Early Life

Dr. Samuel Achilefu and his family moved to the Southeast of the country because of civil war when he was five years old. Samuel is a radiologist. This means he is a doctor who specialises in using special medical pictures to diagnose and treat diseases like cancer.

Samuel was taught in Nigeria until he won a scholarship to go to university in France. He got a PhD in molecular and materials chemistry at the University of Nancy. He then went to the famous Oxford University in England.

Successful Career

Samuel became famous for inventing ‘cancer goggles’ which doctors and surgeons can use to see dangerous cancer cells in their patients. Before his invention, doctors found it difficult to see the little cancer cells to completely remove cancer from their patients’ bodies. Samuel was inspired to create the goggles to help with this problem.

Samuel and his team of scientists spent five years coming up with the ‘cancer goggles’. The patient is first injected with something to make the cancer cells glow, which the goggles can then see. This makes the cancer cells stand out more, meaning surgeons have to do less operations to remove them.

Samuel’s goal is to have the goggles used in hospitals all over the world as a normal part of cancer treatment.