From curiosity-driven science to real world impacts
By Tehillah T. Chinunga
Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, MD, MSc, DTM&H, PhD
Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, MD, MSc, DTM&H, PhD is a formidable presence in the field of medicine and clinical research as a Cameroonian woman scientist at Emory University. Dr. Titanji’s curiosity about science ignited a journey that shaped her future success.
Frequent visits to her father’s lab, a scientist and principal investigator, cultivated her early interest in science. One Sunday afternoon after church, as the routine was on many other weekends, she followed her father who was running errands at his lab. “Please entertain my daughter,” her father said to a PhD student who came to do their share of experiments on the weekend.
Meanwhile, Dr. Titanji’s inquisitive 10-year-old mind was drawn to a container carrying a clear substance, resembling floating “Jell-O”, with holes filled with a red liquid. After waiting for what felt like forever, the PhD student explained to her what a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is, then showed her a picture of the “Jell-O” with bands glowing in the dark. “Amazing!,” she said with wonder. Moments like these were pivotal in capturing her fascination with science. She realized that her consistent academic exposure could not easily be replaced. Her father’s explanations of experiments and hypotheses made science even more fascinating to her.
Photo by Etactics Inc on Unsplash
When asked about hurdles she experienced early in her journey as a woman in science and if she had support or role models to look up to, she responded, “So, while I didn't necessarily have many female role models in science and the challenge of growing up in an environment where it is not necessarily viewed as an asset to be a woman of high academic achievement, my father was very encouraging of his kids to be curious and pursue what they were engaged by, regardless of sex.” Accordingly, Dr. Titanji broke the mold up into adulthood. She did not conform to societal expectations and suggestions of what society thinks should matter for women’s success.
Years later, Dr. Titanji pursued a combined bachelor’s degree and MD degree in Cameroon. After working for two years as a primary care physician, she uncovered her curiosity to merge clinical practice and research. She then pursued a PhD in virology in the UK. Leaving her home country to pursue a graduate degree in the UK came with a cultural shift and navigating people’s biases due to their ignorance of her capabilities. Titanji’s dissertation research focused on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance. Afterwards, she returned to clinical practice, specializing in infectious diseases and internal medicine, while also completing a post-doctoral fellowship. Her career goal of combining research and clinical practice was achieved with a faculty position at Emory University.
“Knowing the heavy disease burden of where I come from, I'm still able to feed both parts of my brain with the interactive, patient-centered part, and also carry out research,” said Dr. Titanji.
She currently spends 65 percent of her time on research at Emory University and 35 percent on clinical work at Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University Hospital. Her research aims to understand how HIV infections lead to injuries to the inner walls of blood vessels, as a result of going through its life cycle, and cause heart problems in people living with HIV.
Her excellence and dedication have not gone unnoticed. Among many other accolades, in 2023 Dr. Titanji received the Health Care Heroes award in the Innovator/Researcher Category for her work at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Dr. Titanji led clinical studies that resulted in baricitinib, an immune modulator and Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor, being taken into clinical trials to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Cancer cells or infections can hijack chemical reactions in the body. In turn, such abnormalities enable uncontrolled responses by the immune system. That is where JAK inhibitors come in, to restore the body’s control and reduce fatalities. Notably, her Emory-based collaborators and inventors of baricitinib include Raymond Schinazi PhD, DSc and Christina Gavegnano PhD, who did preliminary clinical work which demonstrated antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses.
Dr. Titanji also engages in science communication and advocacy, aiming to influence policy and public health, especially in Africa. In addition to giving a TED talk on Ethical Riddles in HIV Research, while in London, she organized a global health talk series to inform the public and combat health misinformation about the 2014 Ebola outbreak. She emphasized the importance of science communication and advocacy during public health crises. Her global health campaign efforts led to recognition among the BBC 100 Women 2014. More recently, as she actively continues her role as global health advocate, Dr. Titanji was featured on the Global Health Unfiltered podcast in 2024 sharing her thoughts on Uncovering the root causes of the mpox outbreak.
When Dr. Titanji is not at the bench or attending to her patients, she still finds ways to combine science with her personal interests such as cooking and gardening.
Finally, an important reminder for innovative scientists, in Dr. Titanji's words is, “the science you do can be as amazing as you want it to be, but if you are not able to communicate it or use it to drive policy changes that directly impact people's lives, then it's just science out of curiosity.”
