Dougbeh Chris Nyan is a
Liberian medical doctor, a
biomedical research scientist, social activist and inventor.
He specializes in
infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
research.
Education
Nyan studied chemistry and zoology at the College of Science and Technology of the
University of Liberia
The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...
. He holds a degree in human-medicine (infectious diseases) from
Humboldt-University Berlin,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Nyan did his post-doctoral fellowship as a biomedical scientist at the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(NIH), USA and the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, USA.
Nyan is an activist for democracy and social justice. He was imprisoned by the Liberian military government of General
Samuel Doe and afterwards, in 1988, exiled.
In 2014, Nyan was head of the Diaspora Liberian Emergency Response Task Force on the
Ebola Crisis. The team of Liberian professionals and diaspora organizations was fighting the
Ebola outbreak in Liberia and surrounding areas.
US Food and Drug Administration
Until 2014, Nyan was a scientist at the Laboratory of Emerging Pathogens of the Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases at the
US Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA).
In September 2014 Nyan gave a congressional testimony on the Ebola outbreak. After testifying before
, his fellowship was terminated. In an interview Nyan mentioned he was never told what raised the FDA's disapproval. When the FDA removed his name from a scientific research paper and the development of a medical test he filed a
complaint against FDA.
Congressman
Lamar Smith
Lamar Seeligson Smith (born November 19, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives for for 16 terms, a district including most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as ...
, Chairman of the
US Oversight Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, initiated an inquiry process. After two years, in October 2016, the FDA returned the patent documents to Nyan.
Nyan invented a rapid diagnostic test that detects Ebola,
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
,
Zika
Zika fever, also known as Zika virus disease or simply Zika, is an infectious disease caused by the Zika virus. Most cases have no symptoms, but when present they are usually mild and can resemble dengue fever. Symptoms may include fever, red ...
,
Plasmodium
''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a ver ...
(Malaria),
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
virus,
Dengue
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic ...
virus,
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection.
Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...
,
C, and
E, and
West Nile virus.
The test can detect three to seven infections simultaneously in 10 to 40 minutes.
Awards
* July 26, 2016, Nyan received the Humane Order of African Redemption from
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monro ...
* July 2017 Innovation Prize for Africa for Social Impact
Private life
Nyan has four children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyen, Dougbeh Chris
Living people
Liberian infectious disease physicians
University of Liberia alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
National Institutes of Health people
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
University of Pennsylvania people