Biographical Profiles of WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for TB (STAG-TB) Members, 2020

STAG-TB Chair

• Dr Ariel PABLOS-MÉNDEZ, National of USA and Mexico Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA

Dr Ariel Pablos-Méndez is a physician, scholar, and diplomat in global health. Dr Pablos-Méndez began his career at Columbia University working on the emergence of MDR-TB in New York City in the early 1990s; he later led the Global Surveillance Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance at the World Health Organization (WHO). In both instances, his research and publications brought about significant and successful policy changes. He also served as Director of Knowledge Management at WHO in Geneva, creating WHO Press, working to bridge the know-do gap in public health and pioneering global e-Health. As program officer of The Rockefeller Foundation, Dr Pablos-Méndez spearheaded public-private partnerships in R&D for diseases of poverty (e.g. the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development which recently received FDA approval for Pretomanid), the Foundation's strategy on AIDS treatment in Africa, and the Joint Learning Initiative on Human Resources for Health. He returned to Rockefeller as Managing Director and led the Foundation’s initiative to position universal health coverage on the international agenda. Dr Pablos-Méndez was appointed by President Barack Obama, to lead the Global Health program of USAID, serving as Assistant Administrator for Global Health.. Dr Pablos-Méndez drove the vision to End Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths and contributed to catalysing an AIDS-Free Generation while supporting health systems strengthening, family planning and country ownership through initiatives such as The Global Financing Facility for Every Woman Every Child. He participated in the U.S. response to and Zika, and championed the Global Virome Project.

Dr Pablos-Méndez received his M.D. from the University of Guadalajara (Mexico), and his M.P.H from Columbia University (New York), where he has been a Faculty member for over 20 years. He has over 150 publications and is a member of various boards and international commissions.

Existing Members

• Ms Jamilya Ismoilova, National of Tajikistan

Ms Jamilya Ismoilova is a Public Health professional with over 20 years’ experience in planning, implementing and monitoring TB, MDR-TB and TB/HIV programs, as well as maternal and child health, community health, health promotion programs.

Since 2004, Ms Jamilya has worked for the International NGO Project HOPE holding several positions including Regional ACSM/Community Engagement Advisor, during which time she provided strategic and technical guidance to Project HOPE TB/MDR-TB programs in Europe and the Eurasia region. For the last five years she has worked as the Country Director of Project HOPE Tajikistan, where she manages and oversees multiple TB Control projects funded by The Global Fund and USAID. Prior to Project HOPE, she worked with Mercy Corps, UNESCO and within the government health sector.

Ms Jamilya is recognized for her Community Engagement, Advocacy, Communications and Social Mobilization (ACSM) expertise, as well as her background in Behaviour Change Communication 1

methodologies. She has been a member of the WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB. She graduated from Tajik State Medical College and Tajik State Pedagogical University, and has an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

• Dr Seiya Kato, National of Japan

Dr Kato is a TB specialist, and was appointed as Director of the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (RIT/ JATA) in April 2017. Prior to this, he worked from 2006- 2017 as the Vice Director, and from 2003-2006 as the Head of Technical Support Division/ Head of Research Division, for RIT/ JATA.

As a TB and public health specialist, Dr Kato serves as Chair of the Japanese Tuberculosis Committee, and is a member of the National Health Science Council, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. He also serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis and as Chair of its Prevention Committee. Dr Kato graduated from Sapporo Medical University, School of Medicine in 1981, and worked as a pulmonologist for 12 years, during which time he specialized in treating MDR-TB patients and those with HIV. He joined the Sapporo City Government as a medical officer in 1993 and worked for the public health centers and head office for over seven years. In 2000, he joined RIT/ JATA and was in the Philippines as the Chief Advisor for the JICA TB Control Project from 2000-2003.

• Dr Ya Diul Mukadi National of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and United States of America Senior Medical Officer, USAID, Washington, United States of America.

Dr Mukadi provides strategic guidance and technical assistance to USAID, host governments and partners in the design and implementation of innovative approaches and tools to control TB. This includes directing the planning and execution of clinical trials and operational research to improve the management of TB and latent TB infection. He manages the implementation of major grants focusing on TB research and drug development including research on the treatment of latent TB using novel TB drugs and regimens. He has previously worked for Family Health International, WHO, and UNAIDS.

New STAG-TB Members

• Dr Denise ARAKAKI, National of the Brazil Deputy Director of the Department of Chronic Communicable Diseases and Sexually-Transmitted Infections Secretariat of Health Surveillance, Ministry of Health, Brazil

Dr Arakaki began her career as an infectious disease physician at the São Paulo State Secretariat of Health, in the Epidemiological Surveillance Group, and then served as a technical advisor to the Treatment Unit of the National STD/AIDS Program of the Ministry of Health. She then served as Program Director for the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University to expand access to antiretroviral treatment in Mozambique. Later, Dr Arakaki served as a technical advisor to Mozambique’s Ministry of Health's National Tuberculosis Control Program. For four years, she served as national consultant for tuberculosis at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Office in Brazil and then served in the Ministry of Health of the Federal District. In 2016, she became General Coordinator of the National Tuberculosis Control Program in Brazil, before assuming her current role in 2019. 2

She graduated in Medicine at School of Medicine of Universidade Estadual Paulista with a medical residency in Infectious Diseases, and Specialization in Tropical Medicine, at the University of São Paulo. She is also post- graduated in Health Services Administration from the University of Ribeirao Preto, and in Advanced Business Management for Health Services at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation. and Monitoring and Evaluation of Programs by the National School of Health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.

• Dr Nimalan ARINAMINPATHY (Nim Pathy), National of the United Kingdom Reader (Associate Professor) in Mathematical at Imperial College, London.

Dr Nim Pathy applies mathematical and statistical tools to study the spread and control of infectious diseases, with a focus on human tuberculosis. He works closely with national TB programmes in high-burden countries, particularly India and Kenya. He was a Commissioner in the 2019 Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis. He also works with the WHO South-East Asian Regional Office (SEARO) on TB control priorities for the region, and has served on the SEARO regional advisory committee on multi-drug-resistant TB.

Dr Pathy is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, St. Catharine’s College, with a BA Hons in Mathematics. He obtained his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Oxford, Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He has collaborated on several important peer-reviewed publications on modelling of the tuberculosis epidemic.

• Dr Grania BRIGDEN, National of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Director of the Department of TB at the International Union against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)

Dr Brigden in her current role focuses on coordinating the development and expansion of The Union’s global work programmes for TB, HIV and other co-morbidities, and heads The Union’s Office in Generva. Ms Brigden has previously worked as Deputy Director for TB at The Union, as a Consultant at the Royal Free London- NHS Foundation Trust, as Lead of the Life Prize Project, and as TB and AMR Advisor for the Médicins Sans Frontières Access Campaign. She also has worked in Uganda with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), and in Banda Ache, Indonesia with Medic Global Sikhs.

Ms Brigden studied medicine at University of Aberdeen and completed her specialist training in general and respiratory medicine in the North East Thames Deanery, London. She has authored/co-authored numerous scientific papers and publications. Dr Brigden serves on the Steering Committee of RESIST-TB, the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Medicines Patent Pool, and is Co-Chair of the TB Science Organizing Committee. She has served on WHO Task Forces on new TB drugs and on MDR-TB transition, as well as in guideline development groups.

• Dr Glenda GRAY, National of President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council

In addition to her leadership role at the South African Medical Research Council, Dr Gray is Research Professor in Paediatrics at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Member (Professor) in the Vaccine & Infectious Disease Division at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, WA; USA. Qualified as a Medical Doctor, specialising in Paediatrics, Dr Gray’s research career started in the field of preventing mother to child transmission of HIV-1 (PMTCT). Dr Gray collaborated in multi-country efforts to find short-course and affordable antiretroviral interventions for PMTCT. As co-founder of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) at Baragwanath Hospital, Dr Gray developed PHRU into a world-renowned research unit focused on HIV prevention and treatment with grants from the NIH, USAID, amongst others. She has led and participated in 3

collaborations to tackle some major HIV problems: maternal-foetal transmission; sexual violence; adolescent HIV; community-based prevention; with the main emphasis of my work in the past 8 years, HIV vaccine clinical research, resulting in many of her projects leading to alterations in public health and medical practice: in the area of PMCT; and HIV Vaccines. Dr Gray is the Co-PI of the NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

For her research in HIV, Dr Gray has been awarded: the Nelson Mandela Health and Human Rights Award; the IAPAC Hero in Medicine Award; the Ngaly-Mann lectureship at CROI; two Honorary Doctorates in Science from the Simon Fraser University and Stellenbosch University; an honorary Doctorate in Law from Rhodes University; the Order of Mapungubwe, by the President of South Africa for achievements in the international area which have served RSA’s interests. Dr Gray has also received the EDCTP outstanding African Scientist Award and the World Academy of Sciences award for building scientific capacity in Africa. Dr Gray is a member of the Board of the National Research Foundation and serves on their R&D committee. She was a member of the National Council for Innovation.

• Dr Chikwe IHEKWEAZU, National of Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Nigeria

Dr Ihekweazu runs the NCDC, which is Nigeria’s public health institute with a mandate to protect Nigerians from the impact of infectious diseases. It is a federal agency under the Federal Ministry of Health. Previous to his current role, Dr Ihekweazu served as the Acting Director of the Regional Centre for Disease Control for West Africa. Dr Ihekweazu trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist and has over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several National Public Health Institutes, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the UK's Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Dr Ihekweazu has led several short-term engagements for WHO, mainly in response to major infectious disease outbreaks around the world.

Dr Ihekweazu is a graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria and has a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. In 2003, he was awarded a Fellowship for the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET) and subsequently completed his Public Health specialisation in the UK. He is widely published in medical peer review journals. He serves on several other WHO advisory bodies, and serves on the Board of the African Society of Laboratory Medicine, among other bodies. He has been an adviser to the WHO Emergency Committee on COVID-19 and on Emergency Committee on Ebola, 2018/2020.

• Dr Knut LÖNNROTH, National of Sweden Professor of Social Medicine at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Dr Lönnroth’s research at Karolinska Institutet focuses mainly on two areas: tuberculosis screening, and social consequences of diseases of poverty, with special attention to the intersection between health care and social sectors. Dr Lönnroth serves as Director of the Centre for Tuberculosis Research and the WHO Collaboration Centre on TB and Social Determinants at the Karolinska Institutet. He also manages the health and social protection action research and knowledge sharing (SPARKS) network. In addition, he works at Senior Physician at the Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, in Stockholm Region and serves also as the Chief Medical Officer for the self-governed Åland Island, Finland. Dr Lönnroth has conducted extensive epidemiological, health systems and social science research over the past 25 years, with a main focus on tuberculosis. He worked for the Global Tuberculosis Programme of WHO for 14 years, where he coordinated the development of policy guidance on several topics including social determinants of TB, TB screening, TB 4

elimination in low-incidence countries, joint management of TB and nutrition, and on TB and diabetes, and measuring catastrophic costs of TB. He also guided research on social interventions to improve prevention, uptake, adherence and financial risk protection.

Dr Lönnroth is a medical doctor with a MSc (clinical epidemiology) from the University of Newcastle, Australia and a combined PhD (Social Medicine and Public Health) from the University of Gothenburg and the Nordic School of Public Health.

• Dr Moorine SEKADDE, National of Uganda Coordinator for Paediatric TB, National TB and Leprosy Programme, Ministry of Health, Uganda

Dr Moorine Penninah Sekadde is a qualified pediatrician and public health expert with more than 15 years of experience in clinical care, capacity building, research, design and implementation of public health interventions in both public and private settings. Her main goal is to contribute to national, regional and global provision and scale up of quality patient-centered health care using an integrated and data driven approach. Her current focus area is child and adolescent TB, TB/HIV, and MDR TB including aspects of integration within reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health. Dr Sekadde has successfully coordinated the Uganda child and adolescent TB response for the past seven years including multisector engagement and resource mobilization. She has also supported external reviews of national TB programs (Bangladesh, Tanzania, Rwanda) as a team lead for child and adolescent TB. Dr Sekadde is a core team member on the Stop TB Child and Adolescent TB Working Group; a committee member for the multi-country UNITAID supported CapTB and TB SPEED projects; and is a published researcher.

Dr Sekadde obtained her post graduate medical degree at Makerere University, Uganda and a public health degree at the University of Texas School of Public Health, USA. She has collaborated on multiple publications and has been an invited speaker at several conferences.

• Dr Anastasia SAMOILOVA, National of the Russian Federation First Deputy Director of the National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Russian Federation

Dr Samoilova’s scientific interests include work on: the development of effective M/XDR-TB treatment strategies; management of TB patients with comorbidities, including HIV-infection; mechanisms and risk factors of TB drug resistance; and, development of new methods of DR-TB diagnostics and treatment. Dr Samoilova has participated in multicentre clinical trials and has served as a principal investigator. Dr Samoilova participates in the activities of the WHO Collaborating Center for TB and HIV Research at the National Medical Research Center for Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases. She is a member of the WHO European Tuberculosis Research Initiative (ERI-TB) of the WHO European Regional Office (EURO).

Dr Samoilova was an MDR-TB coordinator at the Arkhangelsk Regional Clinical TB Dispensary, then head of the Inpatient Department, and Deputy Chief Physician for Clinical Activities. Dr Samoilova served as assistant and project manager of the WHO TB control program in the Russian Federation. She was a senior and leading researcher at Central TB Research Institute in its Department of Phthisiology, Deputy Director for Research at the Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology of the First Sechenov Moscow State University. Dr Samoilova then became Deputy Director for Research prior to her current role at the National Medical Research Center for Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases. Dr Samoilova graduated from the Arkhangelsk State Medical Academy, held a clinical residency in Phthisiology at the Northern State Medical University. She received a Letter of Appreciation from the Russian Minister of Health, the Award pin “Excellent Worker of Public Health”, 5

and the Fedor Gaaz medal. She has participated in the development and implementation of TB clinical recommendations and professional standards in TB,, and is the author of around 100 publications, including three monographs (h-index - 13). She is a member of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS).

• Ms Ingrid SCHOEMAN, National of South Africa TB Advocate, TB Proof, South Africa, and an XDR-TB Survivor

Ms Schoeman was working as a dietitian in Port Elizabeth and loved working in the children’s wards in a public hospital when she became sick. A lung biopsy confirmed XDR (Extensively Drug-Resistant) TB. She was hospitalised for 75 days of which one month was spent in ICU as she developed liver failure from the toxic TB regimen she had to take. A chest drain, abdominal tap and naso-gastric tube for feeding were inserted in hospital. She fell in a coma and is grateful that she recovered. TB changed her life. Reflecting back, Ingrid remembers thinking “how do the majority of South Africans, who don’t even have food on the table to eat, get through this?” as she had lots of love and support from family and friends but still struggled to cope and felt like giving up. “I’m glad this happened to me, now I can relate to the suffering of so many people of South Africa”. In her role as a TB Advocate for TB Proof, she is advocating for person-centred high-quality TB care for all.

Ms Schoeman holds a MSc in Dietetics from the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. The title of her dissertation was “Knowledge, attitudes and experiences of dieticians in relation to tuberculosis at the workplace”.

• Dr Syed Karam SHAH, National of Pakistan Adviser for Communicable Diseases Control in the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Pakistan

Dr Shah currently facilitates synergies between the federal communicable disease units of the Ministry of Health and the provinces in the context of devolution. He has also been leading new initiatives to End TB and designed the Human Resource (HR) plan for the technical unit housing the three disease control programs for TB, AIDS and Malaria. Dr Shah is also a Senior Adviser for Stop TB Pakistan. He is former President of the Pakistan Chest Society.

Dr Shah is a pioneer of tuberculosis control efforts in Pakistan. After serving as the Provincial TB Control Manager in in the Government of Balochistan, he was appointed as the first National Manager of Pakistan’s National Tuberculosis Control Program. In this role, he coordinated the formulation of national policies and strategies, backed up by national and provincial strategic plans, operational guidelines, training modules for all cadres of health professionals and care providers, and budgeted district implementation plans. He also facilitated the countrywide implementation of DOTS after securing financing for the national and provincial programs through domestic resources and catalysing the support of several international partners. He was also the first chair of the Stop TB Partnership DOTS Expansion Working Group (DEWG). He later led the WHO team for TB control in the WHO Afghanistan Country Office. After briefly serving as Adviser to the Government of Saudi Arabia, he was called to the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean as a Medical Officer to assist countries in planning and implementing the End TB Strategy. He was also the coordinator for Global Fund-related activities at EMRO.

After receiving his medical degree, Dr Shah acquired post graduate specializations in thoracic and chest diseases from the University of Karachi. He has authored and collaborated on several research publications, and he is the recipient of several awards, including the Princess Chichibu Global TB Memorial Award of the Japanese 6

Anti-Tuberculosis Association. He received a WHO fellowship for training in tuberculosis control in South Korea, and a JICA fellowship for training in tuberculosis control and its epidemiology in Japan.

• Dr Chen WANG, National of President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Peking Union Medical College

Dr Wang is a specialist in respiratory medicine and critical illness. He serves as Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the Respiratory Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Honorary Chairman of the Respiratory Disease Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and Director of the National Respiratory Clinical Research Center. Dr Wang is one of the main leaders and promoters in the fields of respiratory failure and respiratory support technology, pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension, new respiratory infectious diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and tobaccology. He has made multiple innovations such as sequential mechanical ventilation, thrombolytic therapy for pulmonary embolism, and confirmed the efficacy of Chinese medicine on influenza and entered international guidelines to guide the improvement of clinical practice. Dr Wang has previously served as President of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Beijing Respiratory Disease Research Institute, Beijing Hospital, and China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

Dr Wang graduated from the Medical Department of Capital Medical University with a bachelor's degree. He graduated from the Third Clinical Medical College of Capital Medical University with a medical doctorate. Dr Wang is a Member of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Dr Wang has been awarded several prizes and awards, including the National Science and Technology Progress Special Award, the He Liang Heli Science and Technology Progress Award, the World Health Organization Outstanding Contribution to Tobacco Control Award and others.

7