 He was the recipient of the Oak Foundation Award and Forgaty Fellowship for thesis and research support, was founding member and served as president of the Africa Health Forum, and student representative for immunology and infectious diseases.During the studies at Harvard, Chigwedere took time as a visiting fellow to the McGill University AIDS Center and the Lady Davies Institute for Medical Research, Montreal, where he worked with Mark Wainberg, Chair of the 2006 International AIDS Conference and co-discoverer of the AIDS drug Lamivudine, and he completed certifications at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, and the Pennsylvania State University Biotechnology Program.Before that, Chigwedere had graduated from the University of Zimbabwe Medical School where he received the Harry Wolfson Medals and Ethel Barrow Prizes for excellence in Biochemistry and Physiology, the Malvern Trust Scholarship for best preclinical Medicine results, the Wellcome Bursary for academic achievement and leadership, the Reuters / Tropical Health and Education Trust Prize for the best research project in Zimbabwe in the International Medical Students Competition, and the Solrarie - Grossberg Scholarship for Outstanding Overall Academic Achievement in the Doctor of Medicine degree.