The discipline of creativity

Oluwafemi (Femi) Popoola is a pharmacist, neurology medical science liaison, songwriter, producer, and musician based in Upstate New York. Both science and the arts have deep roots in his upbringing, and continue to intertwine in his life today. At a time when many professionals feel pressure to choose a single, linear identity, Femi has built a life that embraces multiple disciplines simultaneously. We connected virtually to share an inspiring conversation about creativity, multiple identities, the importance of creative community and mentorship, and being deeply engaged in both art and science. Throughout our conversation, what stood out most was his obvious passion for his work, infectious work ethic, and warmth. He’s in his home studio, donning over-the-ear headphones and surrounded by instruments (yes, he plays them all). Femi’s story is an example of how success in both art and pharmacy practice can not only coexist but also invigorate and complement each other. You can follow Femi’s music on Spotify or anywhere else you get your music. This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.Could you tell me more about your journey in pharmacy and music?Regarding pharmacy, my role model has always been my mom—she studied pharmacy in Nigeria, and I watched her practice community pharmacy starting at a young age. Her work and impact left a big impression on me, and my original goal in pursuing pharmacy was to do what she did. That led me to study pharmacy at Binghamton University, which is where I had my first exposure to inpatient pharmacy practice in the ICU. I was gobsmacked by the pivotal role of the pharmacist in so many different facets of care, and it opened my eyes to the value of pharmacy in a new way. Later on, I did a 6-month longitudinal rotation at Upstate University in Syracuse, rotating across infectious disease, ER, internal medicine, and oncology, which allowed me to start developing a solid skillset and really sold me on pursuing inpatient pharmacy. I then applied and matched to Niagara Falls for my hospital residency, which is also where I worked afterwards as an ICU and ER pharmacist. Curiosity led me to my current role as a neuroscience MSL. It’s been a journey, and my style is to continue learning and taking steps until someone kicks me out, which has yet to happen in pharmacy or music. I resonate with being a forever learner, and that’s led me to where I am today.My parents also introduced me to music; It was a big part of going to church growing up, and they put me in piano lessons early on. Initially, I wasn’t good at it, but being a curious and stubborn kid, I refused to quit playing. They eventually bought me some headphones so that I wouldn’t disturb the entire house. Those piano lessons eventually led me to stumble on playing piano in the pit orchestra for a musical in high school, in a production called Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein. I was in way over my head; the score was thick, complicated, with flats and sharps everywhere. I barely played a couple of notes during that first orchestra practice, and I honestly thought I would get kicked out. I was shocked when the teacher gave me positive feedback and encouraged me to come back next week. That moment sticks with me as an early lesson in the power of mentorship and having supportive people around you when trying something new.Did you ever feel tension about holding both identities, pharmacist and musician, at once? How did you work with that tension?Absolutely. I was born in Nigeria before moving to the US, and I think something that many folks with immigrant upbringings have in common is putting education first. I definitely stand by that—a solid education is something you can always hold on to. I remember not being allowed to take my keyboard with me to college, and that led me to very quickly learning how to play piano on my computer keyboard. A lot of folks think of science and art as totally separate disciplines for obvious reasons, but I think they’re the same thing. I’m someone who really values growth and learning, and between both careers, I naturally have less idle or free time. I’ve been questioned about that—why I pick up hospital shifts on the weekends or listen to clinical pharmacology podcasts in my free time. But it’s what I love and what works for me. Everyone has their own path and their own life. You have to find a pace that works for you. I’ve also found acceptance around pacing and my speed of growth, like maybe not being as far along as someone else who focused only on one thing. But I know that doing only music or only pharmacy isn’t my path. Letting go of preconceived notions of where I think I should be has been important.You said that science and art are the same thing to you. Can you tell me more about that?I think the best people in both spaces approach their craft in the same way. One of my favourite songwriters, Max Martin, approaches music from a scientific lens. He’ll study past hits and analyze everything to understand what made them successful: melodic structure, chorus, BPM, textures, drums, structure, and run time. He talks about achieving balance in a song—if you have legato in the verse, you want more staccato in the chorus. The term for it is music math, but I see it as evidence-based songwriting. Comparing that with my past work in the lab of a PhD pharmacologist, the fundamental goal of our research was to understand how proteins of interest (including p50 and p53) influence upstream NF-κB activation and signaling, an important family of proteins in the context of inflammation and diseases like cancer. There was a huge variety of tools and techniques we used in our studies—vectors to transfect cells, different methods to visualize cells and proteins. To me, scientific storytelling is in itself a creative process and no different from crafting a song. When it comes to clinical care, there’s a debate of whether fluids or early vasopressors make a difference in patient outcomes in septic shock. You can find literature supporting both, and what you’re really evaluating is how closely the patient population in a study matches the one you’re treating. Increasingly, data points toward a personalized approach to resuscitation - using dynamic markers like IVC collapsibility or pulse pressure variability to guide decisions. And when you integrate all of this, the work begins to feel creative. Ultimately, I believe the same characteristics that makes someone a successful artist also makes them a strong clinician: knowing the fundamentals, having clarity of intention, and adapting in real time. If I had to summarize it, it comes down to being agile, analytical, and able to listen and adjust. I approach music as a science, and science as an art. If I’m working on something musically, I still use the part of my brain that practices evidence-based medicine.To work full-time while developing an entirely different creative practice is not easy. How do you make space for creativity alongside your responsibilities as a pharmacist? Rather than striving for balance, Femi describes his approach as one of integration.Once I figure it out, I’ll let you know. The truth is, I make it work because I don’t have a choice; I’ve tried not doing music, and I’m just not the same person without it. There’s a natural need to create, and I structure my life around that.While doing the dishes, I might have an idea for a song, so I’ll grab my phone and record it. If I’m home from work at 4 and want to listen to a critical care podcast, I’ll do that. If there’s a moment of downtime in the ER, I’ll read new literature and log it. When I’m driving for 2 hours as an MSL, I’ll workshop a verse so that when I get home, the recording only takes 30 minutes. When I cover vancomycin dosing on weekends, like an athlete analyzing game footage, I’ll start my workup at home. People are sometimes confused about why I spend my free time this way. But learning and growing are what make me happy, so I live by that. And by working this way, my life expands beyond the limitations of an eight-hour workday.What role have community and mentorship played in your creative journey, and what guidance would you offer to pharmacists who feel a creative pull but aren’t sure where to start?Where I’m at now with music, I’m really grateful to have an incredible team of people around me who believe in me and what I’m capable of. I have a mixing engineer, a mastering engineer, and a manager, and everyone is understanding about working at a flexible pace. I also collaborate with producers, including people I once mentored, who are phenomenal in their own right. We work in a constellation to create a record, which helps with pacing and sustainability.When it comes to building community, I think platforms like Instagram and especially the power of Facebook mutuals are hugely underutilized. I would go as far as to say that my music career has been made on Facebook. Many of the connections and conversations that led to being signed with SONY or connecting to major artists happened through Facebook Messenger. When you pair that with sincerity, humility, and a people-first mindset, opportunities tend to open up naturally.For pharmacists who feel a creative pull, I can really only explain this through music, but I think it applies to anything you feel passionate about. I always tell people to use their science brain. Ask yourself: who are the songwriters, managers, publishers, or creatives doing work you genuinely admire? And who are they connected to? I’ll reach out with something simple. Sometimes it’s just, “Hi, just wanted to connect. Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday.” That’s it. And once you connect, you just have a normal conversation. I promise you’ll be surprised by how often opportunities open up from that alone.So many people approach networking transactionally, and because of that, sincerity really stands out. So often, there’s a turning point in a conversation where you find yourself genuinely wanting to see someone win, just because they’re a good person and showed up with an honest heart posture. It’s not fancy, but it’s also not easy. It takes discipline: scrolling through credits, adding people on Facebook, and being willing to be vulnerable enough to reach out and connect without knowing where it will lead. I really believe sincerity is a cheat code.What is exciting you most right now?Honestly, the creative process of making music. Capturing an idea in a moment, bringing it into the studio with friends and collaborators, and then spending months refining and editing a track until it feels right.That initial spark of inspiration is something you can’t control. It just shows up when it wants to. But everything that comes after that is up to you: the work, the iteration, the decisions you make along the way. That part of the process, having agency over where the idea goes, is what really lights me up. We just released a song called Who U Goin’ Home To, and there’s a lot more to come.For pharmacists navigating nonlinear paths, Femi’s story shows how depth and multiplicity can exist without contradiction.

The discipline of creativity

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