Gerald Misinzo

Gerald Misinzo is a veterinarian. He is a professor of virology and an Oliver R Tambo Africa Research Chair for Viral Epidemics at Sokoine University of Agriculture. He leads the World Bank-designated SACIDS Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals in Eastern and Southern Africa. Misinzo was a member of the Special COVID-19 Committee appointed by Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Early life and education

Gerald Misinzo was born in Sengerema, a town South of Lake Victoria on 2 January 1975. After attending local primary and secondary schools, he was admitted in 1995 to Sokoine University of Agriculture, in Morogoro, Tanzania, graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine in 2000.
He obtained a master's degree in Molecular Biology in 2003 from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Leuven, Belgium. He received a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from Ghent University in 2007. In his PhD thesis, he studied the entry of porcine circovirus 2 and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in their host cells.