Christian Happi

Christian Happi’s journey to become a biochemist began in the rainforests of his native Cameroon, where his mother carried him on her back to receive medical care when he was stricken with malaria as an 8-year-old. His two older siblings had died from the disease, and Happi promised his mother that if he survived, he would find a cure. After graduating from university in Nigeria, he was convinced that DNA and genetics held the secret to curing malaria, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. True to his promise, Happi returned to Nigeria and in the late 2000s established the first molecular lab in the country to help scientists test for Lassa fever virus; the testing program helped to dramatically reduce deaths from the disease—from 90% mortality to almost 24%—by catching and treating cases earlier. He’s since expanded on that work by founding the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics and Infectious Disease, which now houses the first cutting-edge genomics research lab of its kind in Nigeria to sequence and evaluate viruses responsible for infectious diseases, and work with health officials to intervene.