Professor Ibrahim Abubakar
Professor Ibrahim Abubakar is a global scholar of infectious disease epidemiology who has received many accolades around the world for his significant work in the public health scene. He is a Professor at the University College London (UCL) and Dean of the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences. He boasts of over five years of outstanding leadership at the Institute for Global Health and extensive research in infectious disease epidemiology, migration and health.
Professor Ibrahim Abubakar obtained a Bachelor of Medicine degree from Ahmadu Bello University, a Master of Science degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a DPH from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of East Anglia.
Before becoming Dean of the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences, the professor was Director of the UCL Institute for Global Health and runs a global health research programme that addresses major diseases affecting vulnerable groups. He has led the UCL Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, UCL-TB and was a senior investigator at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit. He was also head of TB at Public Health England and Professor in Health Protection at the Norwich Medical School.
The scholar’s work focuses on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of infections such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV and other common problems like antimicrobial resistance and vaccine-preventable diseases amongst the underserved population.
In recognition of his research in infectious disease epidemiology and migration and health, he led the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health which dismissed myths regarding the perceived threat from migration to public health and urged action on improved health provision for migrants. The results were especially topical in the context of mass migration in the Mediterranean and in central and North America. The findings of the commission attracted broad media coverage, including reports on notable platforms such as The Guardian, NBC News, and the World Economic Forum.
One of his achievements also includes co-editing the Oxford Specialist Handbook in Infectious Disease Epidemiology published in 2016. The professor’s work on mass gathering medicine in 2012 as part of the Lancet Infectious Diseases Mass Gathering Medicine Series also achieved widespread media interest following the potential impact of pandemics in crowded settings (London 2012: Mass gathering risks disease spreading).
Read Also: Professor Ibrahim Abubakar is the New Dean of the University College, London – UCL
Ibrahim Abubakar is widely published in tuberculosis epidemiology, diagnosis and control with global recognition of his work showing high risk of TB in pregnancy and the postpartum period, tuberculosis and air travel, and on the effects of BCG in TB prevention. He leads the E-DETECT TB project in Europe for the early detection of tuberculosis, which in Romania has led to the expansion of mobile x-ray screening through €15 million investment in similar units to travel around the country. He has an h-index of 80 according to Google Scholar.
Ibrahim Abubakar is the chair of Lancet Migration: global collaboration to advance migration health and the Welcome Trust Expert Review Group on Population Health. He also served as chair of the World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis until 2019.
The professor was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship by NIHR on tuberculosis in 2011 and in 2016, he became an NIHR Senior Investigator. He was also elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020.
We are delighted to have professor Ibrahim Abubakar as our MCM this week.
Learn more about his works on ucl.ac.uk.