Chidi Akusobi (BBS)
Chidi Akusobi, MD-PhD ’22, wants to understand the biology of infectious diseases, and help build the science pipeline for students of color
Like everybody else these days, Chidi Akusobi, MD-PhD ’22, is thinking a lot about COVID-19. But for Akusobi—who defends his doctoral thesis at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in June before finishing his degree at Harvard Medical School—the virus is both a potential spark for future research and a deeply personal concern.
Akusobi grew up in the Bronx, the heart of New York City’s COVID-19 outbreak, where his parents and sister work as nurses. During the initial weeks of the pandemic, they lacked adequate personal protective equipment even as they cared for sick and dying patients. It was a stressful time for Akusobi’s close-knit family, including his two brothers and extended relations in Nigeria, but by early May, his parents and sister reported they were feeling adequately protected and seeing fewer severe cases of COVID-19.