People

Francine Ntoumi, Ph.D., HDR, PvDz, FRCPedin Francine Ntoumi serves as the chair and head of research of the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research. Born in Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, Ntoumi studied in France and got habilitation at University ParisVI (2002) and at University of Tübingen in Germany (2014). In Congo, Gabon, and Germany, she worked as a researcher, and she held positions in international organizations in the Netherlands and Tanzania from 2005 to 2010. Also during this time, she was the first African leader of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM). During her career in malaria research, she trained many African scientists in various disciplines such as immunology and molecular epidemiology. Since 2009, Ntoumi has been highly involved in developing health research capacities in Central Africa through the regional network of excellence, the Central Africa Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Malaria (CANTAM). In the Republic of Congo in 2008, she created the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research (FCRM), which supports health research activities in the country. Her institution has established the first molecular biology lab at the University Marien Ngouabi, where she is senior lecturer. She is also highly engaged in promoting gender balance in science in the African region through an important program, “To make Science, a female ambition.” Ntoumi is member of several scientific and advisory committees and is involved in many international scientific networks in Africa, Europe, and the United States. She is a fellow of the African Academy of Science. In recognition of her efforts in developing research capacities in Africa, Ntoumi received the prestigious African Union Kwame Nkrumah Regional Scientific Award for women (2012), Germany’s Georg Forster Prize (2015), France’s Christophe Merieux Prize, and the Gold Medal for her contribution in science (research, training, advocacy, and transforming the environment) by the president of the Republic of Congo (2016).