Prof. Alash’le Abimiku MON, MSc, PhD
Co-founder, IHV-Nigeria
Executive Director, International Research Center of Excellence at the Institute of Human Virology-Nigeria
Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology
Prof. Alash’le Abimiku is a Co-founder of Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), the Executive Director of the International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE) of the IHVN and a Professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMB). Her career for over 30 years has distinguished her as an academic, scientist and researcher who has blazed the trail in promoting quality laboratory medicine practices and research in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. She first documented the unique HIV strain prevalent in Nigeria as HIV subtype G, different from the subtype B circulating in Europe and USA. She also established the first reliable HIV research laboratory in Central Nigeria that has supported her funded grants on the role of subtypes in disease pathogenesis using mother to child model and effects of co-infections with TB on HIV pathogenesis; and those of her colleagues from UMB and the young faculty at IRCE.
She is a Principal Investigator of multiple projects funded from the NIH, CDC, USAID, EDCTP, PEPFAR, Global Fund amongst others. Her vision for IRCE is to provide a common world class platform for the implementation of research and clinical trials at international standards as part of global networks and to create an enabling environment for young scientists to be successful in edge-cutting research through training, mentorship and support. She continues to play a pivotal role in establishing long-term collaborations between Institutions in Nigeria, and research institutions in the USA, Canada, and Europe.
She is a member of several boards, steering and scientific advisory committees including Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Advisory Board Presidential Initiative on Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the Africa CDC Africa Laboratory Technical Working Group, and the WHO Global HIV Drug Resistance Network (RESNET). She serves as academic editor for PLOS and is a member of the editorial board for JAIDS.
