WWARN pays tribute to Prof Ogobara Doumbo
The WWARN network is very saddened by the news of the passing of Prof Ogobara Doumbo on Saturday 9 June in Marseille, France. Prof Doumbo was a long-standing WWARN partner and highly respected for his contribution to the malaria community through co-founding the Centre for Malaria Research & Training in Bamako, Mali in 1992.
His efforts were also widely appreciated during the 10 years that he spent as Chair of the Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases at the University of Mali. He was recognised as an International Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene in 2016.
Born in Dogon village in rural Mali, Ogo was the son of a traditional healer. He won a scholarship to study at Bamako's National School of Medicine & Pharmacy, and was subsequently awarded Masters from Montpellier and Aix-en-Provence Universities in France. A specialist in parasitology, he is known for his contribution to advances in malaria epidemiology and pathogenesis, including research collaborations to support the introduction of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) into Mali and malaria vaccine development.
The WWARN Community would particularly like to remember Prof Ogo for his contribution towards our efforts in West Africa, and his early support for the ethos of collaborating to share data and strengthen the capacity of young researchers in the field.
He will be greatly missed by our community. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.