Prof. Philip Okai ODONKOR is a distinguished academic and administrator currently serving as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Medical Physiology at FHU. He earned his BSc (Hons in Physiology) and MB ChB from the University of Ghana Medical School, and later obtained a PhD from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Over the course of his career, Prof. ODONKOR has held several prominent academic and professional positions. He served as Head of the Department of Physiology at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), his alma mater.

His international expertise has been widely recognized through his roles as a WHO Consultant in Physiology at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where he helped to reorganize the teaching of Physiology and started a post graduate porogramme in Physiology at the Makerere University Medical School and at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), University of Sierra Leone in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he helped to establish the Department of Physiology in the newly established COMAHS.

Prof. ODONKOR has also contributed significantly to medical education across Africa as an External Examiner in Physiology in medical schools in Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda. In addition, he served as an External Examiner in Physiology to the West African College of Surgeons.

 
His leadership credentials include his role as Founding Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the National University of Lesotho in Roma, Lesotho, and as Associate Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia.

His research interests focus on the pathophysiology of stress ulcers and somatosexual growth retardation in sickle cell disease. Prof. ODONKOR has several publications in local and international scientific and medical research journals

Currently, his academic professional interest is centered on “Building Bridges and Raising Ladders in Medical Education and Training in the Spirit of Equity and Social Justice,” reflecting his commitment to inclusive and impactful education.