[2] He is a scientist who expressed that socioeconomic factors are related to cancer survival rates and need to be given more attention in scientific research.

[3] He has made multiple discoveries in the field, such as finding that the sweetener saccharin is not a chemical that causes cancer[4] and funding research on the effects of bus exhaust on minority children in low-income housing residing in New York City.

[5] He later became chairman of Howard University's oncology department in 1985, where he focused his work on studying cancers that were prevalent in people of color.

[6] Olden was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences for his discovery that blocking interaction between fibronectin and the integrin receptor can prevent organ-specific metastasis of malignant cells.

[4] In July 2012, Olden became director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment, and began to oversee its Integrated Risk Information System.