Yvan Zolo is a Global Surgery Junior Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2021 from the University of Buea, Cameroon.

Yvan’s research focuses on neurosurgery, medical education, and enhancing surgical care in resource-limited settings through innovative approaches. He is committed to integrating space technologies into surgical, obstetrical, and anesthesia care. As a researcher at the International Center for Astronautical Development, he actively contributes to the Civilian Medical Information for Space Travel (C-MIST) project. He is also the regional web editor for the African team at the Space Generation Advisory Council. His work and expertise earned him a full scholarship from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to attend the 2023 Space4Women expert meeting. At this meeting, he collaborated with other experts to develop UNOOSA's gender mainstreaming toolkit for the space sector and advocated for the utilization of space-based technologies to advance maternal and child healthcare in resource-limited settings. He recently received a grant from a National Institutes of Health and Fogarty International Center U54-funded organization to implement a pilot study in the Cape Town metropolitan area aimed at improving access to emergency surgical care using space based technology. This study earned him the Space Generation Advisory Council's Space Generation Congress/International Astronautical Congress Nebula Award in August 2024.

He is the founder of SurgiFinder, an International NGO whose aim is to improve access to safe and affordable surgical care, and promote sustainable development, innovation, and entrepreneurship in developing countries. Yvan completed a Master of Science in Medicine (Global Surgery) with distinction at the University of Cape Town, where he investigated the use of geospatial mapping in studies aimed at enhancing access to neurosurgical care for babies with neural tube defects. He is also enrolled for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Global Surgery at the same institution and his work is focused on evaluating and strengthening surgical education in East, Central, and Southern Africa in partnership with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa as well as the department of Surgery of the University of Cape Town.

Yvan is the director of marketing at the Global Surgery division of the University of Cape Town where he also serves as the Undergraduate Global Surgery Teaching Convener and often lectures senior medical students on Global Surgery.

He has a track record of promoting medical education and career development amongst medical students as well as a track record of grassroots leadership in global neurosurgery and global surgery.