Faith Bagamuhunda is the Head of Health Security at the Office of the President in Uganda. For the last 7 years, Ms. Bagamuhunda has been at the frontline of setting up the health security desk in the Ministry of Security. She has been pivotal in developing national health security strategies and advising on related government policies and bills. Under the International Health Regulations, she has played an instrumental role of leading the technical area, linking public health and security authorities. During the pandemic, this linkage was evident and helpful in surveillance, early alert systems, and border control.

Dr. Elimian is an Applied Epidemiologist with over 10 years of experience promoting health security in sub-Saharan Africa through epidemiological research, teaching, mentorship, and participation in epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response. Guided by the principle of 'One Health, Dr. Elimian engages in local and global coordination initiatives aimed at preventing and controlling infectious diseases of public health importance, including cholera, Lassa fever, and Mpox, in Nigeria.

Dr. Sana Masmoudi is a pharmacist. Currently, she serves as the Quality Control Manager in vaccine and sera production at the Pasteur Institute of Tunisia. Before this role, Dr. Masmoudi spent over a decade in private pharmaceutical industries as a laboratory manager, R&D manager, and quality system manager.

With 22 years of experience, she has developed expertise in biosafety, biosecurity, quality management, healthcare quality and safety assessments, and drug, vaccine, and sera production. Dr. Masmoudi actively contributes to various institutional committees, including the scientific council, quality committee, biosafety and biosecurity committee, governance committee, and waste management committee.

Dr. Masmoudi is IFBA certified in biorisk management, biosecurity, and risk assessment, and is a national WHO biorisk management trainer. She has participated in advanced biosafety training programs, including the MENA ABOT course and CDC Africa course, where she became certified as a trainer and implementer of regulatory frameworks for handling high-risk pathogens.

She is also a trainer for good laboratory and clinical practices within the Tunisian Regional Training Center TDR/WHO, and a member of the Tunisian Association on Biosafety and Environment Education (ATB2E). Since 2016, Dr. Masmoudi has been assessing the quality and safety of care in public and private healthcare facilities.

Dr. Masmoudi is involved in numerous projects in the biosafety and biosecurity fields, including the Tunisian-German partnership project on biosafety and food safety and the Tunisian-American project on enhancing biosecurity with Gryphon Scientific. She actively participates in national and international collaborations, sharing her expertise and contributing to the development of guidelines.

Sandra is a global health security professional with over seven years of extensive experience in biosafety and biosecurity at national and international levels. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of Nuo Bioscience, a non-governmental consulting organization working with governments and local and international organizations to build and strengthen biosafety and biosecurity systems. Currently, Sandra is consulting for the WHO, leading efforts to pilot the global guidance framework for responsible use of life sciences in Uganda. She also works with Ugandan research scientists to develop capacity through training and development of dual-use research governance mechanisms under a Health Security Partners and Uganda Virus Research Institute collaboration project.

Previously, Sandra worked as a Laboratory Technician at Uganda Virus Research Institute before moving to A Global Health Care Public Foundation (AGHPF) as a Quality Assurance Specialist, where she provided technical assistance in building capacity and strengthening laboratory management systems for the Uganda Ministry of Health. In 2018, she co-founded SynBio Africa, where she served as Chairperson of the Executive Board until 2023. 

Sandra is a UNODA’s Youth for Biosecurity Fellow of 2023, an Africa Union biosafety and biosecurity subject matter expert, and a member of the iGEM Safety and Security Committee. She is also an IFBA certified professional in Biorisk Management and a member of the Biosafety and Biosecurity Association of Uganda.

Sandra's contributions to laboratory systems strengthening, biosafety, and biosecurity have earned her several honors and awards, including recognition among the women making the world safer from biological and toxin weapons at the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) at the 9th Review Conference in Geneva in 2022.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences, a Master’s degree in Immunology and Clinical Microbiology, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management.

Dr. Diana Stella Nasike is a Health Security Policy Officer at Uganda’s National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre as well as a Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Public Health, with a proven track record of enhancing national public health emergency preparedness and response efforts. She possesses a wealth of experience in disease surveillance, early detection and response; national IHR capacity development; public health emergency management; incident management systems; national multi-sectoral engagement on international health security treaties; and linking public health and national security. 

Dr. Nasike has supported national enhancement of early warning, alert and response (EWAR) systems for epidemic-prone diseases; coordinated national initiatives on biosecurity; evaluated the progressive implementation of the National Action Plan on Health Security; been on the national expert panel for the Linking Public Health and Security Authorities technical area in Uganda’s 2023 Joint External Evaluation (JEE); and facilitated national engagements around the Global Health Security Agenda and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

Dr. Nasike’s expertise also includes: multi-hazard risk assessment for health systems strengthening; integrated disease surveillance and response; public health emergency operations, preparedness and response; and strategic multi-sectoral stakeholder engagement. In executing her duties, Dr. Nasike has facilitated collaboration around health security among key stakeholders from the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries & Fisheries (MAAIF), the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA), the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), Civil Society Organisations, and the Uganda Health Federation (private sector). 

Outside of work, Diana enjoys cooking, watching nature documentaries and volunteering in her local community.

Thokozani Nyasulu-Liwewe is a medical doctor and global health professional pursuing a Master of Science in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the University of Oxford. With a robust academic foundation and over five years of extensive practical experience, Thokozani has established a remarkable career dedicated to improving health outcomes and strengthening health systems. 

Currently, Thokozani serves as the Clinical Lead for the District Health Office under the Ministry of Health in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. In this pivotal leadership role, she is responsible for executing health policies and strategies, overseeing the clinical care of over 1 million residents, and managing over 200 clinical staff within the district. Her expertise and decisive actions have been critical in addressing major public health crises in Lilongwe, including the COVID-19 pandemic and cholera outbreaks, which she was appointed to lead. Her decisive actions and expert guidance have been crucial in managing these health emergencies, mitigating their impacts, and safeguarding the health of the population.

Thokozani's commitment to public health extends beyond immediate crisis management. She has conducted significant research on the COVID-19 response in Malawi, contributing valuable insights into effective health interventions and strategies. This research underscores Thokozani’s dedication to evidence-based practice and her ability to translate research findings into practical solutions that address complex health challenges.

Passionate about health system strengthening, Thokozani advocates for sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery. She tirelessly works to enhance the capacity and resilience of health systems in Lilongwe, ensuring they can better serve communities and withstand future public health threats. Her career goals in health system strengthening and policy development are aimed at creating equitable and efficient health services that meet the needs of all individuals, especially in resource-limited settings.

Edyth Parker is a postdoctoral associate, with a shared appointment between the Andersen Lab at Scripps Research, USA, and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) at Redeemer’s University, Nigeria. Her current work focuses on the genomic epidemiology of a range of emerging zoonotic pathogens, leveraging her expertise in viral evolution and Bayesian phylodynamics. Her current projects include investigations of the emergence of  Mpox in West and Central Africa, Lassa virus population dynamics in the reservoir host, and the spatiotemporal spread of Hantavirus in Chile. She completed her doctorate at the University of Cambridge, UK, where her research focused on the ecology and evolution of emerging avian influenza viruses. Her primary interests center on the role of pathogen genomic surveillance in pandemic preparedness, and African science in global health equity. She was an Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellow with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in 2023. Dr. Parker previously received her MPhil in Epidemiology from the University of Cambridge, UK, her BMedSci Hon in Infectious Disease and Immunology from the University of Cape Town, RSA, and a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of the Western Cape, RSA.

Jon Arizti Sanz is a researcher and innovator in biomedical engineering and infectious disease technologies, holding a PhD from MIT and Harvard Medical School. As a member of Prof. Pardis Sabeti's lab, Jon's research aimed to address critical gaps in global diagnostic testing capacity, focusing on developing novel diagnostic technologies that are accurate, affordable, and accessible in decentralized settings.

Jon led the development of SHINE, a robust, rapid, and highly portable diagnostic platform for infectious diseases based on the novel CRISPR-Cas13 enzyme. His efforts to develop, validate, and deploy SHINE represents a significant leap in early detection and surveillance of high-consequence infectious disease agents, including SARS-CoV-2, Influenza virus, Lassa virus, and various tick-borne diseases. SHINE has since become an integral component of Sentinel, an infectious disease surveillance program in West Africa, and a benchmark for field-deployable CRISPR-based diagnostics.

Recognizing the biosafety and biosecurity challenges posed by advancing biotechnologies, Jon has expanded his engagement beyond research environments. In 2022, Jon participated in the 9th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) at the United Nations. In collaboration with young researchers and activists, he co-authored the official Youth Recommendations report, contributing specifically to the "Review of Developments in the Field of Science and Technology" section, and proposing five recommendations for the optimal review of biotechnological advances within the BWC.

Moreover, Jon serves on MIT's Institutional Biosafety Committee, where he reviews protocols to ensure they meet the stringent guidelines set by the CDC and NIH. He is also an Associate Editor for MIT Science Policy Review, a journal at the intersection of scientific advancements and policy. These experiences highlight Jon's engagement with critical global issues related to pandemic prevention and biosecurity.

Originally from Spain, Jon is currently based in Boston, USA. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking (and eating), running, swimming and Latin dances.