Dr. Perkins earned his doctorate in neuroscience and molecular biology from The Ohio State University and then transitioned to postdoctoral training as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellow in hematology and tropical medicine at Duke University. During this time, he worked on the pathogenesis of severe malaria in Tanzanian and Gabonese Children, where he spent considerable time doing molecular-based field research in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Perkins then joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, U.S.), where he served in the Malaria Molecular Vaccine Section as a Research Scholar, focused on advancing vaccine strategies for malaria. This experience deepened his commitment to combating infectious diseases in vulnerable populations.

He has secured over $39 million in research funding as Principal Investigator and more than $55 million as a Co-Investigator through grants from the NIH, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Gates Foundation, pharma and biotech companies, and other major funders. His research focuses on malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19, spanning both laboratory and field-based settings in the U.S. and Kenya.

In Siaya County, Kenya, Dr. Perkins has led efforts to build state-of-the-art clinical laboratories and launch community health programs that have directly reduced childhood mortality from 22% to 2.7%. His world-class team’s research explores host-pathogen interactions, immune dysregulation, and therapeutic discovery, with a strong emphasis on health parity and local capacity building.

A prolific author with over 130 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Perkins has also mentored more than 90 postgraduate global health trainees, including those with MSc, MPH, PhD, MD, postdoctoral fellowship, and junior faculty backgrounds, across Africa, Asia, South America, and the U.S. His NIH-funded Fogarty International Center-funded training programs have become global models for developing scientific leaders in low-resource settings. Two of his trainees have received the prestigious Top African Scientist Award from the Royal Society of Pfizer.

He also founded the Siaya Community Sickle Cell Anemia Outreach Program to provide free screening services, enabling the identification of children and adults with sickle cell disease or carrier status. This program is now part of the activities of the Winam Pediatric and Maternal Health CBO.

Driven by a vision to harness science for social impact, Dr. Perkins has spent at least five months each year in Kenya over the past 24+ years, working alongside communities, local governments, and universities to ensure that science drives real-world change. His mission is rooted in the belief that access to knowledge, care, and opportunity is the path to lasting global health solutions.

 “Addressing the global community’s most urgent health challenges requires innovative solutions that foster access to care, mentorship, and deeply rooted local partnerships.”

-Dr. DJ Perkins, Founder & Chair