Amesika Nyaku, MD MS is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a physician-scientist. She provides clinical care for people living with HIV or other infectious diseases and substance use disorders. Her research interests lie at the intersection of HIV and substance use disorders. She focuses on 1) evaluating long-acting therapeutics for HIV and opioid use disorder, 2) the implementation of integrated care models for HIV and substance use disorders to improve health outcomes, and 3) increasing the inclusion and participation of racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials research. She is also co-director of the Northern New Jersey Medication-Assisted Treatment Center of Excellence that is tasked with assisting the state in expanding access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder through education, novel service delivery and community collaboration.

Dr Olivia Van Gerwen completed her internal medicine residency and chief residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She returned to her hometown of Birmingham, AL to pursue a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at UAB, which she completed in 2020 in addition to a post-doctoral fellowship in health services, outcomes, and effectiveness research. She is now an Assistant Professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Infectious Diseases. Olivia’s research focuses on HIV and STI prevention as well as comprehensive sexual health promotion among LGBTQ+ populations. Clinically, she enjoys providing sexual healthcare services to patients at the UAB Gender Health clinic, patients living with HIV at the UAB 1917 Clinic and is the Assistant Medical Director at the UAB Vaginitis Clinic.

Dr Louis J Picker is currently the Associate Director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, a Senior Scientist in the Pathobiology and Immunology Division of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, and a Professor in the Oregon Health & Science University’s Departments of Pathology and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.  Dr Picker was recruited to OHSU in 2000 from the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas where he served as a Principal Investigator, Medical Director of the Flow Cytometry and Clinical Immunology Laboratory, and Co-Director of the Division of Hematopathology and Immunology.  He received his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco in 1982, did an internship, residency, and chief residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts from 1982-86, and received advanced training in Immunopathology and Experimental Pathology at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California from 1986-89.  Dr Picker is known for his work elucidating human/nonhuman primate (NHP) memory T cell biology, T cell mediated mechanisms of protection against persistent pathogens, the immunopathogenesis of AIDS and tuberculosis, and HIV and TB vaccine development. 

Christoph Boesecke MD completed his medical studies at Charité University in Berlin, Germany. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Hamburg, Germany for his research in acute HIV infection. He held a 2-year postgraduate position studying integrase inhibitors in acute and chronic HIV infection at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (now The Kirby Institute) in Sydney, Australia. He is currently working as an Infectious Diseases Specialist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Bonn, Germany. His main areas of research are focused on co-morbidities and co-infections in HIV including Covid-19 and monkeypox.

Prof. Mahmoud A. Ghannoum, PhD, MBA, FIDSA, FAAM, first received an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry and his PhD in Microbial Physiology from the University of Technology in Loughborough, England, and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Prof. Ghannoum then became a tenured Professor and Director of the the Integrated Microbiome Core and Center for Medical Mycology, and, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

• He has published > 350 peer reviewed publication and 6 scientific books, and was on the top 1% of cited Scientists Worldwide
• Established a multidisciplinary Center of Excellence that combines basic and translational research that spans test tube to the bedside capabilities.
• He pioneered studies on the fungal communities residing in and on our body and coined the term “Mycobiome”.
• Awarded the Rhoda Benham Award from the MMSA, and the Freedom to Discover Award from Bristol-Myers Squibb for his outstanding and meritorious contributions to the fields of medical mycology and microbial biofilms.
• Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), past President of the Medical Mycological Society of the Americas (MMSA). Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (FAAM), and the European Society of Clinical  Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (FESCMID).
• An entrepreneur-scientist who has launched a number of companies focused on the treatment of biofilm infections, as well as microbial dysbiosis.

Dr. Moti Ramgopal is a Consultant Physician and Director of Associates in Infectious Diseases. He is the founder of Midway Immunology and Research Center, the not-for-profit Midway Specialty Care Center, Midway Primary Care, and Asvins.org. Additionally, Dr. Ramgopal is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Florida State University Medical School and an HIV Consultant to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Ministry of Health and Human Services. He received his medical degree from the University of the West Indies Faculty of Medical Sciences and completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. He then completed a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Jackson Memorial and the University of Miami School of Medicine. With over 22 years of experience, Dr. Ramgopal is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases with expertise in clinical research and the rapid implementation of novel, cutting-edge treatments benefiting local communities. Originally from Guyana, he opened a clinic in Georgetown, Guyana, to give back to the community he grew up in. Dr. Ramgopal continues to explore opportunities to reach high-risk groups within the Caribbean, reaching opportunities to practice medicine, providing educational training, and acting as a consultant.

Dr. Olivia Van Gerwen completed her internal medicine residency and chief residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She returned to her hometown of Birmingham, AL to pursue a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at UAB, which she completed in 2020 in addition to a post-doctoral fellowship in health services, outcomes, and effectiveness research. She is now an Assistant Professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases. Olivia’s research focuses on HIV and STI prevention as well as comprehensive sexual health promotion among LGBTQ+ populations. Clinically, she provides sexual healthcare services to patients at the UAB Gender Health clinic, patients living with HIV at the UAB 1917 Clinic and is the Assistant Medical Director at the UAB Vaginitis Clinic.

Evangelos J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis is Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens since 2018. He was trained in the Immunology of Infections at the Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease of Radboud University in the Netherlands. In 2012 and 2013 he served as guest Professor of the Department of Critical Care Medicine of Jena University Hospital in Germany. His main research contribution is immunomodulation in sepsis and in auto-inflammatory disorders for which he was awarded the Young Investigator Research Award by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. He has 436 publications in international peer-reviewed journals with 20,700 citations and h-index 71. He has contributed in the development of clarithromycin for immunomodulatory treatment of septic shock, the recognition of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) as an auto-inflammatory disorder and in the licensing of adalimumab for treatment of (HS). He is chairing the Hellenic Sepsis Study Group (www.sepsis.gr). He currently serves as the President of the European Shock Society and the chairman of the European Sepsis Alliance. Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic he was the first to publish the complex immune dysregulation of severe patients and he is running six clinical trials on treatment and vaccination.

Esmita Charani is the Research Lead for Practice, Design and Engineering at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit for Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance within the faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. She an honorary Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and a visiting Researcher at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen Norway, and adjunct faculty at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kerala India, where she is involved in helping implement and investigate national antibiotic stewardship programmes. Her work in AMR has been recognised through the Academy of Medical Sciences UK-India AMR Visiting Professor award. She is an expert advisor to the Commonwealth Pharmacy Association and a Global Health Fellow with the Office of Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, England. She is involved in mentoring and supporting clinical pharmacists across different healthcare settings and economies in implementing antimicrobial stewardship interventions. Her doctoral thesis investigated antimicrobial stewardship across India, Norway, France, Burkina Faso and England.

After completing her post-graduate training in Cambridge University Hospitals and ten years of experience as a clinical pharmacist in hospitals, Esmita began her research career. She is an investigator in a NIHR Invention for Innovation award investigating the development and use of a point of care personalised clinical decision support tool for antimicrobial prescribing. In her academic career the focus of her research has been behaviour change interventions in the field of antimicrobial stewardship and the application of social science research methods to develop contextually relevant solutions. She is co-investigator on the ESRC award (2017-2021): Optimising antibiotic use along surgical pathways: addressing antimicrobial resistance and improving clinical outcomes (in England, Scotland, Rwanda, India & South Africa). Esmita completed her Masters (MPharm Hons) in Pharmacy at University College London, her MSc in Infectious Diseases at LSHTM and her PhD from Imperial College London.

Dr Gonasagrie (Lulu) Nair is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. In this role her current focus is on ethical issues related to the COVID – 19 pandemic including the impact of the pandemic on clinical trial implementation. She is a medical doctor by training and spent her early clinical career in the management of HIV and TB in the public health sector in Durban, KwaZulu Natal, the epicentre of the HIV epidemic in South Africa. Dr Nair has over 19 years of clinical trial implementation experience in the field of HIV and TB treatment and prevention, and her experience with HIV prevention spans oral, topical and injectable strategies. She is currently the protocol chair of a multinational HIV prevention trial of adolescent girls and young women in sub–Saharan Africa.

Dr Nair has been a committee member of 2 biomedical research ethics committees in South Africa and is currently part of the clinical ethics committee of a large teaching hospital. She has an interest in the ethical issues related to provision of adolescent health care in developing countries including contraceptive and STI treatment and prevention. She has a masters degree in public health from the University of KwaZulu Natal and a post graduate diploma in research ethics from the University of Stellenbosch.

Christoph D. Spinner is a Consultant Physician and Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) at University hospital rechts der Isar. He attended Medical School at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany with an internship at Zurich University Hospital, Switzerland, as well as Groote-Schuur-Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Currently he is in lead of the Infectious Diseases Unit at University Hospital rechts der Isar, Munich, Germany and is caring for in- and out-patients at the department. Hereby the full spectrum of HIV and all infectious diseases cases is reflected and service including PrEP and general STI services is available for patients. Moreover, within his responsibility as CMIO he is involved in strategic planning and organizational translation of all IT-supported medical processes of the hospital.

During Covid-19 pandemic, he became involved in SARS-CoV-2 management including pandemic management in the severely hit area of Munich in Southern Germany. He is coordinating and has been involved in SARS-CoV-2 therapy and prevention trials.

Christoph’s research focuses on diagnostic and treatment aspects, such as novel treatment strategies of infectious diseases, including prevention of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI) in general, COVID-19, as well as digitalization in health care.

Giovanni Delogu, PhD, is Associate Professor of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Roma, Italy) – and Head of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Mater Olbia Hospital (Olbia, Italy). The main scientific interests involve research on tuberculosis (TB) and mycobacterial infections from different perspectives including: pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction of TB using in vitro and in vivo models; development and evaluation of new antimicrobials and host-directed therapies against TB and other bacterial pathogens; microbiological and immunological diagnosis of TB; WGS and molecular epidemiology of TB; surveillance of antimicrobial resistance. Research in this field has been funded in the last ten years by the EU (FP6 & 7), Italian Minister of Health, Italian Minister of University and Scientific Research. The expertise gained in the TB field over 25 years have also been transferred to other fields of microbiology and infectious diseases, with a special focus on molecular microbiology, development and evaluation of new diagnostic systems.

Nikolaus Jilg, MD, PhD is a Physician in the Department of Infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is also affiliated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and specializes in Infectious Diseases such as HIV and COVID-19 infections.

Dr N Kumarasamy is the Chief & Director of Infectious Diseases Medical Centre  at Voluntary Health Services (VHS) Hospital in Chennai and directs the clinic which provides medical care for persons with HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, COVID19 and other Infectious Diseases in Chennai, Southern India. 

Dr Kumarasamy is the Director of the Chennai Antiviral Research and Treatment (CART) Clinical Research Site which conducts multisite Therapeutics and prevention clinical trials in HIV and other Infectious Diseases. He is involved as Clinical Investigator for several on- going clinical research projects with University of California-San Diego, Brown University- Providence , Harvard University-Boston, USA and University of New South Wales/Kirby Institute -Sydney, Australia.  

Dr Kumarasamy is a clinician and a researcher in Infectious disease with more than 25 yrs of experience and has published more than 400 manuscripts in peer reviewed medical journals. He has conducted several landmark Antiretroviral clinical trials which had impacted Treatment Guidelines. His publications on Impact of Antiretroviral therapy has led to several Antiretroviral scale up programs in developing countries. Dr Kumarasamy is an advisor and expert panel member for World Health Organization – ARV Treatment guidelines committee and a Clinical advisor to Clinton Health Access Initiative. He has a particular interest on the long term impact of Antiretroviral Therapy in resource limited settings. 

Dr Kumarasamy is the Head of Department of VHS COVID19 Treatment and Vaccination Centre. His department had managed more than 6500 persons with COVID. He is a lead investigator in several COVID Treatment trials involving antivirals, monoclonal antibody and anti-inflammatory drugs in collaboration with WHO, NIH and ICMR.  He is serving as a member of COVID19 National Task Force for Clinical Research and Drug Development.  

A full list of published work is available here