Abba
Nigerian physician wins 2020 Translational Science and Education Tripartite Legacy Faculty Prize
A Nigerian medical doctor, Prof Sarki Abba has emerged winner of the 2020 Tripartite Legacy Faculty Prize in Translational Science and Education.
Abba who Is now among the world’s Leading Medical Doctors was honored for his work investigating the molecular pathways that drive prostate cancer.
Abba is presently a Professor of Urology and Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA and MD, PhD, at the John T. Grayhack Professor of Urological Research.
Abba’s research program is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive cancer initiation, progression and recurrence with the ultimate goal of developing therapies that interfere with these processes. His work has particularly focused on Prostate Cancer.
Abba is a pacesetter with an intimidating record of academic exploits right from in his formative years back home in Nigeria.
In the cold hamattan of 1984, a Kano Indigene from Science Secondary School Dawakin Tofa did the unthinkable.
He scored 9 distinctions (8 A1 and 1 A2) in his West African Senior School Certificate (WASC) Exams. This achievement seemed unrealistic and never happened that the WASC Headquarters in Nigeria, Lagos assumed it was a cheat.
In order to prove their assumptions right, a car was sent to pick up the then 16-year-old Sarki Abba straight from Dawakin Tofs, where he was made to retake the whole 9 exams in the duration of 3 days.
After marking the rescheduled exams, he scored 9 A1 (the only ‘A2’ he initially had in English Language before the retake, became ‘A1’ resulting to 9 A1).
Faced with shock, the Lagos officials saved face by apologizing and instituting the National Merit Award making Sarki Abba its first recipient.
Also, in 1989/90 school session, at 21, Sarki Abba graduated as OVERALL BEST Medical Student, OVERALL BEST Graduating Student at ABU, Zaria. Sarki was then invited to U.S.A where he continued his studies, work and lives there since then.
In 1994/95 academic session, at the age of 26, Sarki Abba acquired his PhD at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland, USA
