Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases, and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health in Pennsylvania, USA, Jean Nachega is a seasoned researcher in the fields of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. He is currently focusing on the rumen pox emergency in his home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other African countries. Internationally recognized, he embodies the vital link between Africa and major global research networks.Trained in Kinshasa, Antwerp, Baltimore, and Cape Town, Jean Nachega has transformed his career into a bridge between African researchers and international institutions. His commitment extends beyond the laboratory: he also works in the field, alongside healthcare professionals, patients, and young researchers, convinced that science is only valuable if it improves people's lives. His research and training programs benefit from the support of prestigious global partners—NIH/NIAID, PEPFAR, Wellcome Trust, EDCTP, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—illustrating the confidence the international scientific community places in his vision and leadership. Today, Professor Nachega symbolizes a new generation of African researchers: rooted in their continent, yet fully connected to the world. His mission? To make African research a global driver of public health, innovation, and hope.

An exceptional career path and training

Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Professor Jean B. Nachega embodies the model of the African scientist whose curiosity, rigor, and perseverance have transcended borders. From a very young age, he nurtured a passion for medicine, shaped by a demanding education at the Alfajiri College in Bukavu, an institution of excellence run by the Jesuit Fathers. It was in this atmosphere of intellectual discipline and moral commitment that his sense of service and social responsibility was forged.

A brilliant student, Jean Nachega received a scholarship that opened up a world of European opportunities. He began his medical studies at the University of Namur (1982–1985) before earning his doctorate in medicine at the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels (1985–1989). There, he pursued a specialization in internal medicine and infectious diseases (1989–1997), graduating with high honors that already attested to his talent and determination. But the young Congolese doctor had his sights set on something bigger. Aware that global public health relies on science, prevention, and cooperation, he continued his training across three continents.

·         In the United States, he obtained a Master's degree in public health from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he refined his epidemiological and statistical approach.

·         In the United Kingdom, he obtained a degree in tropical medicine from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a school renowned for its grounding in the health realities of countries in the Global South.

·         In South Africa, he supported a PhD in clinical pharmacology at the University of Cape Town, before completing postdoctoral studies on HIV/AIDS at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

This exceptional academic career, marked by scholarships of excellence and international distinctions, has shaped a physician-researcher who is both deeply rooted in his continent and profoundly open to the world. It has enabled Professor Nachega to become one of the few African scientists to master the interfaces between clinical research, public health, and academic training, from a truly global and integrated perspective.

A researcher serving Africa

More than just a brilliant scientist, Professor Jean B. Nachega is above all a dedicated advocate for the health of the African continent. A professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, Director of the Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI) in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins, he has devoted over thirty years to using his expertise to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other emerging infectious diseases. His ambition: to translate research into concrete actions to strengthen health systems and guide public policy in Africa.

From clinical research to impact on health policies

Over the years, Professor Jean B. Nachega has conducted significant research on HIV/AIDS and emerging infectious diseases, coordinating several multicenter clinical trials across sub-Saharan Africa. His studies have led to a better understanding of the factors influencing treatment adherence, improved care for people living with HIV, and, more recently, informed the health response to COVID-19 and Mpox.

His research has had a tangible impact on public policy, helping to expand access to treatments and vaccines for millions of people across the continent. He is the author of over 250 scientific publications in prestigious journals such asThe Lancet, Nature Medicine, JAMA PediatricsorAnnals of Internal MedicineHe is among the most cited African researchers in the world in the field of global health. His scientific leadership is also demonstrated through his direction of structuring training and research programs. In particular, he led the PEPFAR Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), with a budget of approximately USD 10 million, and the SACORE consortium, funded by the Wellcome Trust (nearly GBP 6 million). These initiatives have enabled several African universities to modernize their medical education, strengthen their research capacities, and develop their laboratory infrastructure. Through the AFREhealth initiative, which he helped to structure, Professor Nachega also coordinated regional research and training programs on COVID-19 in more than six African countries, resulting in over 35 publications in top-tier international journals.

Research on COVID-19 in vulnerable populations

As principal investigator of NIH/Fogarty-funded African consortia, and in collaboration with Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum of INRB (DRC), Professor Jean B. Nachega is leading several studies conducted in various sub-Saharan African countries aimed at assessing the impact of COVID-19 on adults, children, adolescents and pregnant women.

This research has produced essential data to guide vaccine prioritization and strengthen health system preparedness for the pandemic. The results, published in leading journals such asJAMA Pediatrics And Clinical Infectious Diseaseshave helped to promote a more equitable response to COVID-19 in Africa.

The Mpox Research Consortium

Co-founder and president of the Mpox Research Consortium, Professor Nachega collaborates closely with African teams to strengthen genomic surveillance and the response to monkeypox (MPXV) outbreaks in the DRC, Congo, Cameroon, CAR, Nigeria, and Ghana. In 2024, his team identified a new viral lineage (Clade Ib) in eastern DRC, characterized by mutations indicating prolonged person-to-person transmission. These findings, published inNature Medicine, have made it possible to better understand the evolving dynamics of Mpox and to guide the actions of the WHO and the Africa CDC.

Scientific advice and advocacy

Sought after for his expertise, Professor Nachega regularly serves as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), the US CDC, the Africa CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through these collaborations, he helps inform public health decisions and strengthen the preparedness of African countries for epidemics.

Distinctions and international recognition

Professor Nachega enjoys worldwide recognition for his pioneering role in research on HIV and emerging infectious diseases.

• Elected in 2025 as a member of the Congolese Academy of Sciences (ACCOS),

• Member of the South African Academy of Sciences (ASSAf) since 2009,

• A Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) since 2018, he has also served on the Africa CDC's Mpox Expert Advisory Group since 2024.

In 2022, he received the International Association of Providers in AIDS Care (IAPAC) award in Washington D.C., recognizing his exceptional contribution to research on HIV treatment adherence and his exemplary role as a mentor to young African and American researchers.

Among his other distinctions are: the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Scientific Excellence from Stellenbosch University (2016), and the John McGoldrick Senior Fellowship Award from Harvard University (2009). He is a member of the journal's editorial board.JAIDSHe has also served on more than fifteen NIH evaluation panels, helping to define global priorities for biomedical research.

Training the scientific leaders of tomorrow

Beyond his discoveries, Professor Nachega is driven by a profound conviction: to train the next generation of African scientists. For him, science is a pillar of the continent's sustainable development. This is why he dedicates a large part of his career to strengthening local capacities and mentoring young researchers.

Through three flagship programs funded by the NIH/Fogarty, he leads or co-leads initiatives that have already trained dozens of African researchers: the EREP-RTP-DRC program, based at the INRB in Kinshasa, the Pitt-HRTP-SA program, between the Universities of Stellenbosch and Pittsburgh, and the Pitt-MozHRTP program, in partnership with the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique.

Under his mentorship, more than a hundred students, postdoctoral fellows, and young researchers have emerged, many of whom now hold leadership positions in universities, ministries, and research centers across Africa. For many, Professor Nachega is much more than a scientist: he is a model of excellence, humility, and African scientific solidarity. Through his commitment, he is building a lasting legacy—that of a generation of African researchers capable of addressing, through science, the major health challenges facing the continent and the world.

Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pennsylvania (USA), Jean Nachega is a seasoned researcher in the fields of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and COVID-19. He is currently focusing on the rumen smallpox emergency in his home country, the DRC, and in other African countries.

Here is the revised quote to be placed next to the ACCOS induction photo:

“I am deeply honored to have been inducted into the Congolese Academy of Sciences (ACCOS),” said Professor Jean Nachega. “This recognition, from my country of origin and my distinguished colleagues at ACCOS, is of particular significance and deeply moving to me. It also reaffirms my unwavering commitment to advancing science and public health, both in Africa and globally, as well as to training and mentoring the next generation of scientists. Finally, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my funders for their steadfast support, and to my colleagues worldwide for their continued collaboration in the fight against major health challenges.”

Professor Jean Nachega (second from left) during the induction ceremony at the Congolese Academy of Sciences (ACCOS) alongside Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum (third from left), director of the INRB, co-discoverer of the Ebola virus in 1976 and current president of ACCOS.

During our interview, Jean Nachega, co-founder and chairman of the steering committee of the African Consortium for Research on Rumen Pox (MpoxReC), was working late into the night on an emergency discretionary grant application for rumen pox.

Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pennsylvania (USA), Jean Nachega is a seasoned researcher in the fields of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and COVID-19. He is currently focusing on the rumen smallpox emergency in his home country, the DRC, and in other African countries.

“Most of the grant applications I’m currently writing are about this rumen pox epidemic, because I want to contribute in any way I can,” he explains. “It’s a personal matter for me, as it’s having a devastating impact on my native continent, my country of origin, and my hometown of Bukavu, which motivates me to secure funding and make a difference as a doctor and researcher,” explains Nachega, who is also an Extraordinary Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa.

Professor Jean B. Nachega in 5 dates:

• 1989: Doctorate in Medicine, Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium)

• 1997Specialization in infectious diseases, UCL

• 2003Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University (USA)

• 2009: PhD in Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cape Town (South Africa)

• 2025Elected member of the Congolese Academy of Sciences (ACCOS)