WFSOM Spring Dinner

Ighovwerha Ofotokun

Department of Medicine, Professor Emeritus

Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Ofotokun is the Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and Professor of Behavioral Social, and Health Education Sciences at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. He is a Staff Physician at Grady Memorial Health System, the Associate Dean for Research Development, Emory School of Medicine, the Associate Division Director for Research, Infectious Diseases Division, and the Co-Director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research Clinical Core.

As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Ofotokun’s career is devoted to combating the long-term sequelae of HIV, particularly among underrepresented populations. His work has focused on the threat that age-related comorbidities pose to healthy aging in persons with HIV. He leads an innovative global research collaboration to understand the pathobiology of these phenomena and has demonstrated that age-related comorbidities may be driven by disruption in the organ-immune interphase (an amenable target).

Dr. Ofotokun serves as the contact PI of the Atlanta MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, the Director of Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) in Sex Differences, the Co-Director of the Georgia CTSA KL2 Program, the administrative PI and Co-Director of Emory Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) and the Co-Director, Emory Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR R38).

Drawing on his HIV experience, Dr. Ofotokun leads the Atlanta hub of the NIH initiative, Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) aimed at understanding the long-term post-acute-sequelae of COVID-19. He serves as the national Chair of the RECOVER Adult Cohort Coordinating Committee that oversees the governance of the Adult Cohort – one of the largest of such cohorts in the world with 15 hubs and 83 sites across the US.

Dr. Ofotokun has contributed substantially to the expanded representation of women and minorities in biomedical research, leveraging his expertise to promote research education and training locally, nationally and across the globe (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Vietnam). As an advocate for equitable representation in the biomedical workforce, he has briefed congressional staff, advised NIH leadership, Africa CDC, and African governments on multiple occasions.

Dr. Ofotokun has authored over 250 peer-reviewed original articles, editorial/review articles, books, and chapters. His contributions have been recognized by several awards. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), served on the IDSA Board of Directors, and was honored by the Society with the prestigious John F. Enders named lecture at the 2023 IDWEEK. He is a member of Emory University select Woodruff Leadership Academy, an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, and the recipient of the 2024 National Foundation of Infectious Diseases Maxwell Finland Scientific Achievement Award.