Alumni Profile: Dr Joseph Nkolola
Dr Joseph Patrick Nkolola is a biomedical researcher who obtained his BSc degree in Biology/Chemistry at the University of Zambia in 1993 and in 1998 was awarded his MSc degree in molecular biology from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. After a brief lecturing position at the University of Zambia, he obtained his DPhil in Immunology at Green College in 2004, where he was the recipient of a prestigious United Kingdom Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Scholarship.
Upon completion of this terminal degree, Dr Nkolola moved to the United States of America to undertake a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston under the John E. Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP). In 2007, he then moved to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a training hospital for Harvard Medical School, where he currently holds the senior position of Staff Scientist in the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research.
Dr Nkolola has devoted his 20-year scientific career to the immunology of infectious diseases that include HIV, ZIKA, Influenza and COVID-19 and appears as a co-author in 64 scientific papers published in top tier, peer-reviewed international journals. He has been a key participant in numerous research teams developing vaccines and interventions for infectious diseases and is a co-patent holder of an HIV vaccine that was used in 2017 as part of a large clinical trial in Southern Africa that included Zambia.
Among his most recent high-level accomplishments in the biomedical sciences, Dr Nkolola was a key participant of a research team at BIDMC, led by world renowned physician-scientist Professor Dan Barouch, that worked in conjunction with the pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson to develop their COVID-19 vaccine that helped save millions of lives globally. The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) played a significant role in global vaccination. Its single-dose formulation and standard refrigeration requirements made it a valuable tool for rapid immunization campaigns, particularly in regions where complex cold chain logistics were not feasible. Over 50 million doses were administered worldwide by April 2022.
President Hakainde Hichilema, the President of the Republic of Zambia, and his guest of honour Daniel Chapo, President of Mozambique, recently honoured Dr Nkolola in absentia with the Order of the Eagle of Zambia, 3rd Division, at an Investiture Ceremony held in Zambia in commemoration of the country’s 61st Independence Day on October 24 2025. The award is the highest civil decoration of Zambia and was given in recognition of Dr Nkolola’s distinguished service to Zambia in the field of biomedical sciences. The award was accepted on his behalf by his young sister.
