Prof. Sulaiman S. Ibrahim

Professor Sulaiman Sadi Ibrahim (Sulaiman S. Ibrahim) is a Nigerian academic, biomedical scientist, and an expert in vector-borne tropical diseases. He is recognized for his pioneering research in functional genomics, vector-borne diseases, and climate-induced infectious disease dynamics across sub-Saharan Africa. Through high-level international funding and strategic global committee appointments, he has established critical research infrastructure in northern Nigeria, positioning himself as a leading figure in African public health capacity building.

He is a Professor of Biochemistry (Tropical Diseases) in the Department of Biochemistry at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Nigeria; Research Associate at Universite Andre Salifou, Zinder, Niger Republic; Senior Research Scientist at Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, CRID, Cameroon; and a Consultant Research Scientist at the Nigerian National Arbovirus and Vectors Research Centre, Enugu, Nigeria.

His key research focus includes characterisation of molecular basis of insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors and pesticide resistance in agricultural pests using transcriptomics and functional genomics, as well as of recent, analysing how environmental fluctuations and rising temperatures associated with climate change alter the transmission patterns of infectious diseases. These activities have led to highly cited publication records, accumulating over 3,262 citations (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aelMEhoAAAAJ&hl=en) outstanding H-index of 30 (and an i10-index of 43) from 47 peer-reviewed journal articles, placing him within top 5% of active researchers globally.

Professor Ibrahim holds a highly competitive global funding portfolio dedicated to tackling malaria and other vector-borne infections (e.g., transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes) and building African scientific self-reliance. He made history as the first Nigerian to be awarded the Wellcome Trust International Training Fellowship, 2016-2019 (https://tinyurl.com/58fryf7j), and the first Nigerian to be awarded the Wellcome Trust Career Development Award, 2023-2032 (https://tinyurl.com/4s2epjkb), with this 8-year CDA research initiative exploring how global warming causes malaria vectors to adapt to rising temperatures (thermotolerance) and how this impacts insecticide-treated bed nets for control of vectors. He is also a recipient of a Medical Research Foundation Impact of Climate Change on Health grant, 2024-2027 (https://tinyurl.com/ynpsy6ju) in collaboration with scientists from the Imperial College London.

Utilizing his Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Foundation funding, he established a state-of-the-art molecular biology laboratory, insectary and other facilities required for research, in Kano, Nigeria, providing regional African scientists and postgraduate students with world-class facilities and mentorship.

Away from core research activities, Prof. Ibrahim has been contributing to wider research community. From 2023 to 2026 Prof. Ibrahim has been a member of Wellcome Trust Infection ad Immunobiology Early-Career Advisory Group, directly evaluating and shaping international funding decisions for next-generation discovery research. From September 2026-2027 he will sit in the combined ECA/CDA Pathogen Transmission Infection Biology Advisory Committee.

Currently, he is an Associate Editor of the Malaria journal, a Topic Editor for Frontiers in Malaria journal (Insecticide Resistance Management in Malaria Vectors) and was a Guest Editor for Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, mdpi (Insecticides and Antimalarial Resistance Markers).

Prof. Ibrahim founded the Centrum for Tropical and Infectious Diseases Research (CTID^R) in Kano, Nigeria, in 2025, with the support of Prof. Abdulrazaq Habb, who is also a director in the centre. The centre is envisioned to drive local and international research excellence, by conducting primary and translational investigations related to tropical and infectious diseases, to advance health and wellbeing in Nigeria and beyond.