Professor Alash’le Abimiku, is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), and a Professor at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; She has over 2 decades of establishing laboratory infrastructure and science in Nigeria with long-term collaborations with the USA. Prof. Abimiku’s research focuses on the role of HIV subtypes in disease pathogenesis using mother to child model; and effects of co-infections such as TB on HIV pathogenesis as a successful and funded independent researcher. Prof. Abimiku has trained a cadre of Nigerian scientists and is internationally recognized for her leadership in HIV research, and in promoting laboratory diagnostics and medicine in Africa. She played a significant role in the past as a member of the WHO HIV vaccine advisory committee and the African AIDS Vaccine Program. She currently serves as a member of the international scientific advisory group for University of Cape Town, and as Board chair of the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM).