From Nigeria and raised in Benin, Ope studied how viruses interact with human cells to identify targets for therapy. Ope earned her PhD in Immunology, Pathology, and Infectious Diseases from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, a MS in Biochemistry from the University of Tulsa, and a BS in Biomedical Chemistry from Oral Roberts University. Ope is currently a Program Associate at the California Council on Science and Technology.