Our Founder Story
Dr Olamide Dada set up the ‘Melanin Medics’ blog whilst being in a UK Medical School. When applying to Medical School, she had struggled to find a platform that provided support and advice as a student of Afro-Caribbean descent. Having been successful in her application, Olamide realised that she had the opportunity to fill this gap and pursued it. She now would like to use the ‘Melanin Medics’ platform as a way of encouraging and motivating young people of Afro-Caribbean descent to realise the greatness within themselves and ensure that prospective medical students have the support they need in order to pursue a career in medicine.
“In my Medical School, roughly 10/270 students come from Afro-Caribbean descent, that’s less than 4% and the honest truth is that this isn’t enough. I want to encourage those who want to apply for Medicine that they truly can succeed and it isn’t too hard.” – Olamide Dada
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Her journey to Medical School is a unique one, be sure to check out her story in 'The One That Got Away'. Olamide hopes that ‘Melanin Medics’ will inspire people all around the world, celebrating the achievements of Afro-Caribbean doctors and encouraging prospective and current medical students.
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Olamide received the Rare Rising Star Award at the House of Commons having been recognised as one of the Top 10 Black students in the UK. She was also recognised as one of the Top 100 Future Leaders 2018 and welcomed to No.10 Downing Street as a result. Olamide was named as a recipient for the Akindolie Medical Scholarship awarded to minority ethnic medical students with strong leadership potential. Olamide is also an alumnus the Healthcare Leadership Academy, Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management and sits on the GMC Equality and Diversity advisory board as a member. She is also passionate about racial equality, leadership, widening participation and promoting good health behaviours particularly amongst minority groups