Professor Francine Ntoumi

Francine Ntoumi, Ph.D., FRCP serves as the President and co-founder of the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research and leads its Research Center for infectious diseases in Brazzaville, Congo. She is Professor of molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases at the Institute of Tropical medicine, University of Tübingen. She has a long-standing record of research investigations on malaria in Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon and Congo and has been a recipient a several TDR grants during her early and mid-career.

Since 2009, Professor Ntoumi has been highly involved in developing health research capacities in Central Africa through the coordination of the Central Africa clinical research network (CANTAM) and since 2018 leading the Pan-African Network for Rapid Research, Response, Relief and Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Epidemics consortium (PANDORA-Id-Net). She is also highly engaged in promoting gender balance in science in the African region through an important programme, “To make Science, a female ambition.” 

Francine 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, she received many awards including the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Regional Scientific Award for women (2012), the Georg Forster Prize (Germany, 2015), the Christophe Merieux Prize (France), the Congolese Gold Medal in Science (2016) and the German federal Cross of Merit (2022). Professor Ntoumi has been acknowledged as Officer of Congolese Merit (2022) and in August 2023, she was recognized as Public health Champion by WHO. Currently, she is the National Ambassador for UNICEF in Congo.