Dr. Fatoumata Biro: a “childhood allergy” traces the journey of a dermatology enthusiast

From her childhood in Conakry to the lecture halls of UGANC, then the UFHB of Abidjan and the Sorbonne Paris-Cité, passing through the corridors of the Donka University Hospital, Dr. Fatoumata Biro Diallo has made dermatology much more than a medical specialty, but rather a vocation forged by scientific rigor, perseverance and a fierce desire to treat. At 36, this Guinean dermatologist, now working at the Donka national hospital, embodies a generation of doctors resolutely focused on excellence and international openness.

Born in Conakry, Fatoumata Biro Diallo grew up in a united family but very early on faced a painful ordeal which probably shaped her destiny. “When I was a child, I had an allergy in my feet. We didn't know what it was. These dermatoses tired me a lot, especially during exams,” she remembers.

This painful experience will turn into a driving force. Even today, she considers these trials as a sign. “I tell myself that this has been planned for a very long time. I had to pursue this medical career and become a dermatologist,” she said.

The decisive role of the father

Coming from the world of research, her father has great ambitions for his three daughters. "When we arrived in sixth grade, he told us: 'You are three girls, I don't have a boy. I wish there was a doctor in this family'", she says. Although the youngest that she is was not automatically designated, it is nevertheless she who will follow this path. “My dad inspired me a lot. He motivated me, he told me: you can do it. It’s my source of inspiration,” she confides.

An academic career marked by excellence

A brilliant student, top of her class in primary school, in 2006, she obtained her two baccalaureates in Conakry at just 17 years old. Dr. Biro joined the faculty of medicine at Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry, where in 2015 she defended her state doctoral thesis on pruritus in hospital consultations, a work praised by the jury with the distinction “very honorable”.

Eager to go further, in 2018 she moved to the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan for a specialization in dermatology-venereology. Four years of rigorous study led him to defend his DES thesis in August 2022, again crowned with a very honorable mention.

Abidjan, Bordeaux and Paris, an international opening

His career is enriched by a scholarship obtained in December 2022 from the French Society of Dermatology, which offers him a three-month internship at the Saint-André hospital in Bordeaux. She then completes her skills with a university teaching certificate in Abidjan in 2023, training in medical writing in Conakry in 2024, as well as several university diplomas. Hold, in October 2024, a connected international DU on HIV, viral hepatitis, sexual health and emerging infections at Sorbonne Paris-Cité, and in June 2025, a DU in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance at Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry.

Return and engagement in Guinea

Despite the opportunities abroad, his choice is clear: return to Guinea to serve.
“The terminus is here. We can't all leave. There must be people who stay to help this population,” she insists.

Since March 2024, she has worked as a dermatologist at Donka National Hospital. At the same time, she was appointed assistant head of clinic in September 2024 at Gamal Abdel Nasser University, where she will pass on her knowledge to future generations of doctors.

A researcher and public health activist

Active in research, she regularly publishes and presents her work at scientific conferences in Guinea and elsewhere. His communications cover various themes, such as pediatric dermatoses, acne in schools, atypical leprosy reactions and even rare skin tumors.
Dr. Biro is particularly committed to two scourges that have become worrying in Guinea. These are serious drug reactions and voluntary depigmentation.
“It’s a fight for me. I would like to help women accept their skin and their natural beauty,” she said with conviction.

Obstacles and perseverance

His journey was not without difficulties. From childhood illness to the recovery of his multiple study costs abroad, but also his integration, the path is sometimes strewn with pitfalls. “There were financial obstacles, especially for my specialty in Ivory Coast which I did with my own funds,” she reports.

A woman in a demanding field, she also highlights the weight of social pressures. “They tell you that you have to get married, have children. You have to reconcile home, research and personal life. It’s not easy,” testifies Dr. Fatoumata Biro Diallo.

Personal life and philosophy

Married, passionate about sports and reading, Dr. Diallo claims a balance between family life and career. “I am lucky to have a husband who understands me perfectly. Without him, my multiple trips for my training and scientific conferences would not have been possible”, she admits.

Her days, shared between care, teaching and research, stimulate her.  “ I prefer hectic days, it excites me, it delights me, it gives me wings,” she says. To define herself, she chooses three simple words, but full of meaning and virtue. “Ambitious, persevering, courageous”.

His philosophy of life is in his image, “There is no set road, it is up to each person to chart their own path.”

Mamadou Kindy BAH