World Health Assembly Resolution 60.131 calls on Member States to identify appropriate and effective methods of vectors and reservoirs for leishmaniasis control. WHO expert committee report on the control of Leishmaniasis2 (Technical Report Series 949, 2010) provides a global overview of current practices on vector and reservoir control across different eco-epidemiological areas. To review all evidence, the WHO Department of Neglected Tropical Diseases has initiated the process of developing guidelines for the leishmaniasis vector and reservoir control interventions. It is expected that these guidelines would improve decision-making, and provide up-to-date knowledge to policy-makers to inform national policies on the use of various vector and reservoir control interventions towards better control of leishmaniasis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering the following experts to join its Guideline Development Group (GDG) for leishmaniasis vector and reservoir control:
Be-Nazir Ahmed
Institutional affiliation(s): Country Lead, ASCEND, Crown Agents, 2019-present
Academic degrees: Medical Doctor, M.PH, M.Phil.
City and Country of primary residence: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Biography
Be-Nazir Ahmed graduated with a medical degree from the Rajshahi University, Bangladesh in 1983 followed by a Master in Public Health (1993) and a Master of Philosophy in 1998. Between 1985-2017, he served with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in different teaching and administrative positions including as the Director of Disease Control and Line Director of Communicable Disease Control.
He is a member of the Regional Technical Advisory Group for Kala-azar in the WHO South East Asia Region.
Since 2019, he has been acting as Country Lead, Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (Ascend) through the Crown Agents funded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Bhupender Nath Nagpal
Institutional affiliation(s): Independent Consultant
Academic degrees: MSc, PhD (Entomology)
City and Country of primary residence: New Delhi, India
Biography
BB N Nagpal, a former WHO staff, retired in November 2021. He provided technical support to Member States of the Region on entomological surveillance and response for vector-borne diseases (VBD) as well as strengthened operational research and publication from the region related to VBD. Before joining WHO, he served as a Scientist at the National Institute for Malaria Research, an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), responsible for research and development, and capacity building through conducting training courses for senior medical officers and health professionals. He was also In charge and Head of Geographical Information System (GIS), Taxonomy, Health Impact Assessment, and other vector-borne diseases. He has been a Principal Investigator in various research studies such as the isolation of Zika Virus in Aedes aegypti from dengue-endemic zones of Delhi, India, Health Impact Assessment of Narmada Basin Dams and Resettlement & Rehabilitation Colonies in MP: Phase III, Efficacy study on the use of innovative ovitraps for control of Aedes breeding in west-zone, New Delhi.
Dia-Eldin Ahmed Elnaiem
Institutional affiliation(s): Professor of Biology (Medical Entomology and Parasitology), Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, USA - since June 2013-present
Academic degrees: B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD (Medical Entomology)
City and Country of primary residence: Maryland, USA
Biography
Dia-Eldin Elnaiem is currently working as a professor of Biology in the Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is teaching General Biology, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Medical Parasitology, and Biology and Epidemiology of global infectious diseases as well as research on vector-borne diseases. He has received several recognition and awards, e.g., the recent ones in 2023 and 2020 are the DNS Meritorious Award, and DNS Scholarship Award, respectively.
He has been a principal investigator for several projects, e.g., a recent ones project on the efficacy of control methods against the vector of visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa, funded by DFID (UK).
Apart from other vectors, he has worked extensively on sand fly vectors in East Africa and has published several articles. He is an invited speaker at several international academic institutions and international meetings.
David Anthony Orin Courtenay
Institutional affiliation(s): Reader (Associate Professor), School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, UK- since 2008-present
Academic degrees: PhD
City and Country of primary residence: Warwick, UK
Biography
Courtenay is currently working as a Reader (Associate Professor) at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, UK. He is on the Scientific Review Board of LeishVet ALIVE, an external grant reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation, Service de la Programmation et des Actions Incitatives Scientifiques (SPAIS) / Department of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur, France, ”la Caixa” Foundation, Spain, United States-Israel Binational Science and Foundation Anglo-Israel (BSF).
He is the mentor for the Council for At-risk Academics (Cara), Syria capacity building programme, and a visiting lecturer of MSc Biology and Control of Parasites and Disease Vectors, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).
He has been an external PhD examiner for Imperial College, London; University of Edinburgh; LSHTM; Royal Veterinary College, London; Fiocruz, Brazil; University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Domenico Otranto
Institutional affiliation(s): Professor in Parasitology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Italy- since 2006-present
Academic degrees: Diploma European Veterinary Parasitology College Graduation, PhD
City and Country of primary residence: Bari, Italy
Biography
Otranto is a European veterinary specialist in parasitology and a professor in parasitology in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari, Italy. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, at City University of Hong Kong.
He is the President of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (2019-2025). His research activity principally focuses on the study of arthropods and arthropod-borne diseases with the main focus on the study of canine and feline vector-borne diseases (e.g., leishmaniosis, babesiosis, hepatozoonosis) with a special emphasis on those of zoonotic concern.
He supervised ~40 research students and 6 research staff since 2000 and was responsible for the European Veterinary Parasitology College Scientific Training Programs (STP) of researchers, working in parasitology. He is the recipient of the Bayer Research Award of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP).
His scientific output in Veterinary Parasitology, to date, consists of 701 peer-reviewed scientific articles (Scopus: H-index 71; citations 21,397; Google Scholar: H-index 88; citations 31,190) in international journals and over 500 abstract presentations (national and international congresses), 12 book chapters, 2 documentaries of parasitology to implement learning and teaching.
Diwakar Singh Dinesh
Institutional affiliation(s): Consultant (Entomology), Division of Medical Entomology and Vector Management, National Centre for Disease Control - since 2022-present
Academic degrees: Master of Science, Ph.D
City and Country of primary residence: New Delhi, India
Biography
Dinesh is currently working as a Consultant (Entomology) in the Division of Medical Entomology and Vector Management at the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi. Before joining this position, he was working as Scientist F (Senior Grade Deputy Director) at the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, an ICMR Institute, Patna, Bihar.
He has 38 years of experience in the field of entomology mainly concerned with disease vectors of kala-azar, dengue, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), chikungunya, malaria, and lymphatic filariasis.
He was a research supervisor for 3 Ph.D scholars. He has published around 75 articles in 60 journals. His expertise is biology and control of the sand fly vector of Kala-azar and other Vectors of different vector-borne diseases e.g., malaria, filaria, JE, dengue, and acute encephalitis syndrome.
Elizabeth Ferreira Rangel
Institutional affiliation(s): Coordinator of the Oswaldo Institute’s Reference Leishmaniasis network/Vice-Director of the Oswaldo Cruz’s Reference and Biological Collection Laboratory/Member of the technical committee on vectors of the MoH/Coordinator of the Regional Reference Laboratory in Entomological surveillance, taxonomy, and leishmaniasis’ vector ecology at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute. Since 2004 – present.
Academic degrees: Bachelor’s in biology science; Masters in Zoology; PhD in zoology; post-doctorate
City and Country of primary residence: Rio Janeiro, Brazil
Biography
Rangel started her career after her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Phlebotominae Taxonomy and a master's degree in zoology with emphasis on Entomology. Followed by a specialization in Phlebotomine DNA Sequencing Techniques a PhD in Zoology, with emphasis on Medical Entomology, and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from Yale University.
She has been the head of different laboratories at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (Leishmaniasis transmission laboratory, entomology department, reference services and biological collections, and Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Entomological Surveillance in Diptera and Hemiptera) since 1982.
She has vast experience in the field of Zoology, with emphasis on Taxonomy and Parasitology, working mainly on the following topics: Taxonomy, Ecology, Surveillance and Integrated Control of Leishmaniasis Vectors; Climatic and environmental determinants of the geographic distribution of leishmaniasis vectors; Health Education in Leishmaniasis.
Elie Akl
Institutional affiliation(s): American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Academic degrees: MD, MPH, PhD
City and Country of primary residence: Beirut, Lebanon
Biography
Elie Akl is a practicing general internist and a health research methodologist. After finishing medical school in Lebanon, he moved to the United States in 2000, where he trained in Internal Medicine and General Preventive Medicine, and earned a master's in public health (MPH) and then a PhD degree in epidemiology and community health. He moved back to Lebanon in 2012 to join the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he directs the Clinical Research Institute, and the AUB GRADE center, and leads the division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. His areas of research interest include systematic review methodology, dealing with missing data in a meta-analysis, practice guideline methodology, conflicts of interest in health research, and physician-pharma interactions. He is an active member of the GRADE working group. He has contributed to the development of practice guidelines for the World Health Organization, European bodies, and North American professional societies, among others. He has published more than 350 peer-reviewed publications and was listed by Thomson Reuters as one of the "world’s most influential scientific minds" in 2015 and as a Highly Cited Researcher yearly since 2015.
Mwiti, Daniel Ringera
Institutional affiliation(s): Programme Manager, Leishmaniasis Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Kenya
Academic degrees: Bachelor of Science (Medical Lab Sciences), Master of Science (in progress)
City and Country of primary residence: Nairobi, Kenya
Biography
Daniel Mwiti is working as a Programme Manager of the Leishmaniasis Control Programme at the Ministry of Health, Kenya. As a programme manager he coordinates and manages leishmaniasis control activities in the Kenya, develops plans of action for disease vectors, disease control and surveillance. He also undertakes epidemiological investigations for outbreak and mapping surveys for the distribution of disease vectors in the country.
He has been involved in the evaluation of the efficacy of new pesticide products before registration by Pest Control Products Board of Kenya. He has also been involved in National Malaria Entomological surveillance to map malaria vector composition and malaria transmission indices in Kenya.
Guilherme Loureiro Werneck
Institutional affiliation(s): Director of the Department of Strategic Actions in Epidemiology and Environmental and Health Surveillance / Environmental and Health Surveillance Secretariat / Brazilian Ministry of Health - since 2023-present
Academic degrees: MD, MPH, M.Sc, D.Sc
City and Country of primary residence: Rio Janeiro, Brazil
Biography
Dr Werneck started his career as an infectious disease epidemiologist after his Medical degree while working as a medical epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health in Rio Janeiro, Brazil. He later obtained a DSc degree in Immunology and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases from the Harvard School of Public Health and focused his research on the socioeconomic and environmental determinants of the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases.
In the last 30 years of his experience, he has led and collaborated on several projects in the epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. More specifically, on a large community intervention trial for evaluating the effectiveness of insecticide-impregnated dog collars to control visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil funded by the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq). Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of an ongoing implementation trial to evaluate the countrywide implementation of insecticide-impregnated dog collars in the context of the Brazilian Program for Visceral Leishmaniasis Control of the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
He has been the Principal Investigator and co-investigator in several projects in the epidemiology of numerous other infectious diseases such as dengue fever, influenza, leprosy, malaria, meningococcal disease, pertussis, tuberculosis, and, more recently, COVID-19.
Jeanine A.C.M. Loonen
Institutional affiliation(s): Public Health Specialist Advisor - Medical entomologist, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)- September 2014-present
Academic degrees: B.Sc in Biology, M.Sc in Biology
City and Country of primary residence: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Biography
Jeanine is currently working as a Public Health Specialist Advisor (Medical Entomology) with MSF (The Netherlands). She is also a guest researcher for the One Health Entomology group, Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands. She advises MSF projects on vector control performing vector control studies and rapid entomological assessments in areas where MSF is working. She is focusing on vector species identification, mapping of ‘malaria-transmission hotspots’, and insecticide resistance bioassays.
Her expertise involves knowledge of vector-borne infectious diseases, with a specialization in entomology, laboratory techniques of qPCR, PCR, ELISA, gel electrophoresis, and DNA & RNA isolation. She also has experience in working in conflict areas and intercultural and multidisciplinary teams and has done several scientific presentations and publications.
Myrthe Pareyn
Institutional affiliation(s): Postdoctoral Expert Track- Academic Research & Capacity Building, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Academic degrees: Ph.D. in Biology
City and Country of primary residence: Antwerp, Belgium
Biography
Daniel Mwiti is working as a Programme Manager of the Leishmaniasis Control Programme at the Ministry of Health, Kenya. As a programme manager, he coordinates and manages leishmaniasis control activities in Kenya, and develops plans of action for disease vectors, disease control, and surveillance. He also undertakes epidemiological investigations for outbreaks and mapping surveys for the distribution of disease vectors in the country.
He has been involved in the evaluation of the efficacy of new pesticide products before registration by the Pest Control Products Board of Kenya. He has also been involved in National Malaria Entomological surveillance to map malaria vector composition and malaria transmission indices in Kenya.
Luna Kamau
IInstitutional affiliation(s): Senior Principal Research Scientist & Deputy Director, Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
Academic degrees: PhD
City and Country of primary residence: Nairobi, Kenya
Biography
Luna is currently serving as the Deputy Director, of the Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development in Kenya. She is providing support to the National Malaria Control Programme on vector control and research, including training, surveillance, and evidence-based technical, strategic, and policy advice.
She has twenty-five years’ post-PhD experience in biomedical research in molecular biology and vector ecology and control, insecticide resistance, population genetics, and development of tools and strategies for disease control. She is a Fellow of The World Academy of Science (TWAS), a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), and a member of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS). She is teaching and providing mentorship to PhD, MSc. and BSc. Students.
She is a member of the Pan Africa Malaria Control Association (PAMCA), the Bioethics Society of Kenya (BSK), and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
She has published 61 articles in peer-reviewed international journals (lead author in 12) and presented research at regional international conferences; h-index, Research gate: 29.
Lucas El Donato
Institutional affiliation(s): Technical consultant for the National Leishmaniasis Surveillance Programme/ Secretariat of Environmental and Sanitary Surveillance / Ministry of Health of Brazil - from 2011 to the present.
Academic titles: MV, Esp, M.Sc, D.Sc (in progress)
City and country of main residence: Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil
Biography
Dr. Donato began his career as a veterinarian at the Department of Agriculture of the state of Espírito Santo and later served as state coordinator of the rabies and leishmaniasis program of the Department of Health of Espírito Santo. Since 2011 he has been a technician of the National Leishmaniasis Program at the Ministry of Health of Brazil.
In the last 14 years, he has worked in the development of leishmaniasis surveillance and control actions, as well as in supporting the development of these activities at the three municipal, state, and federal hierarchical levels. In addition, he acted in the development of research and guidelines that support the development of strategies. During this period he collaborated and instituted in the country the diagnostic protocol of canine visceral leishmaniasis, and more recently strategy of dog collaring in order to combat the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis.
Since 2017, he is a university professor in the courses of Veterinary Medicine and Nursing teaching the disciplines of infectious and parasitic diseases, immunology, public health, and epidemiological methods
Finally, he has worked in research involving infectious diseases, such as sporotrichosis, equine infectious anemia, Nile fever, leptospirosis, and heartworm among others.
Mary McFadden Cameron
Institutional affiliation(s):
Academic degrees: PhD
City and Country of primary residence: London, UK
Biography
Mary Cameron is a Professor of Medical Entomology in the Department of Disease Control (DCD) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with over 35 years of experience in delivering international-level field and laboratory research focusing on the surveillance and control of a wide range of vector-borne diseases. Mary has developed strong collaborative networks on Neglected Tropical Diseases in multiple disease-endemic countries. She is presently the Principal Investigator of the Bill and Melinda Gates Programme: Setting the Post-Elimination Agenda for Kala-azar in India.
In addition, Mary is the LSHTM Principal Investigator on a collaborative project led by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture Design & Conservation with the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania funded by the NoVo Foundation.
Mary has leadership roles supporting LSHTM’s community in post-graduate teaching, mentorship, and line management and has supervised over 200 MSc students and 10 PhD students to completion.
Mohammad Reza Yaghoobi-Ershadi
Institutional affiliation(s): Professor of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, March 2002- Present
Academic degrees: PhD in Medical Entomology and Vector Control
City and Country of primary residence: Tehran, Iran
Biography
Yaghoobi-Ershadi is an outstanding Professor, at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and is the Head of the Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He has worked in several vector-borne diseases with main research interests in the taxonomy of Phlebotominae sand flies, epidemiology, medical entomology, prevention and of leishmaniasis, malaria entomology & control, dengue Fever, rodent control in cutaneous leishmaniasis.
He is the President of the Iranian Scientific Society of Medical Entomology since 2015. He is also a Member of several national and international expert committees, and technical advisory groups on public health, medical entomology, and vector-borne diseases.
He has received several awards in basic sciences research. He has published more than 140 articles with H-index = 34 until the end of Nov. 2023.
Mohammed Abdu Khalid Mahdy
Institutional affiliation(s): Associate Professor, Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Sana’s University, Sana’a, Yemen
Academic degrees: PhD (Molecular Parasitology)
City and Country of primary residence: Sana’a, Yemen
Biography
Mohammed A. K. Mahdy is an Associate Professor of Molecular Parasitology at the Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Sana’s University, Yemen. He has 14 years of teaching experience in addition to more than 66 full-text articles published in Tier 1 and Tier 2 ISI/Scopus-indexed journals (H-Index according to Google Scholar = 29). He has been also awarded 17 research grants as a principal or co-investigator. Mahdy has also supervised PhD and master students until completion. He has been on the editorial board of local and international journals and an ad-hoc reviewer for several international journals. He also established and led the Research Department and The Tropical Disease Research Center at The University of Science and Technology in Yemen.
Murari Lal Das
Institutional affiliation(s): Former Professor of Entomology, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal
Academic degrees: PhD
City and Country of primary residence: Kathmandu, Nepal
Biography
Murari is a specialist in vectors and vector-borne diseases. He served as an Entomology Professor and after retirement in various agencies providing expert advice and research on vector-borne diseases. His Ph.D. thesis was on studies on the Phlebotomus argentipes vector of kala-azar in the eastern part of Nepal. He has participated in several projects as Principal and Co-investigator.
He has been a resource person in many trainings and workshops related to medical entomology and vector-borne diseases. He was a Member of the Regional Technical Advisory Group on Kala-Azar for the WHO South-East Asia Region (2022).
He has published more than 75 articles.
Oscar Daniel Salomón
Institutional affiliation(s): Director National Institute of Tropical Medicine (INMeT), ANLIS, MOH, Argentina-since 2011-present
Academic degrees: MA, Ph.D.
City and Country of primary residence: Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
Biography
Oscar is currently holding the position of the Director, National Institute of Tropical Medicine (INMeT), ANLIS, MOH, Argentina. He has extensive experience in several vector-borne and neglected tropical diseases, e.g., Chagas, and visceral leishmaniasis.
He is a Member of the Scientific & Technical Advisory Group on Neglected Tropical Diseases of the World Health Organization as well as a Member of the Technical Advisory Group on Public Health Entomology, Pan American Health Organization.
He has published a total of 221 articles (177 original articles, 33 chapters in books, 11 edited books, Google Scholar h-index 42, i10 index 129).
Rafaella Albuquerque e Silva
Institutional affiliation(s): Technical consultant of the Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance/ Environmental and Health Surveillance Secretariat / Brazilian Ministry of Health - since 2011-present
Academic degrees: M.Sc, D.Sc
City and Country of primary residence: Brasília, Brazil
Biography
Rafaella started her career in entomological surveillance and vector control as the Secretary of Health of the State of Ceará, Brazil, where she worked with sandflies, triatomines, and mosquitos. Later, in 2011, she started her work at the Ministry of Health of Brazil, being responsible for developing regulations, guides, and manuals for the surveillance and control of leishmaniasis and Chagas disease; Providing national technical consultant to states and municipalities on the activities foreseen in the entomological surveillance and chemical control of sandflies; Coordinate, together with the Rene Rachou Institute (Fiocruz Minas), the Network for Monitoring the Resistance of Triatomines to Insecticides; Train the technical staff of states and municipalities for the collection, taxonomy, surveillance, and control of sandflies and triatomines; Monitor research funded by the Ministry of Health that involves surveillance and control of sandflies and triatomines; and other.
Did her doctorate in Tropical Medicine, where evaluated the impact of the use of insecticide-impregnated collars on the sandfly population in Brazil.
She currently provides consultancy to the Pan American Health Organization, assisting in the conduction of surveillance and entomological and vector control activities in Latin American countries.
Rajpal Yadav
Institutional affiliation(s): Former Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization
Academic degrees: M.Sc, PhD (Insect Control)
City and Country of primary residence: Gurgaon, India
Biography
Rajpal joined the World Health Organization in 2009. He retired in 2023, as a Scientist at the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Geneva, Switzerland. He was a Co-Chair of the WHO Joint Action Group for the implementation of the Global Vector Control Response, (WHO HQ/NTD, Geneva). He was also Head of the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) for the evaluation of vector control products (Feb 2013 – Oct 2017). During this period he reviewed research protocols and generated a global evidence base for insecticide use and pesticide management. He was also a Focal person in, the WHO secretariat for the FAO/WHO Joint Programme on Pesticide Management. The work involved collaboration with other UN and international organizations, research institutions, programmes, industry, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
He is the recipient of the 2016, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Association of Entomologists. He has published more than 100 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Shaden Kamhawi
Institutional affiliation(s): Leishmaniasis Group Leader and Core Associate Scientist, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research (LMVR), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute Health, USA - since 2021-present
Academic degrees: B.Sc, PhD (Medical Entomology)
City and Country of primary residence: Rockville, Maryland, USA
Biography
Shaden is the leishmaniasis group leader and core associate scientist at NIAID, NIH. Her area of expertise includes vector biology; the immune response to Leishmania transmission by sand fly bite in animal models of infection; the human immune responses to vector bites; development of Leishmania vaccines; vector-parasite-host molecular interactions; field investigations of leishmaniasis epidemiology and transmission patterns.
Her research focus at NIAID is on neglected vector-borne (NTD) diseases, particularly leishmaniasis. She pioneered the use of natural transmission models for the study of leishmaniasis that emphasized the importance of vectors in the initiation and establishment of vector-borne disease. These models are currently considered the gold standard in leishmaniasis vaccine challenge studies. She also demonstrated that Leishmania parasites persist in skin depots at bite sites where they are accessible to sand flies, contributing to the maintenance of infection in vector populations. She has some other pioneer work to her name as well and she is a strong advocate for promoting science in NTD countries and has been serving this community as co-editor in Chief for PLOS NTDs since 2019. Her h-index scholarly metric is 48.
Sridhar Srikantiah
IInstitutional affiliation(s): Advisor Public Health, Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute- since 2023-present
Academic degrees: MBBS, MD (Paediatrics)
City and Country of primary residence: Vadodara, India
Biography
Sridhar is a medical doctor and a pediatrician by specialty. He is currently an Advisor to Public Health, Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute. Before that, he was a senior technical director, Bihar technical support programme with CARE India. In that role he provided thematic and programmatic support to the project. As a subject matter expert, he provided handholding support to the team to ensure efficiency and efficacy in the program deliverables. He was primarily responsible for strategizing, developing, and managing the running projects of Bihar specifically the Technical Support Unit.
In addition to Kala-azar, he has been providing support for finding solutions to core program challenges in Reproductive Maternal and Newborn Child Health + Adolescent health (RMNCHA).
He has published more than 40 articles in various peer-reviewed journals.
Solomon Yared Gebremeskel
Institutional affiliation(s): Researcher and Lecturer, Department of Biology and Public Health, College of Natural and Computational Science, Jigjiga University, Ethiopia
Academic degrees: B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD Scholar
City and Country of primary residence: Jigiga, Ethiopia
Biography
Solomon is currently working as a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Biology and Public Health, Jigjiga University in Ethiopia. He teaches epidemiology, research methods, bioethics, parasitology, entomology, immunology, and molecular biology and techniques. He is also engaged in several academic and management activities at the university. He has also served as continuing education academic director. He is also the founder and editor of chief in East Africa Journal of Pastoralism.
He is an undergraduate senior essay advisor and One Health students’ thesis advisor. He is the recipient of the special award as the best researcher in Jigjiga University (2019). He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Tanu Jain
Institutional affiliation(s): Director, National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India- since November 2021-present
Academic degrees: Medical Doctor, MD (Community Medicine)
City and Country of primary residence: New Delhi, India
Biography
Dr Jain is the Director of the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control under the Directorate General of Health Services, India. As a Director, she is responsible for the overall coordination and management of six major vector-borne public health programmes for kala-azar, malaria, lymphatic filariasis, dengue, chikungunya, and Japanese encephalitis in India.
She has previously held wide portfolios such as Deputy Director General, and Assistant Director General in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Vijay Kumar
Institutional affiliation(s): Former Head & Scientist, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute, India
Academic degrees: M.Sc (Zoology), Ph.D (Medical Entomology)
City and Country of primary residence: Patna, India
Biography
Dr Vijay is a former (retired) scientist at Rajendra Memorial Research Institute, Patna, India. His work spanned more than 30 years in the area of vector biology focusing on kala-azar. He has undertaken several projects and has participated as an expert in several joint monitoring missions for kala-azar elimination and other vector-borne diseases in India.
He is currently a guest faculty in Rajendra Memorial Research Institute and National Environmental Engineering Research of India (NEERI).
He has more than 100 publications in national and international journals.
William Hawley
Institutional affiliation(s): Independent consultant.
Academic degrees: MPH, PhD (Biology)
City and Country of primary residence:
Biography
William is an independent consultant with over 30 years of field experience in malaria epidemiology, program management, and vector control. He has a deep hands-on background in public health, including in infectious diseases, maternal and child health, and immunizations. With 15 years of residence in South East (SE) Asia (Indonesia and Malaysia), six years of residence in Kenya, and multiple consultancies in Africa (Nigeria, DR Congo, Togo, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya) and SE Asia (Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia), he has a thorough knowledge of both African and Asian contexts. In addition to his practical experience, he has published 131 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of public health, especially malaria and vector control.
Zheng-Bin Zhou
Institutional affiliation(s): National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, China CDC (National Center for Tropical Disease Research)
Academic degrees: M.D
City and Country of primary residence: Shanghai, China
Biography
Dr Zhou has been working for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and is in charge of surveillance and control of visceral leishmaniasis from 2011 to the present. In 2020-21, he participated in a WHO collaborative project on surveillance of resistance of leishmaniasis vector Phlebotomus. In 2019, he was a project manager, on kala-azar prevention and control for children in Xinjiang supported by the Swiss Bank Foundation. Between 2015- 2018, he led the China-UK-Tanzania Malaria Control Pilot Program in Tanzania. He was also a visiting scholar at Carlos III Health Institute in Spain, for the control technology of zoonotic kala-azar, especially, sandfly culture technology.
In the past 5 years, published more than 10 papers as the first or corresponding author.
Zoubir Harrat
Institutional affiliation(s): Former Researcher at Pasteur Institute of Algeria (retired, November 2021)
Academic degrees: Medical Doctor, Ph.D (Veterinary Sciences)
City and Country of primary residence: Algeria
Biography
Dr. Harrat Zoubir was a full-time researcher at the Pasteur Institute of Algeria from 2012 to 2021. He specialized in medical parasitology, mycology, and tropical medicine, with expertise in vector-borne diseases, particularly in the ecology and epidemiology of leishmaniasis, a field in which he defended his doctoral thesis in 2006.
He obtained an intervention epidemiology certificate facilitating the carrying out of several investigations into leishmaniasis epidemics and other communicable diseases. He was a Principal Investigator or co-investigator in projects funded by national and international agencies (WHO, European Union, etc).
He has been an active member of the national multisectoral committee in the control of leishmaniasis in Algeria since 2006. He prepared the national master plan for multisectoral integrated control of cutaneous leishmaniasis for Algeria (2022-2025).
For comments and inquiries
For comments and inquiries regarding the list of potential members of the guidelines development group, please write to jainsau@who.int with the subject line “Public comments on the Guideline Development Group – Leishmaniasis Vector and Reservoir Control” with the indication of the name, nature, and contact details of the sender.
The deadline for public comments is Tuesday, 12 March 2024.
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n order to enhance its management of conflicts of interest as well as strengthen public trust and transparency in connection with WHO meetings and activities involving the provision of technical/normative advice, the names and brief biographies of individuals (“Published Information”) being considered for participation in a WHO-convened Guideline Development Group are disclosed for public notice and comment.
The Published Information is provided by the experts themselves and is the sole responsibility of the individuals concerned. WHO is not responsible for the accuracy, veracity, and completeness of the Published Information provided. Furthermore, in no event will WHO be responsible or liable for damages in relation to the use of, and reliance upon, the Published Information.
The comments received by WHO through the public notice and comment process are treated confidentially and their receipt will be acknowledged through a generic email notification to the sender. Comments brought to the attention of WHO through this process are an integral component of WHO’s conflict of interest assessment process and are carefully reviewed. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert and disclose to this expert the name and affiliation of the provider of such information. Upon review and assessment of the information received through this process, WHO, in its sole discretion, may take appropriate management action in accordance with its policies.
Guideline Development Groups provide technical and/or normative advice and recommendations to WHO. Participation in a Guideline Development Group convened by WHO does not necessarily mean that the views expressed by the expert concerned are shared by WHO and/or represent the decisions or stated policy of WHO.
The list of participating experts, a summary of relevant interests disclosed by such experts, and any appropriate mitigation measures taken by WHO relating to the management of conflicts of interest, will be reported publicly in accordance with WHO policies.
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