Maureen Okam Achebe, daughter of the late renowned novelist Chinua Achebe, has been honored with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital 2024 Faculty Development and Diversity Award.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a premier teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, recognized Okam Achebe for her exceptional achievements in clinical care, research, education, and community service. The hospital notified her of the award in a letter dated July 2, as shared by her sibling Chidi Achebe, chairman of African Integrated Development Enterprise Public Benefit Corporation (AIDE PBC).
Okam Achebe earned her first medical degree from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, followed by hematology and medical oncology training at Yale School of Medicine, and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Currently, Okam Achebe is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director at Brigham. She is involved in demonstrating the benefits of screening and early intervention for sickle cell disease (SCD) in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, she serves as a commissioner on the Lancet Non-Communicable Disease and Injuries (NCDI) Nigeria Poverty Commission, where she guides the identification and prioritization of policies and interventions to reduce the SCD burden in Nigeria.
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