Sir Alimuddin Zumla - Biography#
Sir Professor Alimuddin (Ali) Zumla is a globally distinguished, award-winning Clinician Scientist. He is an Honours graduate dually qualified in Medicine and Science with BSc-Human Biology 1976 with Distinction; and MB.ChB -1979 from the University of Zambia School of Medicine, and PhD-Woodruff Medal in 1987 from the LSHTM, University of London. Sir Ali is a Fellow of: The World Academy of Sciences; Royal Colleges of Physicians of London & Edinburgh; Royal College of Pathologists; Royal Society of Biology and The African Academy of Sciences
Since 1994, Sir Zumla has been Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health at University College London, one of Europe’s largest and top ranked academic institutions. He is also consultant infectious Diseases Physician at UCLHospitals NHS Trust. Sir Ali is also co-director of several Africa, Europe and Middle East research and training networks focused on WHO Blueprint priority infections, particularly TB, TB/HIV co-infections, Emerging and Re-Emerging epidemic-prone pathogens with epidemic potential. He serves as honorary Professor and on Scientific Advisory Boards of several universities and public health institutions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Sir Ali is also internationally renowned for his exceptional high quality, health-policy relevant research aligned closely to mentoring and capacity development activities across his Africa-Europe-Middle East-Asia R&D programs.
Despite nearly losing his life to meningitis when he was working as a junior doctor in London in 1982, and having consequential crippling neurological sequelae, he has dedicated his entire life with passion and dedication to helping improve the lives and health of disadvantaged peoples everywhere. This he has done very effectively through his clinical service work, scientific research, capacity development, training, advocacy and charity activities focussed on tackling killer infectious diseases. Of additional note, Sir Ali’s novel ethos in 1988 of the need for equitable north-south partnerships, based on diversity, gender equity, and geographical inclusion has now become norm globally. Sir Ali has empowered numerous scientists, doctors, laboratory personnel and healthcare workers across all continents to the highest level of performance. He also personally supports orphanages, water aid projects, and wildlife conservation work.
Sir Ali’s exceptional award-winning transdisciplinary work portfolio now involves over 76 institutions in 40 countries across all continents. He has also initiated and fostered UK-EU-Africa-Middle-East-Asia inter-professional team building between Human and Animal Health sectors with exceptional, award winning research, training and capacity development outputs. This includes his co-leadership of a 11 million Euros novel, first in Africa ONE-HUMAN-ANIMAL-HEALTH (ONE-HEALTH) PANDORA-ID-NET program with Prof Francine Ntoumi (Congo) and principal investigators and co-investigators from across human and animal health sectors across all Africa regions (including institutions in Zambia) taking leadership roles. Sir Ali ideated this in 2016 after lessons learnt from the devastating EBOLA outbreak, which highlighted the crucial gap of the need for strengthening outbreak response capacities across all Africa regions through training, capacity development, and advocacy activities.
Sir Ali is also known as one of the most influential and accomplished infectious diseases and public health academics worldwide. Sir Ali has achieved exceptional markers of academic peer esteem: Google Scholar H-index=134; i10index=620; Citations=78,600). Every year since the formation of Clarivate in 2018 to gauge performance of Academics and institutions globally, Sir Ali’s name has featured every year (2018-2023) in the prestigious Clarivate list of the top 0.1% of the world’s most highly cited and influential researchers.
Sir Ali has over 950 publications - 800 peer-reviewed articles on Pubmed, 70 book chapters. In his educational role, Sir Ali has published/edited 22 medical textbooks, five of which are globally acknowledged classics: Manson's Tropical Diseases, Tuberculosis’; A Comprehensive Clinical Reference; Granulomatous Disorders; Tuberculosis-Perspectives in Medicine and the timely 2021 Handbook of Refugee Health: For Healthcare Professionals and Humanitarians Providing Care to Forced Migrants. This textbook is rolled out free of charge to HCWs worldwide. Sir Ali has also led and guest-edited over 40 specialist journal theme series and ‘state of the art’ reviews on a range of tropical diseases involving a global authorship (including authors from Zambia and across all Africa regions), for continuing medical education and for dissemination the latest literature to HCWs worldwide.
As lead global advocate of equitable south-north partnerships, his passion for aligning training closely to high quality, health policy relevant impactful research has won him over 30 prestigious international and national awards,
Over the past 35 years, Sir Ali has played pivotal roles in the wider areas of tropical medicine and epidemic-prone infections, shaping the global agenda and influencing both policy and practice and through his roles on Governmental and WHO expert committees, UK All Parliamentary Party Groups (APPG-TB, APPG-GH), links with Ministers of health, among other. Sir Zumla also engages in numerous unremunerated activities: Community engagement/ education; Global Expert cttee/Taskforces roles; Global Advocacy for PRDs& emerging infections; Parliamentary Groups-Global, TB-Global Health; Professional societies; Medical charities; Burial advisory cttee; Editorial boards, proactively mentoring global faculty at all levels; Advocacy for PRDs, ONE-HEALTH, AMR, Refugee & Migrant health.
