Prof Yuelong Shu
(Chairman of the Board) (China)
Professor Dr Yuelong Shu is Dean at Public Health School (Shenzhen),Sun Yat-sen University, and Professor at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC. Dr Shu obtained his PhD degree in 1998 at the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. He got post-doctoral training at the Institute of Gene Therapy, Mount Sinai Medical School (1998–1999), and in Department of Molecular Pharmacology Medical School, University of California, Los Angeles (1999–2002).
Dr. Shu has been committed to the research of influenza since 2002, and has made great contributions for influenza prevention and control in the world. He played a leadership to establish the national influenza surveillance network in China, which is the biggest influenza network in the world including 408 influenza laboratories and 554 influenza sentinel hospitals. He also led the CNIC to be designated as the first WHOCC in developing countries by WHO in 2010. He has lead more than 20 scientific projects supported by China central government agencies, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, et al. He published more than100 peer-reviewed scientific journal papers including in Science, Nature, NEJM, Lancet et al. Dr Shu firstly identified a novel avian H7N9 and H10N8 influenza virus caused severe human infections in China that has not been detected in humans and animals previously, with great global public health concern. He was also the winner for National Science and Technology progress award and the China Youth Science and technology prize, He was selected as the National Science and Technology Innovation Leader in 2012 and named as the Science and Technology Innovator in 2014.
Dr Siu Lun (John) Tam
(Hong Kong, SAR, China)
Dr John Tam is currently the Visiting Professor at the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is also a former (and founding) Chairman of APACI. Dr Tam had worked as Technical Officer of the Initiative for Vaccine Research at the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland and was responsible for the global research and development of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines as well as the focal point for influenza policy development under SAGE and the technical lead for the WHO Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines. He also served as Scientist at the Global Influenza Programme of WHO, Geneva and was responsible for the development and implementation of the WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza including the coordination of influenza vaccine research and global seasonal influenza vaccine recommendations. John also worked in a leading role in the pharmaceutical industry on vaccine research and development. Prior to these, he was Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong for 15 years. Dr Tam received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the University of Toronto majoring in virology, microbiology and biochemistry, and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Hong Kong on virology. John has been active in the field of medical virology and his interest included influenza and other viral respiratory tract infections, viral diarrhoeal diseases, viral hepatitis and virus-associated cancers. He had published over 180 peer-reviewed articles relating to his fields of interest. During the outbreak of avian influenza in Hong Kong in 1997 and the SARS outbreak in Asia in 2003, John had served as advisor to the WHO, the Hong Kong government and other regional health authorities. He received the Bronze Bauhinia Star (B.B.S.) medal from the Government of Hong Kong SAR in 2004
Dr Raja Dhar (India)
(India)
Dr Raja Dhar is a Pulmonologist and a Critical Care Specialist with over 20 years of experience. He is currently Director and Head of Department, Department of Pulmonology, C K Birla Hospitals in Kolkata, and Chair- Training and Education Initiatives for the Indian Chest Society. He is also Director- Research and Training, at the National Allergy Asthma Bronchitis Institute in India. After finishing his MD in Respiratory Medicine from Calcutta University Dr. Dhar completed his MRCP and CCT from UK, and FCCP from USA. He is a member of many medical associations in India and abroad, and contributes regularly to several national and international journals.
Dr Lance Jennings
(New Zealand)
Lance Jennings is Clinical Virologist to the Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand. He is also Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) National Measles Laboratory, Clinical Associate Professor in the Pathology Department, University of Otago, a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London, and a Founding Fellow of the Science Faculty, Royal Australasian College of Pathologists. He serves on several Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture Advisory Committees, and is on the editorial board of the International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Disease (ISIRV) journal Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses. Dr Jennings has also been a member of WHO/Western Pacific Region Office (WPRO) Avian Influenza Outbreak Response (2004) and Expert Influenza (2005) teams in Asia.
Clinical Professor David Smith
(Australia)
David Smith is a Clinical Virologist at PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Director of PathWest services at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, and a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Western Australia. His other roles include Director of the National Influenza Centre at PathWest and Chair of the Public Health Laboratory Network of Australia, as well as being a member of a number of professional and expert advisory committees.