Salome Chika-Igbokwe (37), from Nigeria, is pursuing a doctorate in vaccinology and immunotherapeutics at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Her goal is to significantly reduce the disproportionate global burden of infectious diseases in Africa, given that vaccines are critical in preventing and controlling diseases but one in five children cannot access them. She seeks interventions to overcome barriers to the access, distribution, and acceptability of vaccines in Africa. Her study will contribute to global efforts, led by Africans and contextualized to their specific needs.
Prior to her current study, Salome worked in Nigeria for over 10 years as research manager on large implementation research focused on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV among 497 HIV positive pregnant women; improving retention in care, viral suppression, and psychosocial wellbeing among adolescents living with HIV through a coordinated transition from pediatric to adult care; and supporting over 700,000 adolescent girls’ access to modern contraceptives and economic empowerment initiatives.
Salome has a bachelor’s degree in human anatomy from the University of Port Harcourt and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Ibadan, both in Nigeria. As a graduate student, she was awarded the prestigious Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Fellowship, which was the springboard of her research career.
After her studies, Salome plans to continue her research in maternal, child, and adolescent health, assume a strategic leadership role in an organization involved in public health research, and later become an academic professor, serving as a mentor for the next generation of public health professionals.
