Stella Ameyo Adadevoh

Stella Ameyo Adadevoh was born into a prominent Nigerian family. Her great-grandfather was Herbert Macaulay, one of the founders of modern Nigeria, and her father was a professor and former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos. She graduated from the University of Lagos College of Medicine and completed her fellowship in endocrinology at Hammersmith Hospital in London. She worked as a senior consultant physician and endocrinologist at the First Consultant Hospital in Lagos for 21 years. She was also involved in the detection and management of swine flu in Nigeria in 2012. In July 2014, she diagnosed and quarantined Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought the Ebola virus to Nigeria. She resisted the pressure from the Liberian government and Sawyer's employers to discharge him and allow him to travel to another city. She also alerted the Nigerian health authorities and ensured the provision of protective materials and education to the hospital staff. She and several of her colleagues contracted the virus while treating Sawyer. She died on August 19, 2014, after receiving an experimental drug. She was widely praised for her courage and professionalism, and credited with preventing a wider spread of the virus in Nigeria and potentially saving thousands of lives. She was posthumously honoured with several awards and recognitions, including the Nigerian National Order of Merit, the highest national honour for academic achievement.