Professor Richard A. Adegbola, FAS, is an internationally respected Medical Microbiologist with over 30 years of experience across diagnostic microbiology, academic research, global health, and the pharmaceutical sector. He holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Dundee, UK, and has led impactful work in infectious disease epidemiology, vaccine research, and health systems strengthening across Africa, Europe, and North America. As Chairman of Nigeria’s National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC), Professor Adegbola provides national leadership in promoting ethical standards, regulation, and oversight of health research. His research has been instrumental in shaping global vaccine policy, particularly through landmark studies on Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b, which contributed to the introduction of conjugate vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria. He has held senior roles at the Lagos State University, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, and the MRC Unit in The Gambia, where he directed a WHO Collaborating Centre on bacterial epidemics. He is Founder and Lead Consultant of RAMBICON, a Lagos-based global health and immunisation consultancy. Professor Adegbola is a Trustee of the Sabin Vaccine Institute (USA), a member of the WHO-AFRO Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group, and serves on numerous international scientific advisory boards. He has authored over 260 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters, with over 23,000 citations and an H-index of 67. He is deeply committed to capacity development and has mentored numerous postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers who now serve in leadership roles worldwide. In 2014, he was recognised as one of 30 global #PneumoniaFighters by the global health community. He continues to advocate for evidence-based health policy, ethical research practices, and the advancement of science in Nigeria and beyond.