Member SpotlightsScientist and Public Health Advocate Abubakar Yaro, MSc A Member Since March 2002 Growing up in Ghana, Abubakar Yaro was encouraged to become a scientist by his mother who was a nurse and by his grandmother who had never gone to school. Both women urged Yaro to apply himself to make the world a healthier place by studying the field of kimiya (i.e., “science” in his native language). Currently, Yaro is fulfilling these aspirations as he completes his doctoral degree in the Department of Pathology at Ilkeston Hospital in the United Kingdom. Yaro’s professional training began at the Usman Dan Fodiyo in Sokoto where he received a bachelor’s degree in clinical microbiology. He was employed as a chemical pathologist at the Tema General Hospital and then later as a clinical pathologist at both Icon Medical Center and Vis Viva Pharma before moving to the UK to receive a master’s of science degree from John Moore University in medical virology. Yaro is interested in understanding how disregulation of the immune system contributes to the formation of diseases. Specifically, he is studying how viruses elude immune regulation and the implications of this break down in control for disease management. He ultimately hopes that this knowledge will help develop better diagnostic strategies as well as vaccines for diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world. These diseases include tuberculosis (TB), malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Ebola. In addition to his scientific interest in infectious diseases, Yaro also devotes a significant portion of his time to public health advocacy. He serves on multiple international committees whose goals are to help effectively manage and/or eradicate TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS. In 2001, Yaro formed the Africa Health Foundation, which joined forces with the World Health Organization’s “Stop TB Project.” When not working on “one last experiment” needed to write up his dissertation, Yaro is an avid sports fan and enjoys watching and playing football, boxing and wresting. He also likes movies and politics. To maintain his equilibrium as he balances an active home (he has two children whom he adopted from an African orphanage) and school life, he actively mediates. ### << Previous Next >> [ View All Member Spotlights ] |
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