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Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia - Program Chair
Dr. John Nkengasong is director of African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Until recently he was the Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Chief of the International Laboratory Branch at the Division of HIV & TB, Center for Global Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta. In addition, Dr. Nkengasong co-chairs the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) Laboratory Technical Working Group and serves as the founding chair of Board of Directors for the African Society for Laboratory Medicine.
He received a Masters in Tropical Biomedical Science at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, and another Masters Degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Brussels School of Medicine and a Doctorate in Medical Sciences (Virology) from the University of Brussels, Belgium. Between 1993-95 he was Chief of the Virology and the WHO Collaborating Center on HIV diagnostics, at the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
He joined CDC in 1995 as Chief of the Virology Laboratory, CDC Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and became Chief of the International Laboratory Branch, Global AIDS Program in 2005. His work on HIV diagnosis, pathogenesis, and HIV drug resistance has been has extensively published since 1988 and has published over 120 papers in Journals such as the Lancet, Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
Dr. Nkengasong has also published multiple book chapters dealing with implementing HIV therapy in resource challenged areas. He has received numerous awards for his work including, but not limited to, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for excellence in Public Health Protection Research, the Sheppard Award nominee, and multiple Director’s Recognitions Award. He has also served on various international advisory boards as well as a reviewer for numerous journals.