John Soleemulo Fayiah

DOCTORAL STUDENT

John grew up on the Firestone rubber plantations in Liberia and worked in gold and diamond mines during the Liberian Civil War. He trained in chemistry and biology at Cuttington University in Liberia, before specializing in molecular techniques at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. John subsequently served as research laboratory manager for the Partnership for Research on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in Liberia (PREVAIL) that was launched during the 2013-2016 West African Ebola epidemic. Over the course of his career in the natural sciences, John has researched vector-borne diseases such as malaria, and plant viruses such as the cassava mosaic virus. With expertise in molecular biology and a lived experience of the extractive landscapes of central and northwestern Liberia, John now investigates the historical relationships between landscape change, labor migration, and diseases such as trypanosomiasis and onchocerciasis on mining and rubber concessions in Liberia. He is committed to providing recommendations to policymakers for improving environmental health regulations in the sub-region, and ultimately advancing the research infrastructure of Liberia.