"Sports concussions debate: Does CTE really exist?".Science Daily.Loyola University Health System. June 19, 2013.
  20. ^Belson, Ken; Schwarz, Alan (2016-03-15)."N.F.L. Shifts on Concussions, and Game May Never Be the Same".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2018-01-03.
  21. ^"Physician who discovered CTE in NFL players gets AMA's highest honor".American Medical Association.12 November 2016.Retrieved2020-02-06.
  22. ^Omalu, Bennet; Hammers, Jennifer L.; Bailes, Julian; Hamilton, Ronald L.; Kamboh, M. Ilyas; Webster, Garrett; Fitzsimmons, Robert P. (2011-11-01). "Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in an Iraqi war veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder who committed suicide".Neurosurgical Focus.31(5): E3.doi:10.3171/2011.9.FOCUS11178.ISSN1092-0684.PMID22044102.
  23. ^Deng, Hansen; Ordaz, Angel; Upadhyayula, Pavan S; Gillis-Buck, Eva M; Suen, Catherine G; Melhado, Caroline G; Mohammed, Nebil; Lam, Troy; Yue, John K (2018-09-01)."Apolipoprotein E Epsilon 4 Genotype, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, and the Development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy".Medical Sciences.6(3): E78.doi:10.3390/medsci6030078.ISSN2076-3271.PMC6163513.PMID30223506.
  24. ^Omalu, Bennet; et al. (2017)."Postmortem Autopsy-Confirmation of Antemortem [F-18]FDDNP-PET Scans in a Football Player With Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy"(PDF).Neurosurgery.82(2): 237–246.doi:10.1093/neuros/nyx536.PMC6685403.PMID29136240.
  25. ^Kounang, Nadia (November 16, 2017)."Ex-NFL player confirmed as 1st case of CTE in living patient. He resigned his coroner position in 2017".CNN.Retrieved2017-12-11.
  26. ^Trammell, Kendall; Riess, Rebekah (May 21, 2019)."Ex-WWE star Ashley Massaro's brain could be donated to research".CNN.RetrievedMay 23,2019.
  27. ^Robles, Frances; Real, Jose A. Del (2018-03-30)."Stephon Clark Was Shot 8 Times Primarily in His Back, Family-Ordered Autopsy Finds".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  28. ^Dakin Andone; Nicole Chavez (30 March 2018)."Stephon Clark was shot by police 8 times -- 6 of them in the back, pathologist says".CNN.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  29. ^Amick, Christal Hayes and Sam."Stephon Clark shot 8 times, mostly in back, independent autopsy finds".USA TODAY.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  30. ^"Stephon Clark shot 8 times, mostly in back, independent autopsy finds".USA TODAY.Retrieved2018-04-01.
  31. ^Robles, Frances; Real, Jose A. Del (2018-03-30)."Stephon Clark Was Shot 8 Times Primarily in His Back, Family-Ordered Autopsy Finds".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2018-04-01.
  32. ^Miller, Nick; Moffitt, Bob (1 May 2018)."Sacramento Police Release Stephon Clark Autopsy, Calls Family Private Findings 'Erroneous'".Capital Public Radio.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2018.
  33. ^"Doctor defends autopsy of California police shooting victim".The Associated Press.3 May 2018.
  34. ^Engber, Daniel (December 21, 2015)."Concussion Lies:The film about the NFL's apparent CTE epidemic feeds the pervasive national myths about head trauma. ".Slate.
  35. ^"'Concussion' Subject Bennet Omalu Exaggerated His Role, Researchers Say".CBS New York.December 17, 2015.
  36. ^"About the Foundation | Bennet Omalu Foundation".bennetomalufoundation.org.Retrieved2015-12-25.
  37. ^abHobson, Will (January 22, 2020)."From scientist to salesman: How Bennet Omalu, doctor ofConcussionfame, built a career on distorted science ".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2020.Retrieved22 January2020.
  38. ^Omalu, Bennet (January 28, 2020)."We are Becoming a Nation of Lies"(PDF).
  39. ^Omalu, Bennet (4 February 2020)."Top 10 Lies Behind the Washington Post's Personal Attack on Dr. Bennet Omalu"(PDF).
  40. ^Peterson, Gary (August 24, 2017)."Why it took a foreign-born doctor to blow the whistle on the NFL's concussion epidemic".Bay Area News Group.
  41. ^Almond, Elliott (August 25, 2017)."Concussiondoc's six sports kids should never play ".Bay Area News Group.
  42. ^"Play Hard, Die Young".www.goodreads.com.Retrieved2020-05-30.
  43. ^Boren, Cindy."The man who discovered CTE thinks Hillary Clinton may have been poisoned".The Washington Post.Retrieved2016-09-13.
  44. ^"Bennet Omalu Foundation launches in Pittsburgh".Pittsburgh City Paper.Retrieved2016-01-05.
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