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Dr. Chinelo Animalu has made it her mission to not only treat infectious diseases, but to educate the public on prevention.<\/p>\nDr. Chinelo Animalu has made it her mission to not only treat infectious diseases, but to educate the public on prevention.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how\u00a0Chinelo\u00a0Animalu, MD,\u00a0describes\u00a0her\u00a0role as an infectious disease physician:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deal with those cases that\u00a0make\u00a0everybody else\u00a0run\u00a0in the opposite direction,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases<\/a> in the College of Medicine at UT Health Science Center,<\/a> Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0is also the medical director for Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis. Her primary clinical practice is at Methodist University Hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n Born in\u00a0Nigeria, Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0says her early years set the stage for the work that is her passion\u00a0today.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up in Nigeria, I was very sickly and had to take medicines\u00a0for different types of\u00a0infections,\u201d she recalls.\u00a0She would see the devastating results, including blindness, disfigurement, and death,\u00a0from common infections that were left untreated due to\u00a0a\u00a0shortage of physicians, a lack of medications, and inadequate health care facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI used to be traumatized seeing these people,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0like,\u00a0\u2018Why\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0somebody help them?\u2019\u00a0And so,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0not only what gave me that foundation in medicine, but also\u00a0the\u00a0foundation in infectious disease,\u00a0because what\u00a0kills us\u00a0the\u00a0most\u00a0in Africa is going to be infections.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0earned her medical degree from the University of Nigeria and completed a residency\u00a0there. She married and\u00a0immigrated\u00a0to the United States. An internal medicine residency at\u00a0St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago\u00a0followed. She later earned\u00a0a\u00a0master\u2019s degree\u00a0in public health\u00a0at Tulane University.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my calling,\u201d she says. \u201cMy specialty when I was in Nigeria was actually public health.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0moved to Memphis for a fellowship in infectious disease\u00a0at UT Health Science Center. She\u00a0joined the College of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor in\u00a02016 and\u00a0became an associate professor in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do two different kinds of work\u00a0\u2014\u00a0my clinical work at Methodist and then my outreach,\u201d she says. The latter role she does as a\u00a0volunteer because\u00a0she sees a need that must be met.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0speaks at meetings, churches, schools,\u00a0community\u00a0events, and in the media about the prevention of infectious diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the experiences back home in Nigeria and in Africa in general, because I\u2019ve been to so many African countries, the problem is still the\u00a0same\u00a0\u2014\u00a0lack\u00a0of knowledge, people just dying from preventable causes,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n She is particularly vocal about preventing HIV infections.\u00a0Memphis has the second-\u00a0highest rate of new infections in the county, with\u00a0most new cases among those\u00a0ages\u00a015\u00a0to\u00a024.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is devastating, because obviously there\u2019s something we\u2019re doing wrong,\u201d Dr.\u00a0Animalu\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe clinic is for treatment. My own work\u00a0\u2014\u00a0what I want us to do\u00a0is prevention, not treatment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/250814_HCHero_JJ_30-1-edited.jpg\")
Dr. Animalu\u2019s work in the Memphis community was recognized last year by the Memphis Business Journal with a Health Care Heroes Award.<\/p>\n