By Ifeanyi Dibia
Dr Juliet Iwelunmor, a Nigerian-American professor of Medicine and Associate Director of Global Health and Dissemination at Washington University School of Medicine, is set to join participants at the 2024 Omniverse in Lagos, Nigeria, this February.
The event, which has begun, will see the professor join a panel discussion on “Prescribing melodies: can music be the next frontier in high blood pressure and stroke prevention?”
Dr Iwelunmor is a go-to authority on reimagining health using more real-world-oriented approaches. She describes herself as a “Light for Public Health” leader. She advocates for better healthcare procedures and preventative measures using varying art forms, such as storytelling, poetry, and art, to generate healing and transformation by centring people first in health.
The professor commits to amplifying the next generation of researchers by leading programs such as NIAID STAR, which seeks to stimulate training and access to HIV research experiences for under-represented scholars. She also leads the 4 Youth by Youth (4YBY) program and the 4 Girls and Women program, which works with young people to increase the uptake and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in global settings.
Before joining WUSM, Dr. Iwelunmor was a Professor at Saint Louis University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. From 2010-2013, she worked as a program specialist for the intersectoral platform on HIV at UNESCO in Paris, France.
Holding at Landmark Event Center, Dr. Iwelunmor will bring her experience in combining healthcare initiatives with the arts to the Omniverse Summit. She will speak about her work with the NIAID and the 4YBY initiative and how using art programs has helped her and her team impact hundreds of lives.
The 2024 Omniverse Summit is a carefully curated gathering of the brightest minds across the continent, fostering collaboration and igniting a conversation about Africa’s future in technology, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. It will feature four days of meaningful dialogue focused on actionable outcomes and designed to generate practical action plans from February 27 – March 1, 2024, structured around overarching themes of building narratives, inspiring innovation, fostering collaboration, and facilitating monetization.