The election was in recognition of his leadership role in establishing the Africa Regional Polio Laboratory Network, developing laboratory capacity for polio diagnosis and providing a framework for the setup of additional laboratory networks for yellow fever, measles, and other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
The Academy which was established in 1970 as part of the US congressionally chartered National Academy of Sciences identified Tomori’s broad expertise in disease control and commitment to strengthening health systems that led to his serving in numerous advisory and leadership roles for the World Health Organization, governments and agencies.
They noted that he played a key role in the development of young African scientists through his leadership as founding Vice Chancellor of Redeemer’s University in Nigeria.
Dr. Tomori, a 1971 veterinary graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, earned a PhD degree in Virology from University of Ibadan in 1976. He was recognized in Nigeria with the National Order of Merit (NNOM), the highest award for academic and intellectual attainment.
Dr. Tomori joins a group of distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to global science, medicine and health, including the only other Nigerian, Professor Adetokunbo Lucas, who was elected in 1988, as an international member of the US Institute of Medicine (IOM), as the US National Academy of Medicine was then known.
Gabriel Olawale
Vanguard News
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