Dr. Mohamed Kanu is a Professor of Public Health, former director of the Master of Public Health Program, and current Associate Dean in the College of Health Sciences at Tennessee State University in the United States. He is also actively involved in applied public health research in Sierra Leone. In 2019 – 2021, he served as senior researcher in a multi-year DIFID-funded project in Sierra Leone that focused on health emergency preparedness within the health sector. He is one of the editors of a book manuscript (in development) in multicultural health. Dr. Kanu received his Ph.D. and MPH in Public Health from Saint Louis University, respectively, his M.A. in Anthropology in the United States, and his B.A. (Hons) from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

Dr. Mohamed Kanu has been a public health professional for the past 20+ years. He has authored or co-authored more than 25 published or unpublished technical/evaluation reports and monographs and more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles, and book chapters, and is one of the co-authors and editors of a book, titled Diversity and Cultural Competence in the Health Sector: Ebola Affected Countries in West Africa. He served as the inaugural Director of the Master of Public Health Program at Tennessee State University from April 2009 – December 2018. In addition to his work as a Professor, Dr. Kanu has served as a consultant, guest presenter, as well as Board member for different organizations. Some of his honours include Tennessee State University Distinguished Research Award (2008); Fellow of the Emerging Leaders in Public Health Fellowship Program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and selected by peers as Most Outstanding Fellow of the Program in 2008; Recipient of the M. Alfred Haynes Research Training Institute for Social Equity Health Disparities Research Scholar’s Award; Public Health consultant to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of the Republic of Sierra Leone and supported by the World Bank.

Dr. Kanu is an accomplished public health academic, teacher, researcher, practitioner and thought leader in the field of international public health and development. He remains a committed and passionate advocate of the improvement of health and well-being globally. For 3 years, Dr. Kanu recruited students of various academic backgrounds to engage in international research in East Africa (Uganda). In May 2019, he conducted a short-term ethnographic and exploratory field study with healthcare administrators, healthcare providers, and community health workers to develop applied research and study abroad opportunities for Tennessee State University’s Master of Public Health program, in Cape Town, South Africa. He believes in pragmatic approaches to deliver outcomes that make positive difference in the lives of people wherever they may be.