A professor and world-leading scholar in the field of infectious disease epidemiology Ibrahim Abubakar has been named ‘the Diasporan of the Moment’ by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).

Abubakar was recently appointed as the new Dean of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College, London (UCL).

“He has contributed greatly to public health institutions, including achieving results in the area of communicable disease in the country,” NIDCOM said in a statement.

He runs a global health research programme that addresses major diseases affecting vulnerable groups, and his work focuses on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of infections, including tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, and other common problems such as antimicrobial resistance and vaccine-preventable diseases particularly among underserved populations.

Abubakar first trained as a medical doctor at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Nigeria and later went on to bag a Master of Science degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of Cambridge and a doctoral research degree from the University of East Anglia.

He is an advisory board member of the Public Health Board of Open Society Foundation and of the editorial board of the European Respiratory Journal and BMC Medicine.

Abubakar was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020 in recognition of his research in infectious disease epidemiology, and migration and health.