Infectious Diseases

Prof Wilson Parawira is the Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe. He has over 20 years of experience teaching in various universities. His main teaching area is Microbiology and Biotechnology. He has held the following positions during his career: Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Associate Professor and currently is a full Professor in Microbiology and Biotechnology. Currently, Professor Parawira is the Executive Dean of Faculty of Science at Bindura University of Science Education since August 2012. Professor Wilson Parawira holds a BSc Honours degree in Biological Sciences MSc in Biotechnology from University of Zimbabwe. He obtained his PhD degree in Environmental Biotechnology from Lund University, Sweden in 2004. He did his first postdoctoral research fellowship in 2008 at Lund University in Sweden in Anaerobic Digestion and his second postdoctoral research fellowship in in Fermentation Process Development in Departments of Process Engineering and Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2009. During his academic career, he has written 36 scientific articles and three book chapters and supervised several MSc and PhD students and serves as an editor of three scientific journals. His research interests are in environmental biotechnology; biofuels; food microbiology; and science, engineering, technology and innovation policies and their effectiveness. Prof Parawira is an External Examiner at the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Department of Biological Sciences at University of Namibia, Department of Environmental Science, University of South Africa, and Department of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. Prof Parawira has examined many PhD and MPhil theses from several universities.

Environmental biotechnology; biofuels; food microbiology; and science, engineering, technology and innovation policies and their effectiveness.

Dr. Ajadi Isaac is a medical doctor from Nigeria with eight years of work experience in clinical medicine both at teaching hospitals and private facilities. He had his medical training at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital where he later served before joining the medical team at Onabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital both located in the South-Western part of the country. Due to his strong passion for medicine, he founded Divine Treasure private hospital which has now birthed many other branches across the country. As an accolade to his academic achievements, Dr. Ajadi recently bagged a master's degree in Health Science with a focus on Preeclampsia and HIV pathogenesis at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. He intends to continue his research in HIV pathogenesis at PhD levels in the same university. Dr. Ajadi is also a prolific writer, a motivational speaker and a proprietor of Treasure International College.

HIV pathogenesis ,medicine

Dr Evans is a clinical laboratory director with a PhD in medical microbiology and immunology. He currently serves as a senior laboratory and informatics consultant to the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) which is the parent organization of all state and local public health laboratories in the United States. During this time, he has been involved with APHL/CDC projects in Haiti, Kenya, Indonesia, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. As a microbiology and infectious disease consultant for the American Society for Microbiology, he has participated in CDC antimicrobial resistance surveillance and other programs in Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh. Dr Evans serves on the New York State Board for Clinical Laboratory Technology and was the first chairman of the state board established in 2006. He is the recipient of APHL's Thomas E Maxson Education, Training and Workforce Development Award for significant contributions to Public Health Laboratory Practice. In 2013, Dr Evans concluded 6 years of public health laboratory service as an Associate Director at the New York City Public Health Laboratory.Key responsibilities included Director of Technical Affairs, Acting Manager of the Microbiology Section & LIMS Project Leader. Previously, Dr Evans spent 14 years in the private sector as a clinical laboratory director at Quest Diagnostics and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories. Prior to his work in the diagnostic laboratory, he was in academia including positions at Temple University and the University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine. He is also a New York State licensed medical technologist.

Antimicrobial resistance, microbial pathogenesis, laboratory assessment tools, LIMS implementation and improving laboratory quality indicators

Dr Sanjib Bhakta is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry, Strategic Dean (International and Partnership) and Programme Director of MRes Global Infectious Diseases at the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, University of London and UCL .His continued research interest in infectious bacterial diseases (funded by Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, UK and EU) is focussed on developing novel therapeutics as well as repurposing existing drugs to tackle antibiotic resistance and persistence in tuberculosis (TB), a global health emergency. He has published more than 100 original research articles for a number of internationally acclaimed journals including J. Exp. Med., JBC, Tuberculosis, Biochem. J., J. Antimicrob. Chemotherapy, FEBS J, Molecular Microbiology, British Medical Journal, PLOS, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Nature Sci Report.

infectious bacterial diseases,developing novel therapeutics as well as repurposing existing drugs to tackle antibiotic resistance and persistence in tuberculosis (TB),

Dr. Joshi is director of center for surgical infections at Drexel University; and a professor of Drexel’s Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Nyheim Plasma Institute, Dermatology, and Surgery. At Drexel University, his laboratory is renowned for studying novel nonthermal plasma-based technologies in infection control. He has a special interest in emerging bacterial infections, biofilms, novel infection control strategies. Since 1987, Dr. Joshi has taught undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, and trained doctoral, postdoctoral, and resident fellows in medical research. He has been mentoring graduates and medical students, who now have successful careers in medicine, academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2004, he has been a member of international mentoring program and minority mentoring program of American Society of Microbiology (ASM), and Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). He is a physician-researcher-teacher and eligible member of American Board of Medical Microbiology. In 2016, Dr. Joshi is elected as a Fellow of Infectious Disease Society of America.

Research Interest: Emerging bacterial infections, host-pathogen interactions and immune responses, hospital-acquired infections and molecular epidemiology, wound infection and wound healing, antimicrobial drug resistance, novel infection control strategies, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, botulism, MRSA & bacterial biofilms, biodefense bacterial vaccines, nonthermal plasma applications in infection control.

Dr.V. O. Fadipe holds a PhD degree in Chemistry (Organic/Natural Product) from University of Zululand, South Africa. He is presently Principal Research Fellow /Assistant Director with Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria. He has several research publications in chemistry of natural product for the treatment of TB. His research interest is in the bio-prospecting for drug lead candidates from natural products (plant and animal) for management & treatment and repositioning of existing drugs for infectious diseases particularly TB and TB/HIV. He is a member of several learned society in chemistry.

Research interest is in the bio-prospecting for drug lead candidates from natural products (plant and animal) for management & treatment and repositioning of existing drugs for infectious diseases particularly TB and TB/HIV

Professor, Head of Department of Microbiology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital

Microbiology

João R. Mesquita (D.V.M., M.Sc.; Ph.D.) is a Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu where he teaches topics within Infectious Diseases for more than 12 years. On the past decade he has focused on Virology, where he has published over 50 papers in Scopus indexed Journals. He has won several scientific prizes from different societies and conferences, where he has presented numerous oral and poster presentations. His research interests are focused on animal and human virology, mainly on zoonotic viruses, with special interest on surveillance tools and epidemiology.

animal and human virology, zoonotic viruses, special interest on surveillance tools and epidemiology