Steering Committee

Professor Cameron obtained her Bachelor of Science in zoology and PhD in entomology from the University of London. Her current appointment is Professor of Medical Entomology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK). Previously, she has worked as a Research Fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK), and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford (UK). 

Dr Das has a Masters of Science from Kanpur University (India) and a PhD from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow (India). His current appointment is Scientist G and Director of the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Science.  

Dr Devadasan holds an MBBS, and a Masters of Public Health and PhD from the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (Belgium). He is the co-founder and current Director of the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru (India), where he works on health financing, access to health care and health management. Dr Devadasan worked with the Adivasis of Gudalur for 10 years to build a comprehensive health system, and with the WHO in Orissa and Delhi as head of their communicable disease cluster.   

Dr Gangakhedkar is Head of the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division of the Indian Council of Medical Research. His previous appointments include Director of the National AIDS Research Institute (India). Dr Gangakhedkar obtained his MBBS and DCH from Government Medical College, Aurangabad, before moving to Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, US) to complete a Masters in Public Health. Dr Gangakhedkar has significant experience researching HIV and AIDS.

 Dr. Laserson's focus areas include TB, visceral  leishmaniasis and lymphatic filariasis. Prior to starting this role (January 2019), she was the CDC India Country Director and the CDC India Division of Global Health Program Director for 6 years, based in Delhi. In these roles, Dr. Laserson oversaw CDC’s platform in India, provided technical assistance to support India’s developing role in Global Health Security, oversaw partnerships and collaborations with the Government of India, and directed CDC’s scientific strategy in India. over 100 peer-reviewed articles.

 Professor Medley completed a BSc in biology and computer science at the University of York (UK) before beginning his PhD in Epidemiology at Imperial College London (UK). He is currently Professor of Infectious Disease Modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK). Prior to joining LSHTM, he was Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Professor Emeritus at the University of Warwick (UK).  

Indian Council of Medical Research 

 Professor Rijal is currently working as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative’s Managing Director of the Regional Office in India. He holds an M.B.B.S. from Calcutta Medical College (India), and a PhD from Ghent University (Belgium). Prior to joining DNDi Professor Rijal was Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of the Tropical and Infectious Diseases Centre at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (Nepal).  

 Dr Roy holds a Doctor of Public Health and undertook her M.B.B.S. at the University of Calcutta’s Medical College (India). She is currently Additional Director and Head of Kala-Azar and Lymphatic Filariasis at the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (India).   

 Professor Sundar holds an M.B.B.S and M.D. in medicine from Banaras Hindu University (India). He is currently Professor of Medicine and Programme Director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory at Banaras Hindu University. He has previously served as Head of the Department of Medicine at Banaras Hindu University and Professor in Charge at the Centre of Experimental Medicine and Surgery. 

  Dr Subramanian obtained his Masters in Statistics from Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu and later his Master of Science in Health Services Research from the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences (NIHeS), Rotterdam, before beginning his PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He has more than 35 years of experience on vector-borne disease epidemiology, mathematical modeling and on sampling strategies. He is currently a Senior Scientist, heading the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Operational Research at the ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Puducherry.  w.

Dr. Bhupendra did his MBBS and MD from Uttar Pradesh. Later, he did his advanced courses from London School of Tropical Medicine, UK and University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is working in the field of Public Health for past two decades. Dr. Bhupendra is a Public Health expert working for the elimination of vector borne diseases in India. Working in his seventh year at the Gates Foundation, he leads the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) portfolio, focusing on the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) and Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) diseases. Both these diseases are vector borne diseases and half of the global burden lies in India. 

He works closely with the Govt. of India (National Vector Borne Diseases Control Program and Indian Council of Medical Research institutes), State Governments, WHO and other International/National partners towards the elimination of these NTDs. His efforts are targeted for better surveillance of cases, improved mass drug administration campaigns and strengthened indoor residual spray activities in the endemic areas. He is also engaged deeply with the research activities related to vector transmission and control.