LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2014) — University of Kentucky graduate Mosoka Fallah is among the Ebola fighters in West Africa that has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
A native of Liberia, Fallah received his bachelor’s degree in his home country and a master’s degree from Kent State University in the United States. He studied at the University of Kentucky from 2005 to 2011, obtaining his doctorate in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in 2011. He subsequently received a master’s in public health from Harvard University.
“For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time’s 2014 Person of the Year,” the magazine said in a statement.
Members of the UK College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics recall Fallah’s enthusiasm for learning. Department Chair Beth Garvy, who served on Fallah’s doctoral committee, said at the end of every year, Fallah asked members of the department for old textbooks to send home to Liberia.
Fallah, despite the known risk of exposure to the virus, is following a trail of Ebola, instructing neighborhood leaders to report cases of sick victims of the disease and urging cooperation with government officials. After receiving his education in the United States, Fallah returned to his home country to set up a health clinic for women and children. He has also worked on community-based initiatives to stop the spread of Ebola for the United Nations Development Program.
To see the Time article, go to http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-ebola-doctors/.
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