About
Dr. Chidi Akusobi

I was born in the bustling city of Aba, Nigeria to Igbo parents from Imo State. I immigrated to the United States at the age of 2 and grew up in the Bronx, NY where my 3 younger siblings were born. As a young student, I was drawn to the sciences, but had no clue how to channel my interest and aptitude into a science based career. This was compounded by my attending under-resourced public schools that did not have the opportunities nor the resources to inspire and support me to dream big. The initial catalyst of my academic journey was ‘Prep for Prep,’ a program that prepares students from inner-city public schools to attend some of NYC’s best private and independent schools. I started attending Horace Mann in 7th grade, where I was blessed with an educational environment that supported my passion for science with real opportunities.

 

After Horace Mann, I attended Yale University, where I majored in Biology and conducted research in microbial evolution for 2 years. At Yale, I credit my research mentor Paul Turner, a Black scientist for many of my early research lessons as well as for the invaluable example he set. Working in his lab instilled in me the belief that I too can be a scientist. After graduation, I hopped across the pond to attend the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom where I received an MPhil in Biochemistry under a Gates Cambridge scholarship. I then worked for a year at TB Alliance, a non-profit drug discovery company focused on developing novel treatments for tuberculosis.  It was during this experience I became passionate about the power of research to fuel the progress of medicine and human health.  

 

In June, 2014, I matriculated into the MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School. For my PhD, I worked in Eric Rubin’s laboratory, where I studied essential genes in the pathogenic bacterium Mycobacterium abscessus. Eric was a wonderful PhD mentor who showed me the joys of a career combining science and medicine. I successfully defended my PhD thesis in June, 2020 and returned to finish the last two years of medical school. I graduated from the MD-PhD program in May, 2022 and started my Internal Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in June, 2022. 

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