John Nkengasong

Nkengasong is from Cameroon.[1] Nkengasong became interested in biology, chemistry and mathematics whilst he was at high school.[2] He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Yaoundé I.[3] During his undergraduate degree he met Peter Piot, who encouraged him to visit Antwerp as a graduate student in virology. He ended up studying biomedical sciences at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.[4] After completing his second degree, Nkengasong moved to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he earned a master's degree in medical sciences.[4] After earning his master's degree he joined the research group of Guido van der Groen and Piot.[1] His doctoral research was the first to characterise all of the genetic subtypes of HIV in Africa.[2][5] He completed a management qualification at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.[6]

In 1993 Nkengasong joined the World Health Organization, where he served as Chief of Virology.[7] He was based in the Collaborating Centre for HIV/AIDS Diagnostics in the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.[1] He has worked on the diagnosis, pathogenesis and drug resistance of HIV/AIDS.[8] After a couple of years Nkengasong moved to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he worked as Chief of Virology in Abidjan.[1] In preparation for this job he was trained in Berkeley as part of the John E. Fogarty International Center.[9] Nkengasong worked alongside Mike Hendry, who was running the HIV diagnosis programme at the California State Laboratory.[9]

In 2011 Nkengasong helped to establish the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM).[10] The ASLM looks to support African researchers in developing their laboratory medicine capabilities and ability to care for patients.[11] In 2016 Nkengasong joined the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, where he was made the inaugural Director.[12][13] At the Africa CDC Nkengasong oversees the Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Networks (RISLNET).[11][14] He believes that to keep infectious diseases in check in Africa it is essential to empower local leadership.[15]

During the COVID-19 pandemic Nkengasong was appointed a special envoy to the director general of the World Health Organization.[16] In this capacity he was responsible for amplifying the messages of the Director General as well as providing strategic advice on preparedness.[16][17] Nkengasong led Africa's response to coronavirus disease, including training a team of young responders; the African Healthcare Volunteer Workforce.[18][19] Protecting the African population from coronavirus disease is complicated by challenges such as difficulties in testing in regions affected by conflicts and issues with social distancing in urban slums.[20]

• US Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for Excellence in Public Health Protection Research[6]
• National Order of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire[12]
• CDC Foundation William Watson Medal of Excellence[21]

• Wiktor, Stefan Z; Ekpini, Ehounou; Karon, John M; Nkengasong, John; Maurice, Chantal; Severin, Sibailly T; Roels, Thierry H; Kouassi, Moise K; Lackritz, Eve M; Coulibaly, Issa-Malick; Greenberg, Alan E (1999). "Short-course oral zidovudine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire: a randomised trial". The Lancet. 353 (9155): 781–785. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(98)10412-9. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 10459958. S2CID 30241185.
• Parsons, Linda M.; Somoskövi, Ákos; Gutierrez, Cristina; Lee, Evan; Paramasivan, C. N.; Abimiku, Alash'le; Spector, Steven; Roscigno, Giorgio; Nkengasong, John (2011-04-01). "Laboratory Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Resource-Poor Countries: Challenges and Opportunities". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 24 (2): 314–350. doi:10.1128/CMR.00059-10. ISSN 0893-8512. PMC 3122496. PMID 21482728.
• Janssens, Wouter; Buvé, Anne; Nkengasong, John N. (1997-05-11). "The puzzle of HIV-1 subtypes in Africa". AIDS. 11 (6): 705–712. doi:10.1097/00002030-199706000-00002. ISSN 0269-9370. PMID 9143601. S2CID 2781038.