Dougbeh Chris Nyan is a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n medical doctor, a

biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

research scientist, social activist and inventor. He specializes in

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Nyan did his post-doctoral fellowship as a biomedical scientist at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH), USA and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, USA. Nyan is an activist for democracy and social justice. He was imprisoned by the Liberian military government of General

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990. He ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 ...

and afterwards, in 1988, exiled. In 2014, Nyan was head of the Diaspora Liberian Emergency Response Task Force on the

Ebola Crisis The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sie ...

. 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 United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, 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 In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

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 w ...

, 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 im ...

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, conju ...

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 Hematophagy, blood-feeding insect host (biology), host which then inj ...

(Malaria), Yellow Fever virus,

Dengue Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...

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 Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf (born 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 Monrovia to a Gola ...

* 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