Dr. Babalola Faseru is a Professor of Population Health, Family Medicine, and Community Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), USA, and a Consultant Medical Epidemiologist at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). He earned his Medical Degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. He received a WHO IARC Cancer Research Fellowship to pursue a Master of Public Health at the University of Kuopio (now University of Eastern Finland), and later completed postdoctoral and NIH K30 fellowships in tobacco research and clinical epidemiology at KUMC. He is certified by the National Board of Public Health Examiners and the American Heart Association.
As the director of the University of Kansas (KU) Tobacco Treatment Education Program, he has trained over 500 Tobacco Treatment Specialists and received multiple teaching awards from the University of Kansas School of Medicine as an epidemiology professor. He has led and collaborated on NIH and state-funded research exceeding $24 million, with over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals and some of his works are cited in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Surgeon General’s Reports.
He is a Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) and recipient of several international honors including the Murray Goldstein Commemorative Lectureship Award from the American Osteopathic College of Occupational and Preventive Medicine and the International Association for Study on Lung Cancer (IASLC) Lectureship Award in Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation. He was also invited to speak at the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as a leading expert in tobacco research.
Dr. Faseru holds leadership roles in organizations such as the Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs (CTTTP), the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). He serves on NIH study sections, journal editorial boards, and is the Deputy Editor of the Substance Use and Addiction journal.
An advocate for health equity, Dr. Faseru has mentored over 150 students and early-career professionals, many from underrepresented backgrounds, and remains a leading voice in tobacco control and public health research both nationally and internationally.