Yvan Zolo is a physician with a strong passion for neurosurgery, surgical systems strengthening, and medical education. He is passionate about empowering the next generation of medical professionals through mentorship and grassroots leadership, while advocating for sustainable and environmentally responsible surgical practices across Africa. His work also includes improving access to high-quality surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care in resource-limited settings, with a particular interest in space-enabled health technologies.

He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Buea, Cameroon, and completed an MSc in Medicine (Global Surgery) with distinction at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he investigated the use of geospatial mapping to improve access to neurosurgical care for neonates with neural tube defects. He is currently a PhD candidate in Global Surgery at UCT, with research focused on Global Surgery Education in Central, East, and Southern Africa, and serves as Principal Investigator on a funded study examining access to emergency surgical care in the Cape Town metropolitan area using space-enabled technologies. This work received the Space Generation Advisory Council’s SGC/IAC Nebula Award in August 2024.

As a researcher at the International Center for Astronautical Development, Yvan contributes to the Civilian Medical Information for Space Travel (C-MIST) project. He was awarded a full scholarship by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to attend the 2023 Space4Women Expert Meeting, where he supported the development of UNOOSA’s gender mainstreaming toolkit and advocated for space-based solutions to advance maternal and child health.

He is also a contributor to the Reach Alliance, a global research initiative founded at the University of Toronto, where he worked on “From Street to Home: How the Haven Night Shelter Enables Reintegration for Adults Who Are Unhoused in Cape Town,” examining community-based reintegration pathways and structural barriers to essential services.

In 2022, Yvan was awarded the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship for his leadership as President of the Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, expanding the organization across Africa and mentoring hundreds of aspiring neurosurgeons.

Outside of all this academia wahala, I am a real-life explorer, whether I am roaming museum halls, diving into comic book worlds, or finally catching up on sleep. But my real soft spot is proper Cameroonian food: think a hot plate of eru and garri, loaded with extra canda (that crispy smoked cow skin, wahala dey!). Because truth be told… which kind of life we dey live without the small things weh dey make us smile? Man must enjoy small, no be so?