Meet Dr Happi. With $100m and a steely determination could he save the world from the next pandemic?

The Cameroonian professor made the Time most influential list in 2025 and saw the project he co-founded receive $100m for its virus detection work. Now he is on a mission to transform Africa’s genomics capability

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inning the world’s health lottery is a lonely business in the current climate. “It’s like being an orphan in a space where there used to be many kids playing – suddenly everybody’s gone and you’re just there with a ball,” says Dr Christian Happi.

The Cameroonian distinguished professor of molecular biology and genomics has just won $100m for his work – at a time when global health funding is being viciously slashed as part of wider aid cuts.

“It gets very lonely when you have this type of resource, and then around you, your colleagues have nothing to do, don’t have resources to work and are closing down labs,” says the 57-year-old from his office at Redeemer’s University in Ede, Nigeria.