Dr. Akudo Anyanwu, an award-winning global health expert, public health innovator, and social entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience serves at FIU Stempel College as Adjunct Professor of Global Health and University of Maryland School of Medicine as an Assistant Dean for Development. Previously, she worked as the inaugural Vice President for Business Development at the Clinton Access Health Initiative (CHAI). Previously, she served as Vice President of Development at Texas Biomedical, where she forged strategic partnerships, raised millions for scientific research, established an advisory board and created the Annual Texas Biomed Global Health Conference and a young scientist’s training program. For her work at Texas Biomed, she was recognized with the institute’s highest honor, the Stand for Science Award, which she received in 2024.
Prior to Texas Biomed, she was an Associate Dean of Development at Johns Hopkins University, where she led a $45-million-dollar campaign and doubled the professorships and scholarships within the School of Nursing. She has also served as Director of Partnerships at Emory University, where she led an international coalition of scientists, implementers and philanthropists; mobilizing resources and shaping policy for neglected tropical diseases.
As the Founder of Friends Africa, she spent a decade in Africa working in Rwanda, Nigeria, and South Africa focusing on HIV, TB, and malaria program implementation, policy, and resource mobilization. Dr. Anyanwu has also served on the boards of Roll Back Malaria, the Global Health Council, Grassroot Soccer, and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. She holds a doctorate in medicine from Tufts University, a master’s in public health from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s in molecular biology from Lehigh University. Anyanwu has received several awards, including Tufts University’s Distinguished Service Award, Harvard School of Public Health’s Innovator of the Year Award, the World Economic Forum Leadership Award and induction into the Harvard Business School Young American Leader’s Program.