Speaker Introduction

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Poom Adisakwattana

Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University

Dr. Poom Adisakwattana is an Associate Professor of Parasitology and the head of the Molecular Helminthology and Immunology Group in the Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand. With over a decade of dedicated research in molecular helminthology and immunology, his work focuses on the identification of helminth-derived molecules to advance the understanding of host-parasite interactions, and to support the development of diagnostic tools, drug and vaccines. He currently serves as the Head of the Immunodiagnostic Unit for Helminthic Infections at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, where he oversees immunodiagnostic services, conducts basic and applied research, and leads initiatives in research and development (R&D) aimed at improving public health outcomes related to parasitic infections.

Nasikarn Angkasekwinai

Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Department of Medicine
Mahidol University

Dr. Nasikarn Angkasekwinai is an Infections and Infectious Disease Specialist in Bangkok. She is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Thailand.

Prof. Dr. Anucha Apisarnthanarak

APSIC President
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Thammasat University Hospital

Dr. Anucha Apisarnthanarak is Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases Division at Thammasat University Hospital. Currently, he serves as APSIC president and APSCMI Secretary General. He also serves as an Adjunct Visiting Professor at Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, USA. His research focus included infection prevention in resource-limited setting, infection control to prevent multi drug-resistant microorganisms as well as outbreak investigations. He published more than 250 peer-review articles and more than 20 peer-review book chapters. He has been a key committee member of many national and international
societies.

Prof. Eugene Athan

Director, Barwon Health

Prof. Eugene Athan is an expert in Infective Endocarditis. He is Professor of Medicine, Conjoint, School of Medicine Deakin University and Director, Department of Infectious Disease, Barwon Health. He also Chairs the Health Care Infections group ASID and is co-founder of the Geelong Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (GCEID). He is the health advisor to the Cotton On Foundation and MSF. He has also worked as a public health specialist and epidemiologist to support humanitarian activities to mitigate several large scale communicable disease threats to populations including Cholera epidemics. He has extensive experience in clinical and epidemiologic research in areas of emerging infectious diseases including health care associated infections, pandemic influenza, Mycobacteria ulcerans, Infective endocarditis including the multinational collaboration for endocarditis research (ICE), device infections and multi-resistant bacteria. He contributed to or co-authored over 180 peer reviewed publications some in high impact journals. He leads a comprehensive Clinical Trials unit conducting multiple Phase 1 through 3 trials in emerging novel vaccines and anti-infective agents.

Dr. Anchalee Avihingsanon

HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS and Infectious Diseases Research Centre

Prof. Dr. Regina Berba

University of the Philippines Manila

Dr. Regina Berba is an Infectious Disease expert in the Philippines. She is currently a Professor at the University of the Philippines and Deputy Director for Health Operations at the Philippine General Hospital, the largest university government hospital with 1500 beds. She has received multiple awards in the national and international agencies. Her special interest in Infectious Diseases include Tuberculosis, HIV, Infection Control, Antimicrobial Stewardship.

Assoc. Prof. Jackrapong Bruminhent

Infectious Disease Specialist, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University

Assoc. Prof. Jackrapong Bruminhent teaches at the Division of Infectious Diseases, Mahidol University, in Bangkok, Thailand. He serves as a consultant providing both inpatient and outpatient care for the Transplant and Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases Service. His research interests focus on infections in solid organ transplant recipients, particularly cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, BK polyomavirus, and fungal infections. Recently, he has been actively involved in developing national guidelines for adult immunization, with a focus on transplant recipients and the management of febrile neutropenia in patients with hematologic malignancies in Thailand. In addition, he is contributing to the development of the first-ever Transplant Infectious Diseases guidelines for Thai solid organ transplant recipients, launched by the Thai Transplant Infectious Disease Working Group in March 2025.

Dr. Janice Caoili

President, Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID)
National Chair, Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT)
Senior Infectious Diseases Specialist, Tropical Disease Foundation (TDC)
Chief of the Infectious Diseases Section, Department of Medicine, Makati Medical Center (MMC)

Dr. Jane Caoili is President of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), member of the Executive Board and Southeast Asia Hub Lead, International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC), Immediate Past National Chair - Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT), Head of the Infection Prevention Control Department, Makati Medical Center, Philippines.

She is the Principal Investigator for various clinical trials and projects at TDF and MMC. Her focus areas include TB, HIV, infection control, COVID-19 and emerging infections. She has been engaged with research projects in South East Asia for over 15 years starting as coordinator for the US CDC Preserving Effective TB Treatment Study (PETTS) implemented in 9 countries including Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines and as the Deputy Program Manager for the HIV and AIDS Component, Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) Project. She has collaborated with TB Alliance as the PI for several Clinical Trials on novel anti-TB drugs and new TB treatment regimen. These drugs are now part of drug resistant TB treatment regimens. She is the Co-investigator for the MMC Site for the WHO Solidarity Trial for COVID-19 Treatment. This trial utilized an adaptive design and has enrolled 11,330 patients from 405 hospitals in 30 countries. Dr Caoili is also one of the site leads for The WHO Solidarity Trial Vaccines that has enrolled almost 7,000 participants in the Philippines.

Assoc. Prof. Louis Chai

Senior Consultant, National University Health System, Singapore

Dr. Louis Chai is Senior Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor in the University Medicine Cluster, National University Health System, Singapore, as well as Principal Investigator, Opportunistic Infections Group, Division of Infectious Diseases, NUHS. Dr Chai's interests lie in opportunistic and atypical infections in immunocompromised hosts, patients with altered immunity and host-pathogen interaction. These are also the themes of his research group. He remains deeply entrenched at the bedside in providing clinical service for general infectious diseases. Dr Chai is funded by the National Medical Research Council of Singapore and the National University Health System, Singapore.

Dr. Jacky Chan

Medical Director, Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre

Dr Jacky Chan graduated from the University of Hong Kong and attained Fellowship in Advances in
Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He is currently the Medical Director of Hospital Authority
Infectious Diseases Centre (HAIDC) and honorary clinical associate professor in Department of
Medicine and Therapeutics, CUHK and Department of Medicine, HKU. Dr Chan has particular
interest in management of emerging infectious disease and HIV illness. He had worked as a
consultant in Infectious Hazard Management in World Health Organization Headquarters in 2017.
He is currently the Vice president of Hong Kong Society for Infectious Diseases and Hong Kong
Society for HIV Medicine.

Prof. Dr. Methee Chayakulkeeree

Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Dr. Methee Chayakulkeeree is a Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine
Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. He is an infectious disease specialist and a Masterly Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Thailand (MFRCPT). His research interests
lie in infectious diseases and vaccines, with a particular focus on fungal infections, infections in
immunocompromised hosts, and transplant infectious diseases. He has authored over 100 peer-
reviewed publications and contributed several book chapters in the field.

Prof. Yee-Chun Chen

Director, National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes

Prof. Yee-Chun Chen is Director of National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes since August 2024. She is Professor of Medicine at the National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine in Taipei, Taiwan. She serves as a consultant or committee member at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, CDC, TFDA, and Taipei City Government. She currently co-chairs a national antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control program sponsored by Taiwan CDC. Professor Chen currently serves as a professorial lecturer in various clinical infectious diseases, infection control, emerging infectious diseases such as SARS, pH1N1 and COVID-19, infectious diseases in immunocompromised hosts, antimicrobial (including antifungal) stewardship, pathogenesis of sepsis, travel medicine and medical informatics at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine. She is one of the nation's leaders in infection prevention and control, adult vaccination, and medical mycology. Prof Chen's research focus includes infection control and hospital epidemiology, antibiotic stewardship and antibiotic resistance, medical informatics, clinical and molecular mycology including one health perspective of drug-resistant Aspergillus and Candida infection. She is PI or co-PI of a series of multicenter, clinical and molecular epidemiological studies of infectious diseases in Taiwan as well in Asia. Her dedication to medical research has resulted in more than 350 peer-reviewed journal articles. She is listed in the top 2% scientist in world ranking 2020.

Vincent Chi-Chung

Chief of Service, Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital
Infection Control Officer, Queen Mary Hospital
Honorary Clinical Professor, School of Clinical Medicine, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong

Dr. Cheng is the Chief of Service, Consultant Microbiologist, and Infection Control Officer at Queen Mary Hospital, as well as an Honorary Clinical Professor in the Department of Microbiology at The University of Hong Kong. He graduated with distinction in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong in 1994 and awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree and the Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal for the best MD thesis in 2012.

He serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Hospital Infection, Infection Control in Practice, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology, and Journal of Clinical Microbiology. He is an elected member of the research council committee (2020-2023) and the publication committee (2024 onward) of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Additionally, Dr. Cheng is an expert panelist for the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) guidelines on COVID-19 treatment and prevention.

With over 370 peer-reviewed publications in clinical infectious diseases, microbiology, and infection control, Dr. Cheng has been recognized as a 'Highly Cited Researcher' by Clarivate Analytics for 2021-2024, an honor given to researchers with multiple highly cited papers in the top 1% of their field.

Prof. Ploenchan Chetchotisakd

Senoir researcher, Khon Kaen University

Ploenchan Chetchotisakd is a Professor of Medicine at the Khon Kaen University, Thailand. In 1988, she joined the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. Her research interests focus on HIV infection, opportunistic infections and nontuberculous mycobacteria. She has carried out several original investigations in the field of HIV infection, melioidosis, and nontuberculous mycobacteria. She was the first to identify anti-IFN-gamma autoantibody in nontuberculous mycobacterial infected patients.

Prof. Hiroji Chibana

Assoc. Prof., Chiba University

Hiroji Chibana is Associate Professor at Chiba University, Japan in the Division of Molecular Biology. He specializes in molecular biology and medical mycology. His main research topics include the comprehensive study for virulence factors using the mutant library and the study of anti-fungal drug targets using the mutant library. He published over 60 peer reviewed papers.

Assoc. Prof. Ariya Chindamporn

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University

Ariya Chindamporn is an Associate Professor at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University. She is also a Consultant with the Mycology Unit, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, where she previously served as Head of Department until 2015.

Dr Chindamporn completed her MS (Microbiology) at Mahidol University in 1980, before receiving her doctoral degree in Basic Sciences from Nagoya University, in 1995.

Dr Chindamporn currently sits on the committee of the Asia Fungal Working Group (AFWG), a working group under the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM). Her research interests are in molecular diagnosis, molecular identification, epidemiology and pathogenesis of medically emerging fungi and parafungi, including AIDS-related mycoses and pythiosis.

Patricia Ching

Principal Nurse in Infection Control, WHO Collaborating Center, School of Public Health, the University of Hong Kong

Patricia Ching has Chaired the Hong Kong Infection Control Nurses Association (HKICNA) since 1989. She is currently Vise President of Asia Pacific Society for Infection Control (APSIC) and part of the Faculty of APSIC training in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Ms. Ching is Nurse Consultant to the Hong Kong Evangel Hospital, Adventist Hospital Hong Kong, Tsuen Wan. She is also an ACHS Accreditation Nurse Advisor of Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong.

She has comprehensive infection control experience from acute care to long term care and extending to Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinics. She published widely in infection control and nursing and is well recognized by the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing that conferred her Honorary Fellow Member in Infection Prevention and Control in May 2018. She is also the field expert in the Scientific Committee of Infection Control (SCIC) in Centre for Health Protection Hong Kong. Patricia is also a Certified Practitioner of Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), who has a specific interest in improving patient safety through introducing quality improvement initiatives to reduce health care associated infection and beyond. Patricia is the founding and faculty member of APSIC and has been serving as EXCO member and the office since 1998.

Prof. Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit

President of Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of Thailand
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Dr. Piriyaporn Chongtrakool

Mahidol University

Assoc. Prof. Darunee Chotiprasitsakul

Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Sarunyou Chusri

Prince of Songkla University

Prof. Geoffrey Coombs

Chair, Public Health, Murdoch University

Prof. Geoffrey Coombs is the Chair of Public Health at Murdoch University. His current major areas of research include Investigating the molecular evolution of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium; Molecular epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Australia and Antimicrobial resistance surveillance. He has co-authored over 260 peer-reviewed scientific papers and has over 400 national and international conference publications. In 2024, based on his strong publication record, and the quality and impact of the work performed he was ranked by ScholarGPS in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide Professor Coombs is the Past President for the International Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and for the Australian Society for Antimicrobials and is Chair for the Australian Group for Antimicrobial Resistance. In addition, he is the Principal Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Faculty of Science: Microbiology

Peter Haddawy

Director, Mahidol-Bremen Medical Informatics Research Unit and Deputy Dean for Research, Mahidol University, Thailand
Professor for Medical Informatics, University of Bremen, Germany

Prof. Dr. Peter Haddawy is Global Talent Professor of Computer Science in the Faculty of ICT at Mahidol University. He is also Honorary Professor of Medical Informatics at the University of Bremen in Germany and is Director of the Mahidol-Bremen Medical Informatics Research Unit. His research falls broadly in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Medical Informatics. He has published over 140 refereed papers. He has been ranked the top computer scientist in Thailand and among the top 2% of scientists globally. His current work focuses on intelligent medical training systems and applications of AI in vector-borne disease. His work has investigated the use of AI techniques to gather and to exploit novel data sources for monitoring, modeling, and diagnosing vector-borne disease. This includes detection and mapping of Aedes breeding sites, collection and use of mobility data for modeling of disease transmission, technologies for monitoring adult mosquito vectors, and diagnostic decision support systems.

Prof. Po-Ren Hseuh

National Taiwan University College of Medicine (NTUCM)
National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH)

Po-Ren Hsueh is professor at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine (NTUCM) and the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). He has held president positions in several local and international societies, including the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC), Asia-Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection (APSCMI), Global Chinese Association of Clinical Microbiology and Infection (GCACMID), Infection Control Society of Taiwan (ICST), Taiwan Society of Microbiology (TSM), and Taiwan Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (TSCPaLM). He has also served as a member of the Scientific Program Committee for several international congresses, including the International Congress of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ICC), American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe, European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), and other regional congresses on infectious diseases and clinical microbiology.

Currently, Professor Hsueh is the president of TSM and Society of Taiwan Long-Term Care Infection Prevention and Control (STLTCIPC). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infection (JMII, impact factor 4.399 in 2020), Section Editor of the International Journal Antimicrobial Agents (IJAA), funding editor of the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance (JGAR), provides editorial input to several prestigious journals, and is a reviewer for more than 50 journals. His major research interests include clinical microbiology, epidemiology and mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (bacteria, mycobacteria, and fungi), molecular epidemiology of emerging pathogens, molecular diagnosis of infectious agents, infection control, and emerging viral infections. Professor Hsueh has authored more than 1,030 original research and review articles.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anupop Jitmuang

Instructor, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Souha Kanj

American University of Beirut Medical Center

Professor Souha Kanj is a tenured Professor of Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), where she served as Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases until September 2024. She is Chair of the Infection Control Program, co-Chair of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, and Consulting Professor at Duke University Medical Center where she trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She has co-authored over 320 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and UpToDate cards. She serves as a advisory member for many WHO programs in infection control, antimicrobial resistance, priority pathogens, diagnostic stewardship, COVID-19, and fungal infections among others. She is an advisory international board member for Lancet and Associate Editor for Mayo Clinics Proceedings, USA. Her research focuses on viral pandemics, nosocomial infections, antimicrobial resistance and stewardship, nosocomial infections, infectious diseases during wars, and fungal infections in immunocompromised patients.

She is also President of the Lebanese Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology and President of the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC). She was recently awarded the Intissar Ahdab Award for excellence in research at AUB and in May 2025, the Faculty of Medicine research award at AUBMC. She has ranked in the top 2% cited researchers in the Stanford University citation indicator for 2023-2025 and is the most cited researcher in infectious diseases in the Arab countries and number 8 in Asia.

Prof. Sasisopin Kiertiburanakul

Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs and Culture, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Sasisopin Kiertiburanakul is currently a Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand. She is the Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs and Culture, the vice president of the Infectious Disease Association of Thailand, and the secretary of the Thai AIDS Society. Her research focuses on general infectious diseases, tropical infectious diseases, and HIV. She has authored, co-authored, and collaborated on more than 260 articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals. She is also a committee member and consultant of various national organizations.

Dr. Changki Kim

Vice Director, Seoul Clinical Laboratories (SCL)

Dr. Chang-Ki Kim is vice director of Seoul Clinical Laboratories (SCL), Korea, and a board-certified specialist in Laboratory Medicine. His research interests focus on tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial infections. He has been actively involved in the development of national clinical guidelines and health policies, and currently oversees the external quality assessment program for tuberculosis and mycobacterial diagnostics in Korea.

Dr. Jae-Seok Kim

Hallym University College of Medicine, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital

Dr. Jae-Seok Kim is a laboratory physician and clinical microbiologist. He is currently a professor of laboratory medicine and the director of clinical microbiology at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital in Seoul, Korea. Dr. Kim'™s research focuses on clinical bacteriology, antimicrobial resistance, molecular diagnostics, and bacterial genomics. He has served as Secretary General and Chair of Academic Affairs for the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology (KSCM), and he is now the Chairman of KSCM. Dr. Kim has contributed as the Chief of the External Quality Control for Bacteriology in the Korean External Quality Assurance Associations.

Prof. Mi-Na Kim

Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan

Prof. Mi-Na Kim is a dedicated medical professional in Korea, holding a board certification in Laboratory Medicine and over 30 years of experience as a clinical microbiologist. She is currently a professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, where she directs the clinical microbiology laboratory. Her clinical work primarily focuses on bacteriology, antimicrobial resistance, and hospital epidemiology. She has served as President of the Korean Society of Healthcare-Associated Infection and Chairperson of the Korean Society for Clinical Microbiology. She will be conducting a symposium on Diagnostic Stewardship and Antimicrobial Stewardship at the Congress. Her experience directing clinical microbiology laboratories and engaging in infection control activities will provide meaningful insights and address unmet needs for the audience attending the session.

Dr. Rossaphorn Kittiyaowamarn

Chief of Bangrak STIs Center

Dr. Rossaphorn is a board-certified dermatologist (Siriraj Hospital, 2011) and preventive medicine specialist (2022). As Chief of the Bangrak STIs Center, under the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, she focuses on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). She teaches STI management to physicians in Thailand and abroad, has served on the STI guidelines expert panel since 2015, and contributed to the 2022 WHO STI guidelines. Dr. Rossaphorn has led several STI research projects, including gonorrhea treatment trials, and has been instrumental in Thailand's elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis.

Assoc. Prof. Pornpan Koomanachai, MD

Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine
Deputy Head of International Relation, Department of Medicine
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital
Mahidol University BKK

Srivicha Krudsood

Dr. N. Kumarasamy

Chief and Director, VHS Infectious Diseases Medical Centre

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, Viral Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, COVID and other Infectious Diseases in Chennai, Southern India. He is also the Director of the Chennai Antiviral Research and Treatment (CART) Clinical Research Site which conducts Therapeutics and Biomedical prevention clinical trials in HIV, Viral Hepatitis, 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, Uiniversity of Colorado, University of Washington-Seattle,University of New South Wales/Kirby Institute -Sydney- Australia, Treat Asia Network/ AMFAR, Kings College- London, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-USA, World Health Organization and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). He was involved as an investigator for the clinical development of several antivirals. He has published more than 475 manuscripts in peer reviewed medical journals. He has also 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. He serves as editorial committee member of several medical journals.

Prof. Dr. Hyukmin Lee

Prof. Dr. Hyukmin Lee is Professor of the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine and a member of Infection Control Committee, Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (KSLM). He is Council Member of the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (KSLM) and Korean Society for Clinical Microbiology (KSCM). In addition, he is Vice President of the Korean Society for Healthcare-associated Infection Control and Prevention (KOSHIC) and Executive Director of the Korean Society of Antimicrobial Therapy (KSAT). He also Chairs the Subcommittee on Diagnostic Analysis, Internal Evaluation Committee, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and is an Expert Member of the Antimicrobial Resistance Advisory Committee, Healthcare-associated Infection Advisory Committee and National Immunization Advisory Committee for the KDCA. He is also Vice Chair of the KDCA's Diagnostic Analysis Advisory Committee. In addition, he is Committee Member of the Disease Safety Subcommittee and Disease Safety Subcommittee for the National Advisory Committee on Public Safety Science. He also serves as a Central Evaluation Committee Member, Safe Korea Training, Ministry of the Interior and Safety and is an Expert Member of the Infectious Disease Policy Governance, Seoul Metropolitan Government. He is currently Editorial Board Member for the Health and Disease division of the KDCA.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jaehyeon Lee

Director, Department of Laboratory Medicine Jeonbuk National University Medical School and Hospital

Dr. Jaehyeon Lee is a laboratory physician (clinical pathologist) and clinical microbiologist. He currently serves as Director of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Director of the Infection Control and Prevention Center, and Course Director for the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Jeonbuk National University Medical School in Jeonju, Republic of Korea. Dr. Lee's primary research interests include hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus agalactiae. Since 2025, he has also served as Director of Scientific Affairs for the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.

Prof. Amorn Leelarasamee

Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Stije Leopold

Dr. Stije Leopold is a physician in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and a clinical researcher with a focus on emerging infections and pandemic preparedness. He leads antiviral clinical research at MORU, coordinating adaptive platform trials and developing methods to study pathogens that typically only allow research during active outbreaks. His work places particular emphasis on drug repurposing.

Prof. Ruoyo Li

Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Peking University First Hospital

Ruoyu Li is currently a Professor in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Peking University First Hospital. She is also the Director of the National Clinical Research Center for Skin and Immune Diseases Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis on Dermatoses and the Deputy Director of the Research Center for Medical Mycology, Peking University. She is also the current Co-chair of the Asian Fungal Working Group (AFWG). Professor Li’s key research interests including the pathogenesis of opportunistic fungal infection, non-culture diagnostic methods for fungal infection and antifungal resistance. She has published more than 300 papers in Chinese and international journals, and she is the editor-in-chief of the Textbook of Dermatology and Venereology, and Medical Mycology – Laboratory Identification Guide. She is now the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Mycology and an editor of 10 international journal. She is also an Associate Editor of Mycopathologia. Professor Li is the honorary president of the Society of Mycology, Chinese Society of Microbiology, and vice-president of Medical Mycology Society of Chinese Medicine and Education. She is also the president of the Asia Pacific Society of Medical Mycology and the vice president of International Society of Human and Animal Mycology. Dr Li has tremendously advanced the progress in the field of mycology and has received recognitions from China’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education for her contributions in medical research and education. Her research on non-culture diagnosis has improved diagnostic practices and standardized diagnosis of mycological infections. She has also helped to establish an in vitro monitoring system for antifungal therapy. Some resistance strains were isolated through the monitoring, and the mechanisms were further investigated.

Prof. Seng Gee Lim

Director of Hepatology, National University Health System

Prof. Seng Gee Lim is Director of Hepatology at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National University Health System, Singapore, and was previously Chief of Division. He is a member of the editorial boards for Journal of Viral Hepatitis, J of Viral Eradication. He is also on the Advisory Board of Gilead Sciences, Roche, AusperBio, GlaxoSmithkline, Aligos, Sysmex, Grifols and Abbott Diagnostics. He is currently chairman of the Singapore Hepatology Conference and Science of HBV Cure Conference. He served as Governing Council member from 2014-2018 of the International Association for Study of Liver (IASL), and was been appointed to the AASLD Asia Pacific Regional Advisory Council in 2018. He is also governing council board member of International Coalition for Eradication for Hepatitis B (ICE-HBV) and a steering committee member of HBV Forum. He is a council member of the Global Hepatitis Summit [International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease (ISVHLD)]. He is Scientific Advisory Board member for ANRS Maladies Infectieuses Emergentes, France and a faculty at the Asia Pacific EBM workshop. He was recently awarded the APDWF Okuda Lectureship in 2024. His research includes clinical trials of new treatments for chronic hepatitis B and translational research in viral hepatitis, involving molecular biology and immunology of hepatitis B, and HBV elimination. He has published 298 peer reviewed publications and secured peer review grant funding worth SGD $52 Million (USD$38M), including the award of a SGD $25 million National Translational Clinical Research grant in 2015 to investigate eradication of HBV, which was recently renewed. In 2018 he was awarded the NMRC Clinician Scientist Award for research in HBV, renewed in 2021. His H index is 65.

Prof. Direk Limmathurotsakul

Head of Microbiology, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University

Assoc. Prof. Moi Lin Ling

Director, Infection Prevention & Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd

Assoc. Prof. Moi Lin Ling is the Director of Infection Prevention & Epidemiology at the Singapore General Hospital, Director of Infection Prevention, SingHealth, and Lead, Infection Prevention, Regional Health System, SingHealth. She is a member of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, and a certified professional in healthcare quality (CPHQ). She is also the President of the Infection Control Association (Singapore), Past President of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control (APSIC) and President of the Healthcare Quality Society of Singapore (HQSS). She is an active member of the WHO Global Infection Prevention and Control Network, and WHO COVID-19 IPC Guidance Development Group of experts. She is also an active member of the National Infection Prevention Committee at Ministry of Health, Singapore. She has special interest in infection prevention and control, antimicrobial resistance, healthcare quality, patient safety and sustainability.

Professor David LYE Chien Boon

Group Director (Research), Communicable Disease Agency
Deputy Executive Director, Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response (PREPARE)
Co-Director, Respiratory and Infectious Disease Programme, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

At TTSH, Prof. Lye founded and led the Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme from 2009 to 2018. At NCID, he headed Infectious Disease Research and Training Office from 2018 to 2025, Singapore Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network from 2014 to 2020, and Training and Education Office from 2018 to 2020. He has chaired the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Expert Panel since 2014. He is member, National Antimicrobial Resistance Control Committee, and One Health Antimicrobial Resistance Project Team, Ministry of Health, Singapore. His research interests are in COVID-19, dengue and antimicrobial resistance. He has published more than 410 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals such as NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, JAMA Oncology, JAMA Pediatrics, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Lancet Microbe, Lancet Global Health, Annals Internal Medicine as well as Science, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Reviews Immunology, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine, Journal Clinical Investigation and Journal Experimental Medicine. He was a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2022-2024, and Stanford University Top 2% Scientist 2022-2024. Professor Lye is President, Society of Infectious Disease (Singapore). He is an advocate for HIV prevention as Vice President, Action for AIDS. Internationally, he is President, Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection; ex officio, executive committee, International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Prof. Dr. Yasmin A. Malik

Visiting Clinical Consultant, University Malaya Medical Centre

Prof. Dr. Yasmin A. Malik lectures at the Medical Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya (UM) and is Visiting Senior Clinical Consultant with the Medical Microbiology Department, University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) since 2014. She was Head of Virology Unit, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and then as Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine at National University of Malaysia (UKM) for nearly 20 years. She was formally the Professor of Medical Microbiology and Head of the Preclinical Sciences Department at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) from 2012-2014. Before that she was the Dean of Postgraduate Studies (Post-graduate courses) for two years and Dean of Medical Sciences for seven years at the International Medical University (IMU).

Her involvement in research of over 40 years with more than 20 research projects, has resulted in over 100 national and international presentations and publications in the fields of viral diseases, antimicrobial chemotherapy and vaccines. She is a member of the editorial board for the Malaysian Journal of Pathology and Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the 119 University Malaya researchers who were listed in the “top 2% Scientists in the World in their Respective Fields” as reported by the Stanford University through Elselvier Data Repository. Her continuous commitment in providing updates on viral infections that included viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, VZV, influenza and recently on Covid-19 resulted in her coordinating and conducting teaching sessions on laboratory diagnostics and quality assurance, clinical application, interpretation and management of viral infections in seminars, workshops, scientific meetings and conferences, as well as giving numerous oral presentations and plenary talks locally, regionally and internationally. In recognition for her 40 years of contribution to pathology especially in the field of medical microbiology, she was presented with the College of Pathologists, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (CPathAMM) Lifetime Achievement Award 2025.

Prof. Mayfong Mayxay

President, University of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Laos

Prof. Dr. Mayfong Mayxay is President of the University of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR and a member of Parliament of the Lao National Assembly. He Chairs the National Ethics Committee for Health Research (NECHR) and is President of the Lao Infectious Disease Society (LIDS) and Chairman of Lao One Health University Network (LAOHUN). He is also a visiting Professor in Tropical Medicine at University of Oxford and a Visiting Professor in Public Health at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. Prof. Mayfong initiated many important academic entities in Laos, including a clinical research unit called "Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit or LOMWRU" at Mahosot Hospital; the first Lao Ethical Committee and the first Lao Medical Journal. He co-founded the Lao One Health University Network (LAOHUN), the Lao Infectious Disease Society (LIDS) and recently, the Unit for Health Evidence and Policy (UHEP) at the Lao University of Health Sciences. He is an outstanding researcher recognized internationally and locally with more than 25-years experiences in both clinical and public health research. He won the Ambulatory Pediatric Associational Research Award in 2004 in USA and received the Encouragement Award from the Hitachi Global Foundation Asia Innovation Award 2020. So far, he has published 267 papers which are indexed in Pubmed.

Asst. Prof. Atibordee Meesing

Doctor, Khon Kaen University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Preecha Montakantikul

Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University

Dr. Montakantikul is clinical pharmacist with expertise in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy and pharmacokinetics, specializing in optimizing antibiotic dosing regimens for Gram-negative resistant bacterial infections and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.

Prof. Dr. Mathirut Mungthin

Expert, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine

Major General Prof. Dr. Mathirut Mungthin heads the Department of Pharmacology and is the Deputy Director at Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Thailand. He is a medical expert for the Royal Thai Army and is currently the President of the Parasitology and Tropical Medicine Association of Thailand. He was awarded the Distinguished Parasitologist Award in 2022 by the World Federation of Parasitologists. His interests are Parasitology, Drug resistance in Malaria and Leishmaniasis.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thundon Ngamprasertchai

Chief Biomedical Officer
Center of Excellence for Biomedical and Public Health Informatics (BIOPHICS), Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University

Dr. Ngamprasertchai is a highly experienced Infectious Disease Physician and Consultant with over ten years of clinical practice and a robust research portfolio in vaccinology, tropical medicine, and traveler’s health. He currently serves as Chief Biomedical Officer at BIOPHICS, where he leads initiatives in large-scale vaccine research and biomedical informatics. He is an active contributor to several committees and editorial boards. His work is driven by a passion for integrating clinical research with public health policy to strengthen immunization programs and education in tropical medicine

Dr. Tachapong Tachapong Ngarmukos

Director of Cardiovascular Metabolic Center, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital

Doctor Tachapong Ngarmukos is currently a Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist for the Faculty of
Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Metabolic Center at the Ramathibodi Hospital. He was certified by the American Board of Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology in 2001. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Massachusetts Memorial Healthcare System in 2001; Electrophysiologist at Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research Institute Inglewood, California, USA in 2002. Doctor Tachapong was elected as President of Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society in 2020 - 2021 and Scientific Chairman of the heart Association of Thailand under the royal patronage of H.M. the King from 2018 to 2020.

Assoc. Prof. Leilani Paitoonpong

Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Nicholas Paton

Professor of Infectious Diseases, National University of Singapore

Nicholas Paton is a professor of infectious diseases at the National University of Singapore and at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His research interests are optimisation of HIV and tuberculosis treatment in resource-limited settings. He runs a programme of TB treatment trials coordinated from Singapore, including the TRUNCATE-TB trial- a strategy trial of 2 months treatment for drug-susceptible TB conducted in 18 sites in Asia and Africa.

Prof. Robin Patel

Director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory
Elizabeth P. and Robert E. Allen Professor of Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic

Robin Patel is the Elizabeth P. and Robert E. Allen Professor of Individualized Medicine, Director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory, Co-Director of the Clinical Bacteriology Laboratory, Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and former Chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology, at the Mayo Clinic. Professor Patel’s research focuses on understanding the inherent biology of periprosthetic infection. She has over 635 peer-reviewed publications, is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the Director of the Laboratory Center of the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group of the National Institutes of Health, and Past President of the American Society for Microbiology.

Prof. David Paterson

Director, ADVANCE-ID

David Paterson is Director of ADVANCE-ID, a clinical trials network comprising over 100 hospitals across Asia. He is an Infectious Diseases Physician and Professor at the National University of Singapore. He has published over 600 manuscripts predominantly in the field of antimicrobial resistance in Gram negative bacilli.

Prof. Malik Peiris

Director of the Centre of Influenza Research at Hong Kong University
Co-Director, WHO H5 Reference Laboratory at Hong Kong University

Professor Malik Peiris is a clinical and public health virologist with a particular interest in emerging virus disease at the animal-human interface including influenza, coronaviruses and others. His current research encompasses the pathogenesis, innate immune responses, transmission, ecology and epidemiology of human and animal (poultry, swine, wild birds) influenza viruses. His research has provided understanding on the emergence and pathogenesis of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus and on avian influenza viruses H5N1, H9N2 and H7N9. His collaborative research has provided evidence-based options for the control of these viruses in poultry and in humans. In 2003, he played a key role in the discovery that a novel coronavirus was the cause of SARS, its diagnosis and pathogenesis. Currently he is researching the recently emerged MERS coronavirus. ​ He coordinates an 8 year multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional Area of Excellence Program of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong on the “Control of Pandemic and Inter-pandemic Influenza”. He is also an investigator in the Centres of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) program of NIAID, National Institutes of Health, USA. He has collaborative research activities with researchers in Europe through EU Framework research grants such as “EMPERIE” (FP7) on emerging infectious diseases and “FLUPIG” on influenza viruses in swine. ​ He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2006, awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, France (2007), Mahathir Science Award, Akademi Sains, Malaysia (2007) and Silver Bauhinia Star (S.B.S.), Hong Kong SAR (2008). He serves on the editorial boards of Lancet Infectious Diseases and PLoS Medicine. In March 2017, Malik Peiris was promoted as Officer in the Order of Legion d'Honneur. In May 2017, he has been elected as a foreign associate of The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States, in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. 

Assoc. Prof. Wanatpreeya Phongsamart

Head of Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol

Dr. Wanatpreeya Phongsamart is a pediatric infectious disease specialist and Associate Professor at Mahidol University, Thailand. Her work focuses on Streptococcus pneumoniae, vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. In 2005, she founded the Pneumococcal Laboratory Network to monitor serotype distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of invasive pneumococcal disease in Thailand. She currently leads several studies, including an evaluation of reduced-dose pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) schedules and a nationwide surveillance project on S. pneumoniae serotype distribution. This latter initiative, conducted under the BactGenomic Network, involves collaboration with 77 hospitals across Thailand to study the epidemiology and genetic diversity of circulating pneumococcal strains. She has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications. She is Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Siriraj Hospital and is an active committee member of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of Thailand.

Assoc. Prof. Pakpoom Phoompoung

Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital

Dr. Pawat Phuensan

Clinical instructor, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

Dr. Rongpong Plongla

Clinical instructor, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital - Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Rongpong Plongla is a clinical instructor of infectious diseases at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. He is interested in mechanisms of resistance, rapid diagnostics, diagnostic stewardship and therapeutic options against multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria. He is also involveก in antimicrobial stewardship program and has special interests in human pythiosis.

Dr. Yong Poovorawan

Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Dr. Yong Poovorawan specializes in pediatrics and is currently Head of the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. He is the leader in Viral hepatitis work in Thailand and is a member of the EPI vaccine, viral hepatitis and emerging diseases of the Center Disease control, Ministry of Public Health. He has authored and co-authored more than 550 publications in the fields of hepatitis, pediatric hepatology and virology. His works originally focused on the fields of pediatric hepatology and viral hepatitis, especially in applications to the Thai healthcare system, on which such works have had significant impact. Later on they expanded to include virology studies in general. He is widely recognized for his work on genetic sequencing and detection of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Thailand, which saw outbreaks beginning in 2004, and is regarded as the national expert on the subject.

Dr. Poovorawan has been working in the Department of Pediatrics at Chulalongkorn University has lectured at the University since 1991 and has received many research awards and honors.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Opass Putcharoen

Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Opass Putcharoen is the Director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center at the Thai Red Cross and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. His research focuses on the long-term complications of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV drug resistance, and co-infections, particularly in resource-limited settings. His expertise in HIV treatment protocols led him to serve as a member of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) for the 2019 WHO Recommendations on Preferred First-line and Second-line Antiretroviral Regimens for Treating HIV Infection. He is currently a WHO consultant on advanced HIV disease, focusing on responding to severe bacterial infections, and as an expert for MPOX laboratory diagnosis. He is also a member of the WHO CoviNet network, the executive secretary of the panel responsible for the development of Thai antiretroviral guidelines, and a scientific advisor for the development of the Thai sexually transmitted infection (STI) guidelines.

Assoc. Prof. Raja Iskandar Shah Raja Azwa

Associate Professor in Infectious Diseasesม Universiti Malaya
Clinical Lead for the HIV Service, Infectious Diseases Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya

Assoc. Prof. Raja Iskandar Shah Raja Azwa is an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and is the Clinical Lead for the HIV service in the Infectious Diseases Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He is also the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Research in Infectious Diseases & AIDS (CERIA), Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. His research interests include HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation research, stigma reduction interventions among key populations and evaluation of novel HIV treatment strategies in resource-limited settings. He is the site Principal Investigator (PI) for several international collaborative HIV clinical trials which have shaped HIV guidelines locally and globally. Much of his recent work has focused on increasing community access to HIV prevention biomedical interventions and implementation of differentiated service delivery models of HIV care & prevention including m-health and pharmacy-led service delivery models. He has been a member of several WHO Guidelines development groups on HIV treatment and prevention since 2020. Iskandar Azwa also serves as the current President of the Malaysian AIDS Council.

Prof. Dr. Pinyo Rattanaumpawan

Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Dr. Pinyo Rattanaumpawan is Professor of Medicine at Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. In addition to the leadership role in antimicrobial stewardship at Siriraj Hospital, she has also appointed several important roles at the national level including an executive member of Infectious Disease Association of Thailand, a member of National AMR working group, and a member of National List of Essential Medicine (Infectious Disease Subcommittee). Her research interests focus on bacterial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship program. She has published more than 70 international publications related to antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, and health economic analysis.

Prof. Dr. Raymund Razonable

Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic

Raymund R. Razonable, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Distinguished Clinician at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota. His clinical practice, education efforts and research interests focus on infections related to transplantation, including cytomegalovirus infections. He has authored over 330 peer-reviewed original and review articles, more than 30 book chapters and over 300 abstracts on these topics. He serves as Associate Editor of Transplant Infectious Diseases and Clinical Infectious Diseases, President-Elect of the Association of Specialty Professors, and was an elected member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Transplantation.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Suwatchareeporn Rotcheewaphan

Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Fiona Russell

Group Leader, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Professor Fiona Russell is a paediatrician, epidemiologist and translation researcher. She is Director of the Child and Adolescent Health PhD Program, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, and is a member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Child and Neonatal Health Research and Training; and Group Leader for Asia-Pacific Health research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Her research provides evidence for policy decisions regarding immunization and child health in low- and middle-income countries. Her research focuses on novel vaccine impact evaluations, understanding herd immunity, prevention of mother to infant transmission of infections, and vaccine preventable disease surveillance. Her research has changed global, regional and country policy; is cited in the WHO pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Position Statements (2012, 2019); has led to a paradigm shift in the number and timing of vaccine doses used; and has led to new vaccine introduction in the region. The results from her work have been presented to WHO and Gavi. She is a regular advisor to WHO Immunization and Vaccine Research technical advisory groups (2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) on global PCV policy and research directions. She has undertaken more than 30 international consultancies (UNICEF, WHO) to advise governments and donors (DFAT, Asia Development Bank) on immunization and child health policy (Asia, Pacific and Africa). In 2021, she led the Public Health and Epidemiology component of the WHO global review of childhood pneumonia; and currently leads a WHO systematic review on what pneumococcal carriage and pneumonia can tell us in the post PCV era with regards to serotypes replacement. She advised DFAT on COVID-19 vaccines in the region and is a member of the WHO Pacific Joint Incident Management Team. She is a member of the WHO Strengthening Clinical Trials TAG.

Wichai Santimaleeworagun

Faulty of Pharmacy, SIlpakorn University

Prof. Dr. Zamberi Sekawi

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Professor Dr Zamberi Sekawi is a respected figure in the field of Medical Microbiology and serves as a senior consultant clinical microbiologist at Universiti Putra Malaysia. He has served as a Technical Officer for the World Health Organization in Fiji and as a Visiting Scientist at the Burnet Institute in Australia. He has contributed to the medical community through roles in organizations such as the Malaysian Society of Infectious Diseases and Chemotherapy, the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, and the International Society for Infectious Diseases. As a vaccine advocate, Professor Sekawi actively promotes the importance of immunization in preventing infectious diseases and improving public health outcomes. His research focuses on infectious diseases, including influenza, antimicrobial resistance, and leptospirosis. His leadership in a major grant initiative on leptospirosis in Malaysia resulted in the formation of the Malaysian Leptospirosis Research Group, which continues to make a positive impact in the field. He had published more than 180 journal articles and with a scopus h-index of 28.

Prof. Wing Hong Seto

Professor (Hon.), School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong Consultant Advisor (Hon.) for Quality and Safety, HKU Shenzhen Hospital
Co-Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong Clinical

Professor Seto played a key role in initiating Infection Control in Hong Kong and started the local training course for Infection Control Practitioners in 1985. He is involved extensively in Infection Control education throughout China and the region and is the Founding President of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control. Besides being Honorary Professor for the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he is also a visiting professor for the University of New South Wales. He was conferred honorary professorships by several universities in China including Honorary Professorship for Infection Control by the Military Postgraduate Medical College, PLA General Hospital (301) and the People’s Liberation Army of China has in addition appointed him honorary consultant for Infection control in 1999. He is also the past Chairman of the Infection Control Scientific Committee of the “Centre for Health Protection” in Hong Kong. Presently and has authored over a hundred and fifty research papers including the book “Infection Control for the Asian Healthcare Worker”. The WHO has also regularly assigned him as advisor for various projects in Infection Control, Antibiotics Resistance and a core group member for the WHO Hand Hygiene guideline. He is also a member of the Emergency Committee of the IHR of the WHO, member of the Infection Control International Network and Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, The University of Hong Kong. He was awarded the “Bronze Bauhinia Star” in 2004 and “Silver Bauhinia Star” in 2011 from the Hong Kong Government for his work in Infection Control in Hong Kong. In view of his years of involvement in Infection Control, he is also active in the related field of Quality Healthcare Management and is presently the President of the Asia Pacific Society of Quality Healthcare. In 2013, he was made a Meritorious Member of ISC (International Society of Chemotherapy) and also awarded The Yen Award for outstanding research in Infections Disease. For 2015, he wins the IFIC (International Federation of Infection Control) Martin S. Favero Award 2015. This award is to honor him for his lifetime contribution to global infection prevention.

Prof. Monica Slavin

Head, Department of Infectious Diseases, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Monica Slavin leads a National Centre of Research Excellence in Infections in Cancer and Transplantation at the University of Melbourne, Australia where she is Chair of Infection in Cancer and Transplantation. She is Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and of the Immunocompromised Host Infection Service at Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Her research is in prevention, diagnosis and management of infections in the immunocompromised host with a particular interest in fungal infection.

Prof. Yupin Suputtamongkol

Mahidol University

Assoc. Prof. Gompol Suwanpimolkul

Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Gompol Suwanpimolkul is consultant and lecturer at Division of Infectious Disease, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. He is a committee member of the anti-tuberculosis association of Thailand and part of the committee on national drug resistant-tuberculosis experts. He is also Associate Director of Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Center of the Thai Red Cross Society and Assistant Dean of Academic Service Affairs at Chulalongkorn University.

Assoc. Prof. Nuntra Suwantarat

ID Specialist, Chulabhorn International College of Medicine, Thammasat University

Assoc. Prof. Nuntra Suwantarat is lecturer of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Consultant at Thammasat University Hospital. She is the Chairman of the Rational Laboratory Use (RLU) Committee, Thammasat University Hospital. Her research focus is in antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and diagnostic microbiology in resource-limited settings. She is the Masterly Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Thailand (MFRCPT) and the ID fellow training Board of the Infectious Disease Society of Thailand. In addition, she has been involved in medical education and previously served as the Vice Dean for Medical Education at CICM.

Paul Anantharajah Tambyah

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Dr. Paul Anantharajah Tambyah is currently Professor of Medicine at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Senior consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and deputy director of the NUS Infectious Diseases Translational Research Program. He has served in a number of national and international committees most recently as immediate past President of the International Society for Infectious Diseases and the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection. He is also a visiting consultant to the Singapore Armed Forces and the Singapore National Center for Infectious Diseases. His main research interests are in device associated infections.

Dr. Ban Hock Tan

Physician, Singapore General Hospital

Dr Tan is an Infectious Disease physician at the Singapore General Hospital with a deep interest in Transplant ID. He was President of the Transplant ID section of The Transplantation Society and was also co-chair of the Asia Fungal Working Group. He is Clinical Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School.

Teerapong Tantawichien

Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Chulalongkorn University

Prof. Terapong Tantawichien is Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and has previously held positions at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Kuzell Institute, California Pacific Medical Centre, San Francisco, USA. He received his medical degree from Chulalongkorn University in 1987 and is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases (Thailand). Prof. Terapong began his teaching career in 1993 when he started teaching infectious diseases at the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians (Thailand) and the Infectious Diseases Association of Thailand. He was also secretary-general of the Infectious Diseases Association of Thailand (2002–3, 2004–5) and deputy chairman of the Scientific Committee, The Royal College of Physicians of Thailand (2009–10). He has played an active part in infectious disease activities in Thailand.

Prof. Tawesak Tanwandee

Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital

Dr. Tawesak Tanwandee is a hepatologist and Professor of Gastroenterology at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, where he has dedicated over 35 years to clinical practice, research, and medical education. His primary research interests focus on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C, hepatocellular carcinoma, and the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis B and C therapies.

Prof. Kazuhiro Tateda

Chair and Professor, Toho University School of Medicine

Prof. Kazuhiro Tateda is a prominent researcher affiliated with the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. He also holds positions in the Department of Infection Control at Toho University Medical Center, Omori Hospital, and the Laboratory Microbiological Section at the same institution. His work is primarily focused on the field of infectious diseases, showcasing a strong commitment to advancing medical science through research and innovation. He has made significant contributions to the field of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance, viral infections like COVID-19 and influenza, and diagnostic methodologies. His recent work includes evaluating risk factors associated with uric acid elevation in COVID-19 patients treated with favipiravir, and investigating the clinical manifestations of hospitalized influenza patients. He is also involved in research on microbial community structures, diagnostic test challenges for SARS-CoV-2, and the genetic environment of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. His studies are essential in understanding and addressing the complexities of infectious diseases, contributing to improved patient outcomes and public health strategies.

Prof. Dr. Visanu Thamlikitkul

Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Prof. Visanu Thamlikitkul is the former Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. He is the leader of Thailand Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) program, the director of WHO Collaborating Centre for AMR Prevention and Containment, and Fleming Fund Fellowship Training Program on AMR at Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital in Thailand. His research interests lie in infectious diseases and evidence-based medicine, including research and development on treatment and prevention of antimicrobial resistance.

Dr. Tak Yin Owen Tsang

Consultant, Princess Margaret Hospital

Dr. Owen Tsang is currently the consultant of the Department of Medicine & Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH). He was the Medical Director of the Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre at PMH from 2011 to 2024. Dr. Tsang has been at the forefront of combating multiple community and global infectious disease outbreaks, including COVID-19, SARS, Avian Influenza (H5N1, H7N9), pandemic Swine Influenza (H1N1), MERS, and Ebola. As an expert in various infectious diseases, he serves on the Scientific Committees on AIDS & Sexually Transmitted Infections and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong. Dr. Tsang has also contributed to training initiatives with the World Health Organization's Clinical Management Team. His primary research interests encompass COVID-19, SARS, HIV, norovirus, hepatitis, tropical infections, and other infectious diseases. He has authored numerous publications in local and international journals, as well as book chapters.

Jakapat Vanichanan

Chulalongkorn University

Dr. Jakapat completed Internal medicine residency training program from Metrowest Medical Center in Framingham, MA. He became a transplant infectious diseases specialist after a 3-year training in MD Anderson Cancer Center and University of Texas at Houston. He started his career path as faculty member in Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in 2016 and established transplant ID consultant service for in-patient setting as well as specialized clinic for out-patient.

Lt. Col. Asst. Prof. Vasin Vasikasin

Infectious Diseases, Phramongkutklao Hospital

Dr. Shawn Vasoo

Executive Director, National Centre for Infectious Diseases

Dr Shawn Vasoo is Executive Director at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in Singapore and Senior Consultant in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He also is an educator with the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore. He serves on several editorial boards including the Singapore Medical Journal, BMC Infectious Diseases, the Journal of Bone and Joint Infection and the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. He has an interest in rapid diagnostics, Gram negative resistance, bone and joint infections and outbreak preparedness.

Prof. Dr. Minggui Wang

Director, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University

Dr. Minggui Wang is a Professor of Medicine of Fudan University, Chief-in-Physician, Director of Institute of Antibiotics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University. He is the president of Committee of Society on Bacterial Infection and Resistance, Chinese Medical Association. His clinical work focuses on diagnosis and treatment of bacterial and fungal infections, and rational use of antimicrobials in clinical practice. His research interests are bacterial resistance and mechanisms of bacterial resistance. He focuses on plasmid-mediated resistance in gram-negative bacilli including resistance to quinolones, beta-lactams, beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations, tigecycline and fosfomycin, and also works on bacterial defense systems such as CRISPR-CAS, R-M and BREX systems.

Dr. Walaiporn Wangchinda

Doctor, Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University

Dr. Walaiporn Wangchinda is an assistant professor at Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University. She completed Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University and was a research fellow at College of Pharmacy University of Michigan. Her interests include antimicrobial resistance, PK/PD of antimicrobials, and antimicrobial stewardship.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siriorn Watcharananan

Physician, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University

Dr. Siriorn Watcharananan is currently an associate professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, in Bangkok, Thailand. She completed an Infectious disease fellowship and Clinical Microbiology fellowship training from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She then returned to Thailand in 2005 and has started the national academic program, training and symposium of Transplant Infectious Disease in the country. Her interest includes emerging viral infection, endemic transplant related infection/transplant related tropical infection and infection in transplant patients from Burma/Cambodia. She is currently a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America, a member of the Transplantation Society, as well as a councilor of the Transplant Infectious Disease section of the International Transplantation Society.

Prof. Heiman Wertheim

Head of Department, Radboudumc

Heiman Wertheim is a professor in clinical microbiology and heads the clinical microbiology department at Radboud University Medical Center. He is also the Chair of the Radboud Center of Infectious Diseases (RCI) and President of the Netherlands Society of Medical Microbiology (www.nvmm.nl). Furthermore, he is president-elect of the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (www.isac.world) and board member of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA). For these societies he developed a directed therapies global antibiotics guideline (www.isac-abxguide.world) in collaboration with Prof. Souha Kanj (Lebanon). One of his main interests is antibiotic resistance in both resource rich and resource constrained or conflict settings and does this through a multidisciplinary approach: health systems, policy development, behavior, surveillance, prevention, genomics, and clinical trials. Heiman is the PI of the ABACUS project that studies in 3 Asian countries and 3 African countries community antibiotic use. ABACUS project studies also how the appearance of antibiotics influences use (https://abacus-project.org). He is member of WHO STAG-AMR. He recently was involved with a WHO mission in Ukraine to enhance the response capacity in dealing with infectious diseases.

Assoc. Prof. Kitsada Wudhikarn

Hematologist, Chulalongkorn University

Assoc. Prof. Wudhikarn is a practicing hematologist at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. He specializes in the management of lymphoma, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, novel immunotherapy and cellular therapy, including CAR T-cell therapy. His clinical and academic work focuses on aggressive B-cell lymphomas, relapsed/refractory lymphomas, and the integration of novel immunotherapeutic strategies into standard treatment paradigms. He has also engaged in research related to adoptive cellular therapy, transplant outcomes, and infection-related complications following stem cell transplant and CAR T-cell therapy.

Kazuko Yamamoto

Dr.Kazuko Yamamoto is a researcher affiliated with Nagasaki University, where she focuses on cryptococcal meningitis and mycobacterial infections. Her work includes contributions to the understanding of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of these infections. For more detailed information, you can visit her profile on the Nagasaki University website.

Prof. Dr. Katsunori Yanagihara

Nagasaki University

Prof. Dr. Katsunori Yanagihara is a distinguished researcher affiliated with the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Nagasaki University Hospital in Nagasaki, Japan. His work primarily focuses on infectious diseases, contributing significantly to the understanding and management of various infections. His affiliation with a renowned institution underlines his commitment to advancing medical research and public health. Prof. Dr. Yanagihara has made substantial contributions to the field of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on pathogens and their implications in clinical settings. His recent work includes studies on the epidemiology and pathology of infectious diseases such as Aspergillosis, Enterococcus faecium, and Escherichia coli. He has also been actively involved in research concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring aspects such as the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on cruise ships and the efficacy of treatments for mild COVID-19 pneumonia. Additionally, his research extends into antimicrobial resistance, organ transplantation, and the impact of oral health on pneumonia in elderly patients with dementia.

Prof. Dongeun Yong

Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine

Prof. Dongeun Yong is a clinical microbiologist and biotechnology entrepreneur in South Korea who is currently leading the development of bacteriophage-based therapies for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. His primary research focuses on the structural and resistance mechanism analysis of metallo-lactamases, in vitro evaluation of new drug candidates, bacteriophage-antibiotic combination strategies, and CRISPR-based phage engineering. Prof. Yong is currently constructing a targeted bacteriophage library targeting various multidrug-resistant bacteria, including non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, and pursuing pharmacokinetic optimization through purification and oral formulation development.

Liping Zhu

Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor
Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital (affiliated with the Fudan University)

Professor Zhu has been working at the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Huashan Hospital since 1997. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Würzburg in 2001, and at the medical research center of Standford University in 2007. His fields of expertise include the diagnosis and treatment of deep fungal infections, central nervous system infections, fever of unknown origin, and various types of viral hepatitis, among others. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed articles in local and international scientific journals, and more than 10 SCI-indexed articles. He also co-authored over 20 books, including Essential Internal Medicine (Chinese), Clinical Mycology (Chinese), Contemporary Infectious Diseases (Chinese) and Cryptococcus: From Human Pathogen to Model Yeast. Professor Zhu is a member of various professional organizations, including the Asia Fungal Working Group (AFWG), under the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM), the Mycology Committee of Chinese Society for Microbiology, the Asia Pacific Association of the Study of Liver Diseases (APASLD). He is also Vice Chief of National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases and is presently nominated as the Vice Chief of the Mycology Committee of Chinese Society for Microbiology and serving as General Secretary of Medical Mycology Society of Chinese Medicine Education Association. He is a deputy editor of Mycoses. Currently, he is involved in the development global guideline for the diagnosis and management of candidiasis: An initiative of the ECMM in cooperation with ISHAM and ASM as a guideline coordinator.