Toluwalaṣé Àjàyí, MD, the director of Clinical Research and Diversity Initiatives at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, has been named president of the San Diego County Medical Society. She is the ninth woman and first Black woman to be elected president in the Society’s 152-year history.

Toluwalaṣé Àjàyí, MD

Fellow physicians and scientists joined Àjàyí at a gala dinner in early June to celebrate her new leadership role. The San Diego County Medical Society, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to promoting “the science and art of medicine” and to protecting public health. Additionally, the San Diego Board of Supervisors dedicated June 28 as “Dr. Toluwalaṣé Àjàyí Day,” honoring her “service, leadership and commitment to the citizens of San Diego County.”

Àjàyí, who is also an assistant professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research, leads the institute’s PowerMom initiative. PowerMom is a mobile app-based research platform aimed at improving maternal health outcomes and addressing healthcare disparities among pregnant people nationwide. By leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones and wearable sensors, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, Àjàyí and her colleagues are engaging a more diverse cohort of people in their research studies. They hope to gain a better understanding of the individual characteristics that contribute to healthy pregnancies for everyone.