Professor Bockarie has been actively engaged in research, advocacy, and funding efforts to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) for over three decades. He completed his MSc and PhD degrees at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), where his research focused on malaria transmission and NTDs in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Mali. His postdoctoral work further expanded this focus through studies conducted in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the United States. Professor. Bockarie currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medical Sciences at Njala University, Sierra Leone.
From 2016 to 2023, he served as Regional Director for Africa at the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). Prior to his tenure at EDCTP, he was Professor of Tropical Health Sciences and Director of the Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases at LSTM. In that role, he managed research and implementation grants across ten African and two Asian countries, collaborating closely with national ministries of health, academic institutions, and implementation partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, the Task Force for Global Health, and the UK’s Department for International Development. His scholarly contributions include over 200 peer-reviewed publications, with first-author papers in leading journals such as The Lancet, The Lancet Global Health, and The New England Journal of Medicine. His work has taken him to over 60 countries in support of NTD-related programs and research.
In recognition of his contributions to tropical medicine, in 2016 Professor. Bockarie received the Donald Mackay Medal from the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.