1. John N Nkengasong is a Cameroonian-American virologist who served as the Global AIDS Coordinator in the Biden administration from 2022 to 2025 and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy from 2023 to 2025.
13 Facts About John Nkengasong
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John Nkengasong previously worked as the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 to 2022, as well as at the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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John Nkengasong became interested in biology, chemistry and mathematics whilst he was at high school.
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John Nkengasong ended up studying biomedical sciences at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.
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John Nkengasong later completed a management qualification at the John F Kennedy School of Government.
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In 1993, John Nkengasong joined the World Health Organization, where he served as Chief of Virology.
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John Nkengasong worked alongside Mike Hendry, who was running the HIV diagnosis program at the California State Laboratory.
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In 2011, John Nkengasong helped to establish the African Society for Laboratory Medicine.
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In 2016, John Nkengasong joined the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention as its inaugural Director.
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At the Africa CDC, John Nkengasong oversees the Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Networks with a focus on empowering local leadership.
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John Nkengasong led Africa's response to coronavirus disease, including training a team of young responders; the African Healthcare Volunteer Workforce.
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On September 27,2021, President Joe Biden nominated John Nkengasong to be the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Health Diplomacy and Global AIDS Coordinator in the Department of State.
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On 23 May 2024, John Nkengasong was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by Biden in honor of President William Ruto at the White House.