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Abdoulaye Diabaté    

Medical Entomologist; Principal Investigator for Burkina Faso at Target Malaria

Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté's research offers hope for controlling malaria by harnessing the potential of innovative genetic technologies such as gene drives. He is the Head of Medical Entomology and Parasitology at the Research Institute in Health Sciences in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and the principal investigator of Target Malaria Burkina Faso. Since establishing Target Malaria Burkina Faso in 2012, he has become a pioneer in malaria research and in genetic approaches to malaria reduction in Africa.

Prof. Diabaté has been invited to speak at several prestigious forums, such as TED Global 2024, and at universities, including Harvard University, to catalyze a lasting collaboration between IRSS and other research centers and universities across the world. He has been recognized for his contributions to scientific and global health communities through prestigious awards, such as the Royal Society Pfizer Award and the PAMCA award for his contribution to the medical entomology field. Additionally, he has been awarded the Grand Challenges Star in Global Health grant and the MRC/DFID African Leader Scheme grant, and the “Chevalier des Palmes académiques” of the Government of Burkina Faso in recognition of his significant contribution to scientific research in Burkina Faso. Prof. Diabaté and his team of eight researchers received the 2019 Newcomb Cleveland Prize at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. More recently, he has been named one of the 10 global winners of the prestigious Falling Walls Science & Innovation Prize in 2023.

His work has earned Prof. Diabaté global attention via interviews with international and national media, including the BBC, Netflix, The New York Times, and the national TV channel of Burkina Faso.

Prof. Diabaté was trained as a doctor of Animal Biology and Ecology at the University of Ouagadougou and obtained his PhD in parasitology from the University of Montpellier II (France). He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector research of the National Institutes of Health in the USA. He is a member of the African Academy of Sciences.

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