President Hichilema Honours Dr Joseph Nkolola with the Eagle of Zambia Award
President Hakainde Hichilema has conferred the Order of the Eagle of Zambia, Third Division on Dr Joseph Patrick Nkolola in recognition of his outstanding contributions to biomedical research and global public health. The honour was presented during the Independence Day Investiture Ceremony held at State House in Lusaka.
Dr Nkolola, a distinguished Zambian biomedical researcher, was recognised for his pioneering work in vaccine development and infectious disease immunology. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Zambia in 1993 and later earned a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium in 1998.
Following a brief lecturing role at the University of Zambia, he pursued his doctoral studies in Immunology at Oxford University, where he was awarded a prestigious United Kingdom Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Scholarship.
He completed his PhD in 2004 before undertaking a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health under the John E. Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Programme.
Since 2007, Dr Nkolola has served as a Staff Scientist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on the immunology of infectious diseases, including HIV, Zika, Influenza, and COVID-19.
He has co-authored 64 peer-reviewed scientific publications and co-holds a patent for an HIV vaccine that was trialled in Southern Africa, including Zambia, in 2017.
Among his notable achievements, Dr Nkolola played a key role in the team led by world-renowned physician-scientist Professor Dan Barouch at BIDMC that collaborated with Johnson & Johnson to develop the COVID-19 vaccine Ad26.COV2.S.
This single-dose vaccine became a crucial tool in global immunisation efforts, particularly in regions with limited cold chain infrastructure. By April 2022, over 50 million doses had been administered worldwide, contributing significantly to the fight against the pandemic.
The Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, which nominated Dr Nkolola for the award, congratulated him for receiving this national honour in absentia. In a statement, the Embassy said Dr Nkolola’s recognition was a testament to the exceptional impact Zambians continue to make globally in science, innovation, and public health.
The Embassy further conveyed its best wishes to Dr Nkolola for continued success in his professional endeavours, noting that his achievements serve as an inspiration to the next generation of Zambian scientists and innovators.
