OB-GYN alum is reimagining health care with a focus on preventative health

Dr. Taiwo Durowade ’09 is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who has shaped her practice into one with a singular focus: preventive health. She currently has a gynecology-only practice, meaning she does not offer prenatal care or deliver babies. Forgoing two services most consider synonymous with an OB-GYN is just one element of uniqueness reflected in her private practice.

Another is her determination to continue adding titles beyond that of physician. She is an educator whose primary focus is to find solutions for her patients. Her determination to do so has resulted in a reputation as a problem-solver. Durowade is also an entrepreneur and researcher who embraces technology to bring women relief from a spectrum of concerns that range from hormonal imbalance to hair loss.

Illinois State: Summer 2023

Others know Durowade as a social media influencer who utilizes Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to help women better understand medical questions or concerns that emerge at different life stages. She provides tutorials on basic women’s health care and physical issues on her YouTube channel titled Uncommon Knowledge. She is also a Christian who relies on her faith to enrich her personal life and guide her professional journey.

Illinois State University was not initially part of the plan. In fact, as her high school peers were beginning to choose colleges, Durowade was just becoming acclimated to the United States. Her father’s dream of relocating the family from its native Nigeria was realized in 2004.

“He had been working on it for years,” Durowade said of her father, a sociology and humanities professor who annually completed a visa application that was submitted into a lottery. Once selected, the family went through an interview process and received the approval needed to relocate. 

At 15 years old, Durowade boarded a plane in Lagos bound for Chicago with her parents, a younger brother, and her twin sister. The decision of where to live was simplified by the fact that the family had to have a U.S. sponsor and was required to stay with that host, who happened to be in Chicago.

With just two years of high school remaining, planning for Durowade’s continued education soon became a priority. “I always thought I would be a doctor. I decided when I was 7,” she said, noting that children in Nigeria learn at an early age to value education. They also have a limited perspective of higher education in the United States.

“The American universities known in Nigeria are Yale and Harvard,” Durowade said. She focused on Chicago colleges, as her father had begun teaching again in the area. It was at his prompting that she applied to Illinois State after receiving materials from the Office of Admissions.

“ISU turned out to be exactly what I needed and was the right place for me to do well. It was small enough that I had close access to my professors,” she said, expressing particular gratitude to Dr. Lisa Sczcepura. A University Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Sczcepura mentored Durowade, making certain she had an academic plan in place to complete a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.

“I received the individualized care ISU is known for, and that’s the reason I succeeded,” said Durowade, who appreciated research opportunities as well as campus activities. She was a member of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (now the STEM Alliance), joined the African Students Organization, and participated in a mentoring program.

She remains engaged with the University and returned to campus last fall to participate in the Charles Morris STEM Social as the event’s keynote speaker. She appreciates how her Redbird experiences prepared her for advanced study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where the mandatory rotations in different specialties helped her identify her strengths and interests.

“I realized I did not enjoy general surgery, but I could sit and study reproduction and fertility for hours because it was so interesting,” Durowade said. Her decision to pursue women’s health was sealed in part with her first delivery/surgery as a med student. “It was a C-section for twins, so I thought that this was meant to be,” she said with her infectious laugh.

After her residency was completed at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Durowade opted to join a practice back in Chicago. She wanted to be closer to her parents and felt she could connect better to a larger population of minority patients. She recently made the decision to forgo prenatal care and deliveries, as both can lead to greater stress and a more difficult work-life balance.

It wasn’t until she began her own practice in January 2022 that she found her purpose and niche, which she achieved with the opening of Dardur Medical Group in the Chicago suburb of Homewood. She completed business courses designed specifically for physicians and eagerly put her vision for women’s health care into place.

“We are not a cookie-cutter office,” Durowade said, explaining that her emphasis is on preventative care through a range of services to provide “a one-stop shop” for women of all ages. “Quality of life is my goal. My mission is to help women live better.”

Durowade sees conversation as the first step in that process. Through in-depth consultation, she works with her patients to devise a plan of care that goes far beyond the annual exam. She witnesses delight and appreciation when women realize they don’t have to succumb to the agony that can come from a litany of ailments.

“A lot of women come to me and describe cycles that are not normal, or they share how they are suffering through menopause. But they don’t have to struggle through life,” said Durowade, who is driven to go beyond managing a patient’s health issue to solving it. She does so through a variety of resources she describes as her “expanding toolbox.”

In it is the FemiLift CO2 Laser that Durowade uses for the nonsurgical treatment of vaginal dryness, stress urinary incontinence, rebuilding of the vaginal wall, treatment of recurring vaginal infections, and hormone deficiencies that stem from cancer therapy or post-delivery conditions.

She also offers patients the Alma TED (Trans-Epidermal Delivery) Hair Restoration Procedure for hair loss because of diseases such as alopecia or thinning that often occur after childbirth or menopause. This noninvasive treatment uses ultrasound to stimulate hair follicles.

Other women come to Durowade for endometrial biopsies or ablations, in need of fibroid removal that can be done with robotic surgical equipment, or to undergo bioidentical hormone replacement. Some patients are surprised when she recommends testosterone pellet therapy, just as younger patients often marvel that their medical issues are tied to hormonal imbalances they did not anticipate prior to menopause.

Durowade references such reactions when explaining why education is increasingly her core mission. She sought expert advice on how to maximize social media to teach about universal women’s topics and uses her tutorials to address issues patients have raised. Her candor and confidence in distributing information have resulted in new patients, which confirms Durowade’s conviction that women are increasingly seeking solutions on sensitive topics.

Her advice for women is to always be open with their doctor and address topics of concern even if they may be embarrassed. “Sex should not be painful, the libido does not have to diminish, irritability can be fixed, and weight can be lost,” Durowade said.

These are but a sampling of the topics she knows trouble her patients. She is eager to hear more concerns and questions from women in need of health care solutions. She is also ready and able to provide them with an answer.

Listen to an extended interview with Dr. Taiwo Durowade ’09 on Redbird Buzz, the official podcast of Illinois State University.