Second Meeting of the DS-I Africa Consortium
29 October -2 November 2022

Dr James Alaro (Participant)

Dr. James R. Alaro, PhD is a Program Director at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Global Health (CGH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Dr. Alaro leads NCI/CGH's efforts to reduce the unequal burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through equitable research collaboration and translation of scientific evidence into policy and practice. His primary focus is in advancing cancer health disparities research globally and developing and managing funding programs that aim to strengthen research capacity in LMICs. Prior to this, Dr. Alaro served as a subject matter expert at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Fogarty International Center (FIC) where his work focused on developing and implementing sustainable strategies, policies, and partnerships to strengthen research capacity in LMICs. Dr. Alaro holds a Doctorate degree in Microbiology and Immunology from Drexel University where his research focused on developing a vaccine against Malaria. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at NIAID's Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research focusing on characterizing the immune responses to Malaria in children living in endemic regions. Dr. Alaro's commitment to improving health among the socially disadvantaged populations led him to found a non-profit organization, SNAR Foundation for Advancing Community Health, through which he mobilizes and empowers rural communities in Kenya to prevent and control non-communicable disease risk factors including elevated blood pressure and blood sugar.