University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute One Health Center West Africa appints Dr Alhaji N’jai as Director

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Last updated: 2023/05/12 at 2:15 AM

By Sallu Kamuskay Published May 12, 2023 122 Views 9 Min Read

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Sierra Leone’s Dr. Alhaji N’jai has been appointed University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute One Health Center West Africa Director.

. Born in Ganya, Falalaba District, Sierra Leone. He started his primary school at the Ganya Primary School and then went to Kabala Secondary School. At Kolonten Secondary School, Kambia, he sat to the GCE exam. He did his Senior Secondary School 6 (SSS6) at the St Francis Secondary School, Makeni. Dr. Alhaji N’jai was admitted to the University of Sierra Leone in Freetown, where he studied pure and applied sciences.

Unfortunately for him, as he inched closer to graduation, Sierra Leones civil war escalated to the capital. In 1996, Dr. N’jai left Sierra Leone for the United States of America and was accepted on a one-year foreign exchange program at the Kalamazoo College in Michigan. He finished his degree in biological sciences a year later. Western Michigan eventually accepted him for a master’s program even though he was unable to obtain his full transcripts because of the civil war.

In 2007, he went to Madison, Wisconsin. There, he became inspired with the Wisconsin Idea, which holds “that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.” Dr. N’jai finished his master’s degree and worked as a scientist at the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Alhaji N’jai is now a PhD research scientist at University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Pathobiological Sciences, a Professor of infectious diseases and toxicology at the University of Sierra Leone. He is also Adjunct Faculty at the University of Sierra Leone and Njala University. Also, host the Panafrica Radio Show on WORT 89.9 FM in Madison, the United States of America. The Panafrica Radio Show features eclectic mix of music, culture, history and stories from Africa. It has consistently ranked among the top five programs in part to his extensive knowledge of the music and indigenous cultures of Africa. He has interviewed and played host to some of the best artists from Africa and the diaspora. Because of the popularity, it has become a focal point for African artists to get their music played or be interviewed in the US.

Since December 2014, he has been a co-principal investigator for Ebola control and infectious disease emerging in Africa (IDEA) iniatitve in Sierra Leone, that has resulted in establishment of international collaborative projects on Ebola and infectious disease between the University of Sierra Leone, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute of Medical Sciences at University of Tokyo, and Joint Medical Unit of 34 Military hospital, 2) set-up of functional laboratory in Freetown, and development of a novel vaccine. He has been a leading and respectable global voice on Covid-19 pandemic and was tapped by Freetown City Council Mayor to lead the Covid-19 intervention for 42 markets in the city. He has been a regular and trusted voice on Covid-19 pandemic education on national and international radio, TV, and webinars.

On the industry front, from March 2010 to 2016, He led Global Research and Development and product safety as Senior Scientist with Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, providing technical and business support (net worth > $20 Billion) and developing product safety capability for innovative growth from concept to market in 180 countries. He was awarded several Power of You awards for leadership in end to end human and environmental safety risk assessment of cosmetics drug products, innovativeness, agility, partnership, executing with excellence and bringing out our best in the company.

On the academic front at University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Sierra Leone, his research over the last 20 years in the areas of expertise functional genomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, immunology, toxicology, infectious disease, stem cell biology, anthropology and public health has resulted in multiple publications and offered new paradigms around aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor signalling and Cytochrome P450 metabolism pathways. Because of this work, he has emerged as a leader in the field with invitations to present or chair sessions at national and international meetings as well as expert reviewer of international Journals in the field. He has been invited to chair and lead panel reviews for National Science Foundation (NSF) Life Science Research Tools – Omics technologies (Genomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics), Systems Biology, Bioinformatics, Biomarker Development, and Cell Imaging and chair for Africa Research Excellence Fellowships (AREF) reviews for last five years. At University of Wisconsin-Madison, he has developed and led unique global multidisciplinary global health field courses that brings students from US to partner with students from University of Sierra Leone for real time interaction on workable models of community health.

Dr. Alhaji N’jai introduced a toxicology module course at the University of Sierra Leone for the first time in the country’s educational journey.

In 2018, alongside Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, one of the world’s leading virologists, Dr. Alhaji N’jai was part of the team working to develop an experimental vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus. In an interview with Wisconsin Public Television’s Here & Now, he explained about the health ramifications of the new Ebola vaccine. “In 2014, we set up a functional lab system in Sierra Leone through Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka’s group working on the vaccine, but also looking at some of the molecular causes – why does Ebola kill, why is Ebola so lethal and why do some people survive Ebola?” Dr. N’jai said.

Dr. Alhaji N’jai, in 2019 decided to establish the first ever college in Koinadugu district, The Koinadugu College. He’s currently the founder and chancellor of the college. The college is under construction and will be completed in due time. He has been involved in transforming lives, empowering youths and gender, and building capacity for community development in Sierra Leone through School-Community-University Partnership Models. His desire to help his home town in Sierra Leone led him to start a non-profit organization called Project 1808, in 2011, a non-profit organization dedicated to building capacity for sustainable livelihood in Sierra Leone. From an initial 56 students in 2011, Project 1808, Inc. has supported and trained over 400 students drawn from various primary and secondary schools in Koinadugu District. Dr. Alhaji N’jai initiated the Annual Science and Leadership Festival in Kabala. The Annual Science and Leadership Festival now attracts hundreds of people to Kabala, Sierra Leone. Highlights of programs include Ebola Survivor Livelihood Skills Development Training centre in Rokel, Freetown that has graduated over 150 survivors in computers, tailoring, catering, and driving. Project 1808, Inc. is in the process of setting up of a model college/University in Kabala, Koinadugu District, which focuses on technical mastery, leadership, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and indigenous African knowledge.

Recently. Dr. Alhaji N’jai has also led a seroprevalence study for Covid-19 virus among the general population and also collecting swabs for sequencing of the Covid-19 virus to determine variant straints and virulence.

From a small rural town in Sierra Leone, to the United States of America, to a PhD research scientist, and to be listed in the list of 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientist in America – this is the incredible and inspiring story of Dr. Alhaji N’jai

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By Sallu Kamuskay

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Sallu Kamuskay is a Sierra Leonean communication strategist, fixer, blogger, youth organiser, event manager, spokesperson, and public relations expert. His work has been regularly referenced and published by national and international media and public policy institutions. Sallu Kamuskay was a child during the brutal war in Sierra Leone. Growing up in the midst of conflict, Sallu witnessed unimaginable abuse of children and gross violations of human rights. The horrors he witnessed during the Civil War had a terrible impact on him at a very tender age. But despite the shock of the war, Sallu never lost hope. He started on a journey of recovery, studying, and working for a better future. At age 15, Sallu entered into the world of activism and advocacy. Sallu Kamuskay was the Vice President of the Young Leaders Organisation, a member of the National Youth Council. The Young Leaders is one of the oldest youth-led organisations in West Africa. The organisation was formed by a group of young leaders, and launched by the then Head of State/President of Sierra Leone. Sallu was part of the group of young leaders who participated in and contributed to the establishment of the National Youth Council. The Commonwealth supported the training for trainers programme with line ministries and youth stakeholders in which key, representatives of youth council, student union and civil society/private sector youth platforms were engaged and empowered in the effective engagement and inclusion of youth. Sallu is co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global multimedia and public relations firm based In Sierra Leone. Sallu has worked on various developmental and policy issues such as Poverty, Climate Change, Human rights, Child Rights, Education, Health, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement, Government policies, Information Communication Technology for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has also been contributing to various global events and advocacy campaigns. Sallu Kamuskay is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global Multimedia and Public Relations Firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information, on top stories, business, politics, entertainment, and more. Sallu is working with a leading technology company in Africa, Techfrica, that has recently developed and launched a social media, messaging Supfrica with over 150,000 downloads on the Google play store in less than 4 days. He is the Adviser and Media coordinator for the App to give people the platform to connect and communicate to help shape their future with a very fast internet that allows users that live in deprived and hard-to-reach areas with poor internet facility to be able to communicate as it allows and stronger on 2 and 3 G network reception. Sallu has over 9 years of experience in youth engagement, inclusion, and coordination both at local and global levels, giving voice to young people and engaging young people to build a better world. He has served as coordinator for the Wave Alliance which brought together youth-led organisations who attended an international training in South Africa organized by the International Organization – Waves for Change. Sallu is working with the MLT, Waves For Change, and the Government to develop safe spaces for young people, with a view to contributing to the overall development goals of young people including health, as well as to community rebuilding. Sallu is currently the Programme Director for the Wave Alliance, which is a coalition of youth-led and community-based organisations that have successfully introduced evidence-based Surf Therapy programs to young people in communities, with a focus on mental health, peace building and sustainable development. Sallu is currently the focal point and face of Africa’s Faces Social media platform which is a global Social media platform that brings together people from across the world to share their moments, connect, share videos, and interact with friends giving more preference to excluded continents like Africa. Sallu Kamuskay has devoted his time to working for or contributing to a number of national and international organizations and companies, including the Techfrica Technology Company, United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Africa Initiatives. This work has led him to travel to a number of countries to contribute to global youth platforms. Sallu is the lead Coordinator for Peace Tour programme, an initiative supported by the European Union, Africa Union, ECOWAS focusing on uniting and empowering young people and local communities. Over the years, Sallu Kamuskay has been using his Techno phone to be able to tell stories, the phone he used to tell the story of Gbessay during Ebola who was admitted at one of the Ebola treatment centers after rumors that she had Ebola when the actual sickness was ulcer, she was almost abandoned at the treatment canter with no medication provided to her. She could have died. Sallu told the story via social media and was able to secure funding from the United Sierra Leone to buy her medication and advocated for her. She was later discharged and taken home, He did the same to a patient that died and was abandoned in the street, Sallu Kamuskay used his phone and shared the message across, the corps was later taken and buried. It could have been more disaster without his voice. The story of late America Stress 3-year-old daughter. The hero’s daughter was abandon after his father's death. He shared her sad story and was able to get a sister who has taken the child as her own and is currently providing her with educational support. The article of America Stress can be read on the link below http://ayvnewspaper.com/index.php/k2-categories/item/7350-america-stress-a-hero-to-recognize. Sallu Kamuskay feels the stories of Gbessay, America stress and that of many others need to be told. The media house we have cannot better tell these stories, they are better reporters than telling human interest stories. He created the Salone Messenger platform and brought together passionate storytellers to be able to tell these compelling stories.