Ighovwerha (Igho) Ofotokun, MD, MSc
Dr. Ofotokun is an emerging leader in infectious diseases clinical research with an exceptional educational and career development background. He focuses on persons living with HIV, particularly affected women, developing HIV clinical and translational research programs, and on mentoring the next generation of researchers. He has led large programs in HIV clinical and translational research, HIV and STI focused women’s health research, clinical and translational research career development and research education, including co-founding the Emory osteo-immunology Clinical and Translational research group. In addition, he is the PI of the multimillion-dollar Atlanta Women’s Interagency HIV Study. one of the largest longitudinal cohorts in the world aimed at studying age related comorbidities and other long-term impact of HIV among U.S. women. His mentoring efforts have included leading the team (as administrative PI and Program Director) that successfully competed for the NIH Office of Research in Women’s Health-sponsored BIRCWH award (K12HD085850) aimed at building interdisciplinary research careers in women’s health at Emory. He has served as a lead mentor for over 30 trainees, most of whom have remained in academic medicine, and several of whom have received extramural funding including NIH career development awards. In recognition of his contributions to clinical and translational research, mentoring, and research education, he has received several service awards including the 2017 Emory Infectious Diseases Division Paul Beeson’s Award. Dr. Ofotokun has significant experience with large, multi-site clinical trials, including serving as a co-Vice Chair for an ACTG 1,800-subject clinical trial conducted at 52 sites across the country was designed with a goal of evaluating antiretroviral therapy regimens that are suitable for HIV-infected women of childbearing age. More recently, he led (as the administrative PI) a team of multi-disciplinary scientists from Emory, Virginia Common Wealth University, Richmond, VA, and Cornell University, New York, to successfully apply for the Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences (U54AG062334) and is also the administrative PI of the Emory Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) R38 Program.