Board Archives | Global Health Security Conferences

Dr Andrew Nerlinger

Dr. Andrew Nerlinger is the Executive Director of the Global Health Security Fund, a Geneva-based nonprofit that supports impact investment in global health security innovation.

He is also the Co-founder of PandemicTech, an Austin-based venture philanthropy launched in 2016 that supports health security innovators on the front lines of fighting pandemic infectious disease threats. Andrew is a Venture Partner at Bill Wood Ventures, an Austin-based family office that invests in early stage technology companies, and he previously served as Partner at Vesalius Ventures, a Houston-based telemedicine and digital health venture capital firm. He is a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine (MD) and the University of Notre Dame (BS).

Prof Adam Kamradt-Scott

Prof Adam Kamradt-Scott specialises in global health security and international relations. His research and teaching explore how governments and multilateral organisations respond to adverse health events such as epidemics and pandemics, as well as emerging health and security challenges. Adam’s most recent research examines civil-military cooperation in health and humanitarian crises, and the correlations between gender, sexuality, health and security. Prior to entering academia, Adam’s professional includes having worked as a health professional, a political adviser, and public servant in national health security and pandemic planning.

Prof Rebecca Katz

Dr. Rebecca Katz is a Professor and Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security, and holds joint appointments in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service. She teaches courses on global health diplomacy, global health security, and emerging infectious diseases in the Science, Technology and International Affairs, Security Studies, and Global Infectious Disease Programs.

Prior to coming to Georgetown in 2016, she spent ten years at The George Washington University as faculty in the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Since 2007, much of her work has been on the domestic and global implementation of the International Health Regulations as well as global governance of public health emergencies. She has authored over 100 peer reviewed manuscripts, and five books in addition to numerous op eds, blogs, white papers and book chapters.

From 2004 to 2019, Dr. Katz was a consultant to the Department of State, working on issues related to the Biological Weapons Convention, pandemic influenza and disease surveillance. She returned to the Department of State in January 2021 as a senior advisor on the global COVID-19 response and global health security

In 2019, Dr. Katz co-convened the first international scientific conference on global health security, bringing together over 900 participants from around the world to form a community of practice, Dr. Katz received her undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, an M.P.H. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr Meru Sheel

A/Prof Meru Sheel is a global health researcher and epidemiologist, and leads research on infectious diseases, immunisation and health emergencies.

She holds a PhD in vaccinology and an MPhil in Applied Epidemiology. Meru has worked in the Asia-Pacific region for over 10 years including having responded to international emergencies in Fiji, Dominica, Rohingya Crisis in Cox’s Bazar Bangladesh, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

In 2019, she was awarded a Westpac Research Fellowship (2019-2022) to conduct operational research in health emergencies in the context of infectious diseases and global health security. She is a founding steering committee member of the Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance and the WHO Roadmap for Public Health Workforce. In 2019, Meru was recognised as the Science and Medicine winner for 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians. In 2020, she was awarded the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Impact and Engagement.

Meru is a passionate science communicator & an advocate for gender and diversity in leadership roles.

Robin Davies

Robin Davies was appointed as an Honorary Professor of the Australian National University in April 2023 following more than five years as head of the Global Health Division and the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was previously Associate Director of the Development Policy Centre from late 2012 to 2017.

For almost twenty years, Robin worked at the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), both in Australia and overseas, including ten years as a member of its senior executive service. Until late 2011, he headed AusAID’s international programs and partnerships division.

Robin was Australia’s representative on the G20 Development Working Group from its establishment in 2010. He played an active role in shaping the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth and subsequent work on “growth with resilience”. As founding head of AusAID’s Sustainable Development Group from 2007 to 2009, he represented Australia in negotiations leading to the establishment of the multilateral Climate Investment Funds in 2008 and oversaw the development and implementation of a series of Australian climate change funding initiatives, including the International Forest Carbon Initiative and the International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative.

Robin managed AusAID’s devolved country program in Indonesia from 2003 to 2006. In that capacity he oversaw the first stage in a substantial scaling up and strategic reorientation of Australia’s aid to Indonesia, which for a time became the largest recipient of Australian aid, and led the Australian Government’s humanitarian response to the impacts of the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Robin was AusAID’s first permanent representative to the OECD Development Assistance Committee in Paris from 1999 to 2002. He represented Australia on the boards of the UN World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development in this period. He has also worked at Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Robin is on the boards of the Global Health Security Network and Femili PNG Australia. He previously served on the board of UNICEF Australia from 2013 to 2017 and chaired its Programs, Policy and Advocacy Committee.

Robin holds an honours degree in philosophy from the Australian National University.

Darren Menachemson

Darren is a ThinkPlace Global Partner, and serves as Head of Digital Societies and Chief Ethicist. Over 20 years, Darren has worked to innovate for public good, designing or assuring large scale transformations, regulatory initiatives and program interventions that tackle societies’ most complex challenges. Darren works with governments, international NGOs and responsible corporates, at the most senior levels and on the most sensitive topics, taking a co-design approach to create new coalitions to drive change.

Virgile Madua Kikaya

Virgile Kikaya is a public health leader and program manager with more than 20 years of experience working in Sub Saharan Africa. He qualified as a clinician in DRC in 2001, before he moved into public health and gained expertise in technical assistance for disease control, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, and project planning, management and implementation. He has provided technical and management support for programs for Maternal Health, Family planning, HIV prevention, care and treatment, malaria, TB and for the control of neglected tropical diseases in Lesotho, the DRC and in other African countries at the district health, regional and national levels.

He has worked for several international organizations and donors including WHO, UNAIDS, PWC/ Global Fund as well as Ministries of Health. Currently, Virgile Kikaya serves as Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, Global Health Security Technical Director as well as DRC Country Director. He provides overall strategic guidance in the various technical areas of Global Health Security including Public Health Emergency Management.

Saadia Zia

Saadia Zia is a multifaceted educationist and project management professional with 15 years of experience in research, training, and development across academia and industry.She currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Punjab, focusing on educational innovation and industry-academia linkages. Sadia has led initiatives in biosafety and biosecurity, serving as a Design Principal for the China Manned Space Utilisation Agency, and as Co-Lead for Disease Characterisation with The Global Health Network at Oxford University during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her background includes roles with the United Nations Association of Pakistan, executive membership in the Asia-Pacific Institute of Food Professionals, and expertise in food security, health policy, and sustainable development. Saadia holds an MS in Project Management, an M.Phil. in Molecular Biology, and various certifications in biosafety, public health, and quality management, demonstrating her commitment to advancing health,education, and policy.

Geoffrey Otim

Geoffrey Otim is an accomplished researcher andleader in synthetic biology, biosecurity, and global health, with a strong focus on African scientific advancement. His roles include Research Associate at the National University of Singapore and founder of SynBio Africa, Africa’s first synthetic biology platform. He has led initiatives such as the SynBio Africa Global Catastrophic Biological Risks Initiative, engaging over 100stakeholders in African pandemic preparedness efforts. Otim also serves as a member of the UN Biodiversity’s Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology and as a Biosafety Expert for the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security.His career highlights include extensive research in molecular biology, involvement in WHO’s Polio and Measles lab network, and roles in disease surveillance and outbreak response. Otim has contributed to global health through multiple fellowships, partnerships, and international presentations. He holds an MSc in Life Science, an MA in International Affairs, and several certifications in health management, biosecurity, and synthetic biology, reflecting his interdisciplinary expertise and dedication to biosecurity and health innovation in Africa.

Emma Garrett

Emma Garrett is a dedicated researcher and academic specialising in infectious diseases, epidemiology, and global health security. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology) / Master of Infectious Disease Intelligence (Extension) at UNSW, building on her strong foundation in microbiology and infectious disease research.

Emma has presented her work at prestigious conferences, including the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand and The Transplantation Society in Istanbul. She was also selected as an Ambassador for the Global Health Security Conference 2024, assisting Dr. Magda Robalo, former Minister of Health of Guinea-Bissau.

Her research experience spans multiple disciplines, including meta-analyses on hepatitis transmission in organ transplants, bacteriophage therapy for antibiotic-resistant infections, and fieldwork in Southeast Asia focusing on antimicrobial resistance and health policy. She has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and played a key role in projects at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, the University of Sydney, and the Charles Perkins Centre.

Emma’s commitment to education extends beyond research, as she has served as a Laboratory Demonstrator at the University of Sydney, leading practical sessions and mentoring undergraduate students in molecular biology and human biology.

With expertise in epidemiological research, laboratory analysis, and public health policy, Emma aims to contribute to the advancement of infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, and global health security initiatives.