Global Health Leader Fredros Okumu joins SBOHVM as Professor of Vector Biology
Published: 17 October 2023
The School are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Fredros Okumu, Professor of Vector Biology. Professor Okumu is a leader in Global Health who is internationally renowned for his research on African malaria vectors.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Fredros Okumu as a new Professor of Vector Biology in the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine.
Professor Okumu is a leader in Global Health who is internationally renowned for his research on African malaria vectors. He is also renowned for his advocacy and championship of African-led scientist, capacity strengthening in malaria endemic countries and equitable international partnerships.
Before joining the School, Professor Okumu served as Director of Science at the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania; where he will continue to hold a joint position and maintain his long-term research. During his tenure at Ifakara, he helped to elevate the institute as a leading centre of excellence for health research in Africa, and trained numerous Early Career Researchers who are now playing a leading role in malaria research and control locally and internationally. Professor Okumu has also been pivotal to the successful long-term partnership, spanning both research and training, between the University of Glasgow and IHI over the last decade.
Professor Heather Ferguson says “We are delighted to have Fredros join our team at the University, while remaining strongly linked and affiliated with our long-term partner the Ifakara Health Institute. His outstanding work, encompassing cutting-edge research on malaria research with extensive capacity strengthening and mentorship of Early Career Researchers from East Africa, continues to be a huge inspiration and inform our approach to equitable, international partnerships. It is a great honour to have him join us as a colleague".
Professor Fredros Okumu said 'I feel extremely lucky and humbled; and of course, most delighted to have this opportunity at the University of Glasgow with its rich history of medical entomology. It is the home of Alexander Haddow and Robert Muirhead-Thompson, who produced some of the most transformative work for the control of vector borne diseases in the 20th century. Today, world leading scientists, are partnering with ecologists, mathematicians and geneticists to create even wider transformations in global health. I am immensely privileged to contribute to this legacy; and even more delighted to have the opportunity to continue my scientific work at the incredible Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. I intend to use this platform to further strengthen our career development efforts for the next generation of research leaders in Africa; and to support global efforts for disease control and elimination”.
First published: 17 October 2023
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