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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
TIME named Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma to the 2026 TIME100 Health List of the World’s Most Influential Leaders in Health. The 2026 TIME100 Health spotlights the 100 most influential leaders in health this year. As the global order has shifted, these titans, innovators, leaders, pioneers, and catalysts have pushed new ideas — from gene therapies to regulatory agencies — ahead to build healthier populations around the world. The full list and related tributes appear in the 2/23 issue, available on newsstands on Friday, February 13, 2026, and now at time.com/time100health.
Advancing global health through clinical and implementation research
Professor Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma is a world-leading expert in clinical and implementation research on poverty-related infectious diseases. He leads the Drug Implementation Research Group at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Hamburg and holds a joint professorship with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), focusing on developing and evaluating new therapies for diseases such as malaria, Schistosomiasis and other infections that disproportionately affect women, children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. His work spans from designing and running multinational clinical trials to strengthening local research capacity and improving maternal and child health outcomes through evidence-based interventions. His publications have contributed to understanding infection dynamics and treatment strategies, and his role bridges research institutions in Europe and Africa.
Prof. Mombo-Ngoma has led an important Phase 3 clinical trial in Gabon that found a single-dose malaria treatment combining four established antimalarial drugs achieved cure rates comparable to the standard three-day regimen. This innovative approach tackles two major barriers in malaria control: rising drug resistance and poor patient adherence to multi-day treatments. By harnessing a novel four-drug combination that targets multiple vulnerabilities of the malaria parasite, he and his team tested a therapy that is both highly effective and easy to administer in resource-limited settings. The findings were presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and are a potential leap forward for malaria care in sub-Saharan Africa.
Prof. Dr Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma: “I am deeply honoured to be included in the TIME100 Health list. This recognition reflects the efforts of many colleagues and partners in Africa and Europe who share a commitment to reduce the burden of neglected infectious diseases. Our work is driven by the belief that scientific excellence must translate into real health benefits for communities most in need.”
“Ghyslain Mombo Ngoma’s appointment to the TIME100 Health list underscores his extraordinary impact on global health,” says Prof. Dr Jürgen May, BNITM’s Chair of the Board. “The recognition of his work in TIME also reflects the extremely successful collaboration between the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). We congratulate him on this well-deserved award.”
With this recognition, TIME highlights not only individual leadership, but also the critical importance of translating biomedical research into sustainable health improvements for populations worldwide.
About the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM)
The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) is Germany's largest institution for research, care and teaching in the field of tropical and emerging infectious diseases. Its main areas of focus include malaria, haemorrhagic fever viruses, neglected tropical diseases, immunology and epidemiology. With its high-security level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories and a high-security level 3 (BSL-3) insectarium, the institute is one of the world's leading institutions for handling highly pathogenic pathogens.
Research at the BNITM is organised into five sections covering the entire spectrum from basic research to application: Pathogen (pathogen research), Interface (host-pathogen interactions and immunology), Patient (clinical research), Population (epidemiology) and Implementation (implementation research). The Data Science Centre has been newly established. As a member of the Leibniz Association, the BNITM combines basic research with clinical application and global cooperation.
The BNITM maintains numerous international collaborations, particularly in Africa. A key partnership exists with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) in Ghana, which is jointly operated by the Ghanaian Ministry of Health and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Another established strategic partner is the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) in Gabon, with which the BNITM has been collaborating in clinical and implementation research for over a decade. Together with CERMEL, the BNITM conducts large-scale clinical trials and implementation projects, particularly on malaria and other poverty-related diseases, and provides long-term support for the expansion of local research infrastructures and expertise.
Prof. Dr Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma
Research Group Leader RG Drug Implementation
Phone : +24166072578 / +49 176 89217075
Email : ghyslain.mombo-ngoma@bnitm.de
kiasia.truluck@time.com
https://time.com/time100health
Prof. Dr. Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma
Source: BNITM | Julia Rauner
Copyright: ©TIME
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Prof. Dr. Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma
Source: BNITM | Julia Rauner
Copyright: ©TIME
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