ANUCHA APISARNTHANARAK
Thailand
Anucha Apisarnthanarak
Dr. Anucha Apisarnthanarak is current the Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases Division at Thammasat University Hospital. He also serves as an Adjunct Visiting Professor at Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, USA. Dr. Apisarnthanarak’s research focus included infection prevention in resource-limited setting, infection control to prevent multi-drug resistant microorganisms as well as outbreak investigations. He published more than 250 peer-review articles and more than 20 peer-review book chapters. He has been a key committee member of many national and international societies including Thai National Nosocomial Infection Group, Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control. Dr. Apisarnthanarak also serves as editorial board for key infectious diseases and infection control journals including Clinical Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and American Journal of Infection Control.
LOUIS CHAI
Singapore
Louis Chai
Dr. Louis Chai is Senior Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor in the University Medicine Cluster, National University Health System, Singapore, as well as Principal Investigator, Opportunistic Infections Group, Division of Infectious Diseases, NUHS. Dr Chai’s interests lie in opportunistic and atypical infections in immunocompromised hosts, patients with altered immunity and host-pathogen interaction. These are also the themes of his research group. He remains deeply entrenched at the bedside in providing clinical service for general infectious diseases and internal medicine. Dr Chai is funded by the National Medical Research Council of Singapore and the National University Health System.
YEE-CHUN CHEN
Taiwan
Yee-Chun Chen
Prof Chen is one of the nation’s leaders in infection control and medical mycology in Taiwan. Prof Chen’s research focus includes clinical and molecular epidemiology of invasive fungal diseases, surveillance of healthcare-associated infection and medical informatics, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for invasive fungal infections, and One Health Perspective of azole-resistant Aspergillus and Candida infection. She has authored or coauthored more than 330 peer-reviewed journal articles such as Emerging Infection Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, J Med Internet Res, PLoS One, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Medical Mycology, Journal of the Formosan Medical Association and Journal of Microbiology, Infection and Immunology. Her researcher’s profile is available at https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/cris/rp/rp06583/otherinfo.html.
Dr. Chen has received several awards for combating COVID-19 in 2020, such as the Health and Welfare Profession Medal Award from Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan. Other achievement awards included Academic Awards from The Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan and Formosa Medical Association, Teaching Award from NTUH and NTU; Epidemic Prevention and Control Award from CDC, Taiwan; and, on behalf of NTUH, National Healthcare Quality Award from the Joint Commission of Taiwan (Bronze Award of Smart Healthcare Category, Medical Informatics), Quality Improvement Awards from CDC and Taipei City Government; Asia Pacific Hand Hygiene Excellent Award from Asia-Pacific Society of Infection Control and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, Switzerland.
SHERRY CHUA
Singapore
Sherry Chua
Ms Chua Puay Hoon, Sherry is currently a Nurse Clinician working in Ambulatory Endoscopy Centre, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
• Has 39 years of nursing experience. Of which, she spent 27 years in Endoscopy Nursing.
• Graduated as Enrolled Nurse in 1981.
• Graduated as Registered nurse in 1984.
• Had an Advanced Diploma in Operating Theatre Nursing in 2002.
• Obtained Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) from University of Sydney in 2005.
• Research Publication – Patient Satisfactory with colonoscopy in 2004
• Co-Author for Research study – Prospective Case-Control Study to Validate Hp One (GI Supply Check-Med Systems, Inc in the Diagnosis of Helicobacter Pylori Infection)
• Actively involved with Quality Improvement projects from 2004 till date.
• Actively involved in teaching and organising local and regional workshops since 2001 till date.
• Participated in design and planning of 4 endoscopy centres since 2005.
• Currently, involves with planning of new endoscopy centre at the New Elective Care Centre.
• Committee members of Nursing Chapter, Gastroenterology Society of Singapore GESS from 2003 till date.
• Chairperson of Nursing Chapter, Gastroenterology Society of Singapore GESS from 2011 to 2012.
• Awarded the MOH Nurses Merit Award on 7 July 2017.
• Ad-hoc teaching for Specialist Endoscopy Nursing Care in Nanyang Polytechnics, Singapore from 2017 to 2018.
STEPHAN HARBARTH
Philippines
Stephan Harbarth
Stephan Harbarth earned in 1993 his medical degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, and completed his residency in internal medicine and tropical medicine at Munich University Hospitals. After serving as a clinical fellow in the Infectious Diseases Division in the Department of Internal Medicine at Geneva University Hospitals, Dr Harbarth completed his master’s degree in epidemiology at Harvard University in Boston. He is board certified in infectious diseases and was appointed full professor at the University of Geneva in 2018. Dr Harbarth’s work has garnered several awards. His group is currently conducting several clinical and epidemiological studies to evaluate key questions related to the control of the acquisition, transmission and infection by multidrug-resistant microorganisms and related clinical and health-economic burden. He participates in several ongoing large-scale EU-funded studies (R-GNOSIS, AIDA, COMBACTE) and coordinated the DRIVE-AB project to address this public health threat.
GLENYS HARRINGTON
Australia
Glenys Harrington
Glenys is an experienced Infection Control Consultant with an extensive background in managing and developing healthcare organization infection control programs in developed and developing countries. Glenys has post graduate qualifications in
Critical Care, Midwifery and Infectious Diseases. She has published widely and has specific interests in quality improvement initiatives to improve and sustain best practice to reduce healthcare associated infections, surveillance and the use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts, infection control during construction and renovation in healthcare settings, evidence based cleaning and disinfection strategies to reduce transmission of multi-resistant organisms (MROs) along with
infection control programs in community health and residential aged care settings. Glenys started her Infection Control career with the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Unit at Alfred Health where she held the Infection Control Program Coordinator position with responsibility for Alfred, Caulfield and Sandringham hospitals providing tertiary referral acute, rehabilitation, residential aged care,
community health and state wide service for burns, heart and heart lung transplantation and trauma. In 2010 she established her own business called Infection Control Consultancy (ICC).
Glenys’ experience includes a World Health Organization (WHO) Consultancy to a SARS Outbreak Team, infection control program reviews, and tutorial attachments along with being an Honorary Advisor on the Hong Kong Infection Control Nurses Association (HKICNA) Research Review Panel. Glenys is currently an executive Committee member of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control (APSIC).
PO-REN HSUEH
Taiwan
Po-Ren Hsueh
Doctor Hsueh is Professor in the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine (NTUCM). After graduation from NTUCM, he completed several years of clinical internship and residency, specializing in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. Throughout his career, Professor Hsueh has held president positions in several local and international societies, including International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC), Asia-Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection (APSCMI), Global Chinese Association of Clinical Microbiology and Infection (GCACMID), Infection Control Society of Taiwan (ICST), Taiwan Society of Microbiology (TSM). He has served as a member of Scientific Program Committee of several international Congresses, including International Congress of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ICC), ASM Microbe, European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) and other regional congresses on infectious diseases and clinical microbiology.
Professor Hsueh is currently the president of Taiwan Society of Microbiology (TSM), Taiwan Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (TSCPaLM), secretary-general of Asian Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (ASCPaLM), and executive committee member of the Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan (IDST). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infection (JMII), Section Editor of International Journal Antimicrobial Agents (IJAA), funding editor of Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance (JGAR), and sits on the editorial board of several prestigious journals, and acted as a reviewer for more than 50 journals. His major research interests include epidemiology and mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (bacteria, mycobacteria, and fungi), molecular epidemiology of emerging pathogens, molecular diagnosis of infectious agents, and infection control. Professor Hsueh has authored more than 950 and review articles.
SUSAN HUANG
United States America
Susan Huang
Susan Huang, MD MPH is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, and the Medical Director of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention at UC Irvine Health. For over 15 years, Dr. Huang has been studying healthcare-associated infections with a focus on multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Her clinical epidemiologic research seeks to identify the burden and risk factors for acquisition and disease, and preventative strategies for containment. Dr. Huang has led several large randomized clinical trials to prevent MRSA disease and other healthcare-associated infections. She also studies the regional prevention of MDROs in hospitals and nursing homes through epidemiologic studies as well as simulation models. Dr. Huang has over 150 publications and has served as a member of U.S. HICPAC, the U.S. CDC Antibiotic Resistance Working Group, and the IDSA Antibiotic Resistance Committee.
WILLIAM R. JARVIS
United States America
William R. Jarvis
William R. Jarvis, M.D. is board-certified in pediatrics and board-eligible in pediatric infectious diseases. From 1980-2003, Dr. Jarvis worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a number of leadership positions including Acting Director, Hospital Infections Program (HIP); Assistant Director for Program Development, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP); and Director, Office of Extramural Research, Office of the Director, National Center for Infectious Diseases. For 17 years while at the CDC, Dr. Jarvis was responsible for the supervision of outbreaks and epidemiologic studies in healthcare settings and for the development of guidelines for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). He is the past president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Past President of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Research Foundation, and past editor of Infection Control and Healthcare Epidemiology. He is the Chairman of the Food and Drug Administration’s General Hospital and Personal Use Committee. In July 2003, Dr. Jarvis established Jason and Jarvis Associates, LLC, a consulting company in epidemiology, infectious diseases, and HAI prevention and control. Dr. Jarvis has published >400 peer-reviewed publications, edited six books, and has received numerous awards, including the CDC Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award and the CDC Lifetime Achievement Award in Epidemiology.
SURINDER KAUR M S PADA
Singapore
Surinder Kaur M S Pada
Dr Surinder Pada is the Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases in JurongHealth Campus. She practises as a Senior Consultant in Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. She is also the Chairperson of Infection Control in JurongHealth Campus and a Visiting Consultant Physician for Infectious Diseases at the National University Hospital.
Dr Pada graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is a fellow of the Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and completed a six-month Health Manpower Development Plan with the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore as an Infection Control Fellow. Her main research interests are in multi-drug resistant organisms and emerging infectious diseases.
MOI LIN LING
Singapore
Moi Lin Ling
Dr Ling is the Director of Infection Control at Singapore General Hospital. A clinical microbiologist by training, Dr Ling has been active in Infection Control work in Singapore and the region. She has been conducting training programs in infection control in China, South East Asia as well locally in Singapore since 1995.
She is also the Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, where she contributed to the training in microbiology. Her other interests are in quality improvement and research in antimicrobial resistance.
DAVID LYE
Singapore
David Lye
Associate Professor David LYE Chien Boon (MBBS, FRACP, FAMS, FRCP) graduated in medicine on the Dean’s List from the University of Melbourne in 1996 and completed specialty training in infectious diseases in Australia in 2004. He returned to Singapore to work at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in 2005.
He is currently senior consultant, Department of Infectious Diseases, TTSH and associate professor at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore as well as Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University. At the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Professor Lye is Director of the Infectious Disease Research and Training Office and leads the Singapore Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (SCRN) as well as the Training and Education Office. At TTSH, he founded and led the Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme from 2009 to 2018. He is the current chair of the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Expert Panel. He is a member of National Antimicrobial Resistance Control Committee and One Health Antimicrobial Resistance Project Team, Ministry of Health, Singapore.
Professor Lye has held more than SGD$10million in research grant as principal investigator to date. He has published more than 220 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals such as NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Lancet Global Health as well as Science, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Biotechnology and Nature Communications.
He is an associate editor, BMC Infectious Diseases and Scientific Reports; a member of the editorial board, JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance; and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Journal Global Antimicrobial Resistance.
Professor Lye is President of the College of Physicians, Singapore and Society of Infectious Disease (Singapore). He is an advocate for HIV prevention as Vice President of Action for AIDS. Internationally, he is on the executive committee of Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, and International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, and council of International Society of Infectious Diseases.
Professor Lye’s awards include: Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 2016; National Healthcare Group Team Recognition Award 2017, Silver, Hospital Acquired Infection Elimination Collaborative; and Tan Tock Seng Hospital Milestone Award 2017, Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme.
KALISVAR MARIMUTHU
Singapore
Kalisvar Marimuthu
Dr Kalisvar Marimuthu completed his advanced speciality training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Singapore in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Subsequently, Dr Marimuthu trained in infection prevention and control as a Senior Research Fellow in the Infection Prevention and Control Unit of Geneva University Hospital under the guidance of Prof Stephan Harbarth and Prof Didier Pittet.
Dr Marimuthu is currently a senior consultant in Infectious Diseases at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. He is a member of the National Infection Prevention and Control Committee (NIPC) of Singapore and is also a consultant in the technical advisory committee for the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) guideline.
Dr Marimuthu’s primary research interest is in infection prevention and control, specifically in the application of next-generation sequencing for control of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms.
MO YIN
Singapore
Mo Yin
Dr Mo Yin is an Infectious Diseases consultant from the National University Hospital, Singapore. Driven by the ideal of using quality clinical research to influence patient care and propel health policies, she has been active in epidemiological and clinical research in antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases. She is pursuing a PhD at the University of Oxford, where she leads a multi-centre randomised control trial to assess the impact of shortening treatment duration for ventilator-associated pneumonia. She has received numerous awards for her achievements in clinical care, research and teaching.
HELEN OH
Singapore
Helen Oh
Dr Helen Oh is a senior consultant with the Department of Infectious Diseases at Changi General Hospital (CGH). She received her medical degree from the National University of Singapore. She then went on to receive training in adult Infectious Disease from the University of British Columbia, Canada, as well as in molecular diagnostics from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA.
Dr Oh is a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on immunization and vaccine preventable diseases, Western Pacific Regional Office, World Health Organisation since 2011. Her research interests include dengue immunology, nosocomial infections, travel vaccines as well as environmental decontamination.
TRISH PERL
United States America
Trish Perl
Trish M. Perl, MD, MSc, is the Jay P Sanford Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas TX. She is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Parkland Hospital and Health System and the Interim Associate Medical Director of Infection Prevention there. She formerly was at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, in Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Senior Epidemiologist for Johns Hopkins Health System. Dr. Perl received her Bachelor of Arts and medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She completed a residency in internal medicine at McGill University and a fellowship in infectious diseases and clinical epidemiology at the University of Iowa. She was on faculty at the University of Iowa for several years before moving to Hopkins where she was the hospital epidemiologist from 1996 to 2011 and then the healthsystem epidemiologist until 2016 when she moved to Dallas. She has extensive practical and research experience in the field of healthcare associated infections and resistant and epidemiologically significant organisms and is recognized globally for her innovation and research in healthcare associated infections, antimicrobial resistance, their transmission and prevention.
An active researcher, Dr. Perl has been funded by the CDC and the Veteran’s Affairs Administration over the years. She has authored or coauthored over 250 peer-reviewed articles. In addition, she has written multiple chapters and contributed to guidelines and policies relevant to healthcare associated infections at the institutional, state and federal level. She serves on NIH study sections and on IOM committees including those for Ebola. She has been asked to help with management of international outbreaks including COVID-19, SARS, MERS CoV, Ebola and consults with international governments on guideline development and strategies to prevent healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial resistance.
SHARON SALMON
Philippines
Sharon Salmon
Dr Sharon Salmon is Technical Officer, Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and Incident Manager for the Western Pacific Region Incident Management System Team (WPR IMST) – COVID-19 Lead for Partnership Coordination plus Lead for Infection Prevention & Control and Clinical Management. “Being involved with GOARN for so many years it is my dream job to not only represent GOARN at the regional level but also to represent the nursing profession for global health”.
Sharon has a long history with GOARN training as a faculty member since 2008 and conducted several GOARN outbreak missions including providing infection, prevention and control (IPC) technical assistance for the West Africa EVD Outbreak in Liberia three times during various stages of the outbreak.
Prior to joining WHO, Sharon was the Assistant Director of Nursing, Infection Prevention at the National University Hospital, Singapore and Associate Consultant, Ministry of Health Singapore. She has 20 years of IPC experience, including over five years in Vietnam working with various NGOs and WHO. She has extensive international consultative experience, providing technical advice for IPC national programmes, hospital assessments and development of national guidelines across several countries in Asia.
Sharon has successfully built a Partnership Coordination Team within the COVID-19 WPR IMST and facilitates engagement with partners through virtual meetings, to update on regional response efforts and plans. Since joining WHO she has developed strategies to engage partners and improve IPC practices across the region .
Nevertheless, the job has its challenges, she explained. “We strive to synthesize all the amazing response work within western pacific region and articulate this in a structured framework to the partners so that we have a strong coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Sharon is delighted that this year has been dedicated as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. “Being involved in many outbreak response missions it is seldom that I encounter nurses in the field, and there is a need for nurses in outbreak response . I have spent most of my career advocating for nurses to break away from the stereotypical image of nursing at the bedside only and promote the massive work nurses and midwives can play in public health and especially during outbreak response”.
Alongside many of her nursing colleagues at WHO, she is acutely aware of the enormous pressure on dedicated nursing staff at this time. “During the past 9 years in Singapore I have worked alongside nursing leaders who have decades of experience. These nurses continue to mentor and advocate for patients and embrace innovation and constant changes in health delivery. These skilled nurses are the role models for future nurses and without these them health systems would not exist. The YONM is long awaited and the COVID-19 response has heightened the need for nursing professionals. We are a profession and need to be recognized as one”.
Sharon holds a Bachelor of Nursing, Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney and also a PhD from the University of NSW, Australia.
Listen to Sharon telling us more about her work with partners in the Western Pacific Region here.
PAUL ANANTHARAJAH TAMBYAH
Singapore
Paul Anantharajah Tambyah
Paul Anantharajah Tambyah completed his infectious diseases training at the University of Wisconsin under Dr Dennis Maki (one of the pioneers of critical care medicine!). Since returning to Singapore more than 20 years ago, he has been involved in a number of national and international committees including being founding head of the Division of ID, NUH, Assistant Dean (Education) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and past President of the Society of Infectious Diseases (Singapore). He is currently President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection and President-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases. His main research interests are device associated infections and emerging infectious diseases.
DAVID WEBER
United States America
David Weber
Dr. David Jay Weber has been on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1985 where he is currently the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Epidemiology in the UNC School of Medicine, and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Weber received his Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) degree from Wesleyan University in 1973, his Medical Degree (M.D.) from the University of California, San Diego in 1977, a Master’s in Public Health (M.P.H.) from Harvard University in 1985 and completed his medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1985. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, Critical Care Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Weber serves as an Associate Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director of Infection Prevention for the UNC Medical Center. He serves as Medical Director of the NC Program in Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE). He is the Secretary of the Board of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and an Associate Editor of Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Dr. Weber has published more than 450 scientific papers in the peer-reviewed literature and more than 600 total papers and chapters. His research interests include the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections, disinfection and sterilization, new and emerging infectious diseases (novel influenza, SARS-coV-2, MERS-coV, Ebola, Candida auris), response to biothreats, nontuberculous mycobacteria, control of drug resistant pathogens, immunization practices (especially of healthcare personnel), zoonotic diseases, and epidemiology of tuberculosis.