Professional History: Professor Yap Boum II is the regional representative for Africa for Epicentre, the research arm of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). He is currently based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. From 2009 to 2014 Boum headed the Epicentre research base in Mbarara, Uganda, leading research projects on tuberculosis and malaria among others. Most recently, in Guinea, he was in charge of Laboratory Coordination for the MSF/Epicentre Phase 3 trial for the vaccine against Ebola, VSV-EBOV.

Boum taught at Mbarara University of Sciences where he has a professorship in Microbiology. In addition, he teaches Public Health and Microbiology at the Universities of Yaoundé I, Douala, and Virginia.

Boum is also co-founder of Kmerpad, a nonprofit that developed washable sanitary pads to empower women and allow them to fully participate in their education. Kmerpad also aims to have a critical impact on the huge amount of waste generated by the use of non-reusable sanitary pads. He had also cofounded iDocta that aims to provide quality healthcare by using technology to connect patients and health professionals.

In all his work Boum is inspired by the vision of a healthy and wealthy Africa. He aims to advance research and innovative solutions and promote the creation of a critical mass of young Africans to address the social and public health challenges Africa's faces.

Academic and professional credentials: Degree in Engineering from the School of Industrial Biology, France
Masters in Microbiology from Universite Paris XI
PhD in Microbiology from University Paris XI
Masters in Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Liverpool

Professorship in microbiology at Mbarara University of Sciences and Technology in Uganda.

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