Sheila N. Myatra, Country Director. CENTRAL INDIA

Prof. Sheila Myatra works In the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai since 20 years. She is a Professor of Intensive Care at the Homi Bhabha National Institute University. She is the President and founder member of the “All India Difficult Airway Association” (AIDAA). Appointed Chair of the Intensive & Critical Care Medicine (ICCM) Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) in 2020. She has served as the Vice Chancellor of the Indian College of Critical Care Medicine, National treasurer and EC member of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM). She is one among the 13 international airway experts who is working on the PUMA guidelines (Project for the Universal Management of the Airway) and the next American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) difficult airway guidelines.She has developed a new test in hemodynamic monitoring, called the “tidal volume challenge” (Critical Care Medicine 2017). She was recently appointed on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SCC) steering committee working on updating the SSC COVID Guidelines. She is also on the steering committee of several international studies including the COVID Steroid 2, HOPE, IntubateCOVID, Unite COVID, SANDMAN Study, InPUT Study, AFIB-ICU, MOSAICS II and the ACME Study. She is presently on the editorial board of Anaesthesia (Impact factor 5.739), Journal of Critical Care (Impact factor 2.78), and Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care (1.81). Previously, Intensive Care Medicine, the journal of the ESICM (Impact factor 18.967), Over 80 indexed publications and over 30 book chapters.

List of publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Myatra+S

Yatin Mehta, Country Director. NORTH INDIA

Chairman of Medanta Institute of Critical Care and Anesthesia, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, India. Past Vice President of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM)- Delhi. Past President of Indian Association of Cardio-Thoracic Anesthesia (IACTA). Founder and past Chief Editor of Annals of Cardiac Anesthesia. Executive Committee Member ISCCM. New Delhi, India. Asia.

Lul Raka, Country Director. KOSOVO

Chairman of the National Committee for the Prevention and Control of Nosocomial Infections, Ministry of Health of Kosovo. Adjunct Professor of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prishtina University. Department of Microbiology, Kosovo National Institute of Public Health. Prishtina, Kosovo. Europe.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=lul+raka&sort=date&size=200

Bijie Hu, Country Director. CHINA

Director, Department of Infectious Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. Director, Department of Nosocomial Infection Control, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. Director, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. President, Nosocomial Infection Control Committee of China Prevent Medicine Association. Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. Board Member of the Infection Control Society of China. Shanghai, China. Asia.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=bijie+hu&sort=date&size=200

Zhilin Jin, PhD. Principal Biostatistician of INICC. U.S.A.

Dr. Zhilin Jin received his PhD degree in Biostatistics from the University of Miami and his master degree in Applied Statistics from Johns Hopkins University. He is one of the leading experts in the field of biostatistics and bioinformatics, and has achieved a consistent and notable record of success and influence in these areas of study. He is especially well-known for developing machine learning methods and conducting statistical analysis. Dr. Jin has spent years investigating issues related to healthcare-associated infections and cancer genomics data and is regarded as an authority in the field. The field has recognized Dr. Jin’s authority by inviting him to review and evaluate the work of his peers no fewer than 90 times. Among the journals that have sought out Mr. Jin’s expertise and insight are the Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Machine Learning with Applications, Clinical Cancer Informatics and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. In addition to directly advancing healthcare-associated infections and cancer genomics data research through his original research and peer review service, Dr. Jin has actively engaged his peers in the field of biostatistics by authoring and co-authoring over 10 peer-reviewed articles that have been published in international journals such as International Journal of Infectious Diseases, American Journal of Infection Control, Journal of Critical Care, and Bioinformatics. The names of some of published papers include “The impact of COVID-19 on health care–associated infections in intensive care units in low- and middle-income countries: International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) findings”, “The impact of healthcare-associated infections on mortality in ICU: A prospective study in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East ”, and “Multinational Prospective Cohort Study of Mortality Risk Factors in 198 ICUs of 12 Latin American Countries over 24 Years: The Effects of Healthcare-Associated Infections”. Moreover, Mr. Jin’s work has attracted a wide audience and has been cited by researchers both in the United States and abroad.”

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=AiGrdfUAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Ruijie Yin, PhD. Principal Biostatistician of INICC. U.S.A.

Ruijie Yin is a Ph.D. Biostatistics student at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, in Miami, Florida, United States. He graduated from Georgetown University in Washington D.C., United States, with a Master of Science degree in Biostatistics and Bioinformatics. He has honed his skills and expertise in statistics through years of experience by working as a statistician or statistical programmer for many global pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, including Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI) in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, and IQVIA in Shanghai, China. He has a wealth of knowledge in clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other areas of drug development such as pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, patient-reported outcomes, and adverse events, and is well-versed in a wide range of statistical techniques, including experimental design, longitudinal and high-dimensional data analysis, and data visualization. He has extensive experience working with industry standards such as Analysis Data Model (ADaM), Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM), and Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) standards. Ruijie is also skilled in statistical software such as SAS, R, and Python to perform advanced statistical analyses. He is now also providing statistical support for Florida Stroke Registry in Miami, Florida, United States. The names of some of published papers include “The impact of COVID-19 on health care–associated infections in intensive care units in low- and middle-income countries: International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) findings”, “The impact of healthcare-associated infections on mortality in ICU: A prospective study in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East ”, and “Multinational Prospective Cohort Study of Mortality Risk Factors in 198 ICUs of 12 Latin American Countries over 24 Years: The Effects of Healthcare-Associated Infections”.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hVGeHPwAAAAJ&hl=en 

Rutala, William A., Advisory Board Member. USA

Director of Hospital Epidemiology, Occupational Health and Safety Program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care System. Director and Co-founder of the Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology at the UNC School of Medicine. Professor for the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine. Advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission. Editorial Board Member of the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE). Member of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Antimicrobial Research Strategies for Disinfectants and Former Member of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) [1999-2003] and of the General Hospital and Personal Use Devices Panel. Member of several professional societies including the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=william+rutala&sort=date&size=200

Jarvis, William Robert, Advisory Board Member. USA

Clinical Associate Professor, Division Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Immunology and Epidemiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Editor, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE). Former Senior Editor, IcanPrevent, Ican, Inc. Former President and Vice-President, The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Former Chair, American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Former President and Vice President, Research Foundation for Prevention of Complications Associated with Health Care, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC). Former Commissioned Corps Officer, U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Former Chief, National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), CDC. Former Acting Director, HIP, NCID, CDC. Former Associate Director for Program Development, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, NCID, CDC. Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Former Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.

Maki, Dennis G., Advisory Board Member. USA

Ovid O. Meyer Professor of Medicine and Head, Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine University of Wisconsin Medical School. Attending Physician of the Center for Trauma and Life Support Hospital Epidemiologist and Director of Infectious Disease Clinic, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Former President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), of the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association, and Councillor of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Editorial Board Member of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)?s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Former Editor, Primum Non Nocere, Center for Disease Control and Former Editorial Board Member of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE), Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care Monitor, Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Investigation, Journal of Critical Care, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and others. Former Consultant to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and for the National Response to Bioterrorism of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Lilian M. Abbo,  Advisory Board Member. USA

Dr. Lilian M Abbo, M.D, MBA, FIDSA, is the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Infectious Diseases at Jackson Health System and a Professor of Clinical Infectious Diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Miami Transplant Institute, she has made significant contributions to patient care, research, and leadership. Throughout her career, Dr. Abbo has been a staunch patient advocate, serving as an executive health system leader and a frontline expert in infectious diseases. Her leadership in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship has been instrumental in enhancing patient outcomes across the Jackson Health System in Miami, Florida. Dr. Abbo graduated from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (MD) and completed residency training at Jacobi Medical Center in New York and Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. She also pursued a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Jackson Memorial Hospital and an Executive Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Miami Herbert Business School. A prolific researcher, Dr. Abbo has co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. Her expertise has led to invitations as a speaker in national and international meetings, and she is frequently sought after by media outlets for her insights on infectious diseases. Dr. Abbo’s research focuses on the management of complex solid organ transplant patients with multidrug-resistant infections, as well as infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship. She is past-past president of Women in Academic Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and a Fellow of the 25th Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) at Drexel University College of Medicine. She is the recipient of several awards including the Healthcare Heroes recognition by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (2023), the WYCA First but not the last (2022), the Diversity Award from the University of Miami, Department of Medicine (2017) and the University of Miami May Brunson Award (2016). Recognized for her expertise and contributions, Dr. Abbo is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and serves on the IDSA Board of Directors. She also acts as the IDSA liaison to the US HICPAC committee and serves as an advisor in the hospital-acquired infections board of the Florida Department of Health. Dr. Abbo’s unwavering dedication to patient care, research, and leadership has made her an influential and respected figure in the field of infectious diseases. Her commitment to excellence continues to inspire the healthcare community and positively impact the lives of patients.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Lilian+Abbo&sort=date&size=200

Leonard A. Mermel, Advisory Board Member. USA

Leonard A. Mermel, DO, ScM, AM (Hon), FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA is Professor of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Adjunct Clinical Professor, University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and Medical Director of the Department of Epidemiology & Infection Control for the Lifespan Hospital System. Dr. Mermel was a Technical Expert Panel Member of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Patient Safety Monitoring System. He was 2005 President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and 2014 SHEA Mentor Scholar Award recipient, 2016 recipient and 2021 SHEA Senior Scholarship Award recipient. He received the Milton W. Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award from the Rhode Island Hospital Medical Staff Association and the 2021 Rhode Island American College of Physicians Milton Hamolsky Lifetime Achievement Award. He was past recipient of the Ralph A. Kinsella, Sr. Memorial Tribute Award from St. Louis University Hospitals for outstanding qualities of work, leadership, and ability as a house staff officer, the SHEA Young Investigator Award, the Brown Medical School Department of Medicine Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, Brown Medical School Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Brown Medical School Certificate of Recognition for Exemplary Teaching. Dr. Mermel is also an elected member of Delta Omega, the Honorary Public Health Society. He has been repeatedly included as one of The Best of Rhode Island – Infectious Diseases Physician, Castle Connolly Top Doctors, Consumers’ Checkbook’s Top Doctors, US News & World Report Top Doctors, The Best Doctors in America, America’s Top Doctors, Guide to America’s Top Physicians, Marquis Top Doctors in America, America’s Most Honored Doctors, The Leading Physicians of the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Science & Engineering, and Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award. On his June 15, 2016 birthday, Dr. Mermel received a Senate Citation from the Rhode Island Senate, Certificate of Special Recognition from the Rhode Island Governor, and a Resolution was passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives observing that day as ‘Dr. Leonard Alan Mermel Day’ in Rhode Island. Dr. Mermel has co-authored US guidelines dealing with prevention and management of intravascular catheter infections and he has co-authored 400 articles, textbook chapters, and abstracts dealing with infection control and infectious diseases. In 2021, he was listed as a “World Expert” in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Bacteremia over the prior 10 years according to Expertscape. He has lectured at the National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine, NASA Johnson Space Center, and internationally on infectious disease issues. His research interest is the prevention of healthcare-associated infections.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?sort=date&size=200&term=Mermel+LA&cauthor_id=36729968

Niccolo Buetti. Advisory Board Member. Switzerland

Niccolò Buetti studied medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland (MD diploma in 2009) and is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases with focus on Infection Control and Prevention. He worked as a consultant at the Bern University Hospital and was deputy-head of research and development of the Swiss National Center for Infection Control from 2017 to 2018. In 2019, he obtained a Master degree in clinical epidemiology and healthcare research from the Sorbonne University of Paris, France. He worked at the IAME laboratory in Paris from 2018 to 2020, he obtained a PhD degree in clinical epidemiology at the University of Paris in 2021. He is currently working at Infection Control Program and WHO Collaborating Centre, University of Geneva Hospitals. In 2020 he received the young investigator award from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Buetti’s research interests lie primarily in the epidemiology of community- and hospital-acquired bloodstream infections as well as in the development of preventive measures and management strategies for intravascular catheter-related infections, with a strong focus on critically ill patients. Since 2021 he has the lead of the national intravascular catheter infection surveillance program financed by the federal office of public health. He is the lead/first author of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and society and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) practice recommendation “Strategies to prevent central-line–associated bloodstream infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update”.

Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Buetti+N&sort=date&size=100

Olmsted, Russell N.,  Advisory Board Member. USA

Ex APIC President. Epidemiologist, Infection Control Services; Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. 2006 President & Member, Michigan Society for Infection Control (MSIC). Member, Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Associate Editor, American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC); and Member – Editorial Board, Journal of Hospital Infection (JHI). Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.

Alvarado, Carla J., Advisory Board Member. USA

Research Scientist Emerita. Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement. University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Research Scientist and Course Director Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) Human Factors Engineering and Patient Safety Short Course. Former Board of Director of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC); Former Trustee of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Research Foundation; Chairperson of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Healthcare Technical Group. Affiliated to the MP 471 Patient Safety: Risk Assessment and Management and Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement Courses programs (CQPI) College of Engineering and the School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received 2003 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Carol DeMille Lifetime Achievement in Infection Control Award. Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Lynch, Patricia, Advisory Board Member. USA

Former Chair, International Federation of Infection Control (IFIC) and an IFIC Board member since 1999. Former president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), of the Certification Board of Infection Control, and of the Research Foundation for Prevention of Complications Associated with Health Care. Redmond, Washington, U.S.A.

Sattar, Syed, A., Advisory Board Member. CANADA

Professor Emeritus of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. Founding Director, Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology (CREM), University of Ottawa. Member, Editorial Boards, Am. J. Infect. Control, International J. Infect. Control, Medicine & Hygiene. Advisor to the governments of Canada and the U.S. on various aspects of infection control. Member, World Health Organization?s core group to draft the Guidelines on Hand Hygiene. Member, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development?s Task Group to develop harmonized methodologies to assess the microbicidal activities of hard surface disinfectants. Recipient of the Martin S. Favero Lectureship Award (2006) of the Am. Assoc. for Infect. Control and Hosp. Epidemiol., and Hygeia Medal (2009) of the Rudolf Sch?lke Foundation. Ottawa, Canada.

Nicholas Graves, Advisory Board Member.  AUSTRALIA

Senior Lecturer in Health Economics, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics, Institute for Health & Biomedical Innovation, QUT, Brisbane, Australia. Peer Reviewer of Scientific Journals: BMJ, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE), Epidemiology & Infection, AIDS, Journal of Internal Medicine, European Journal of Public Health, and others. Research Funding: NH&MRC Australia Project Grants; NHS Quality Improvement, Health Technology Assessment, Scotland; Health Research Board, Health Services Research, Ireland. Brisbane, Australia. Oceania.

Wing Hong Seto, Advisory Board Member. HONG KONG

Chief of Service of Microbiology and Infection Control Officer, Queen Mary Hospital and Hong Kong West Cluster, Hospital Authority. Founding President of the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control and President of the Asia Pacific Society of Quality Healthcare. Chairman of the Infection Control Scientific Committee of the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong. WHO Regular Advisor for various projects in Infection Control, Antibiotics Resistance and a core group member for the WHO Hand Hygiene guidelines. Honorary Professor for the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and visiting professor for the University of New South Wales. He has been awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the Hong Kong Government for his work in Infection Control in Hong Kong. Hong Kong. Asia.

Sergio Cimerman, Advisory Board Member. BRAZIL

President Of The Sociedad Brasileña De Infectologia. Doctor at Instituto de Infectologia Emilio Ribas. Former President of the Panamerican Association of Infectology. Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Mogi Das Cruzes.

Alfonso J. Rodríguez Morales, Advisory Board Member. COLOMBIA

Expert in Tropical Infectious Diseases and Public Health. He is President of the Travel Medicine Committee of the Pan American Infectious Diseases Association (API), as well Secretary of the Colombian Infectious Diseases Association (ACIN). Also, President of the Coffee-Triangle Chapter of ACIN. Since 2014, has been recognized as Senior Researcher by the national agency of Science in Colombia, Colciencias. He is Professor and Appointed Director of Research of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia. Co-Chair of the Research Group Public Health and Infection. His H index=17 with over 240 papers in journals indexed in PubMed and/or Scopus.

Sofía del Carmen González Collantes, Advisory Board Member.  PERU

President of the Peruvian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases. President of the Qualification Committee of Medical Scientific Institutions of the National Council of the Medical College of Peru. Medical specialist in Infectious and Tropical Diseases. Master’s in Epidemiology. Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of San Marcos. (U.N.M.S.M.). Permanent member of the Institute of Tropical Medicine “Daniel Alcides Carrión” U.N.M.S.M. Head of the Office of Epidemiology and Environmental Health of the Naval Medical Center “CMST”. President of the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Tropical Medicine “Daniel Alcides Carrión” U.N.M.S.M.

Nguyen Viet Hung, Advisory Board Member.  VIETNAM

Vice President and General Secretary of the Hanoi Society of Infection Control, HANSIC. Steering Member of Infection Control Committee of Ministry of Health. Assistant professor of Hanoi Medical University. Head of infection control department of Bach Mai hospital. Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung is one of the first ranking experts in hospital epidemiology in Vietnam. He has been working in the field of infection control and prevention for 20 years. He has published about 100 scientific papers.

Anucha Apisarnthanarak, Advisory Board Member. THAILAND

Scientific committee chair person for the Thai National Nosocomial Infection Control Group. Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Thammasat University Hospital Associate Professor at Division of Infectious Diseases, Thammasat University Hospital. Adjunct Professor at Washington University School of Medicine since 2008. Active member of many Thai national societies including the National Antimicrobial Resistant Surveillance System of Thailand (NARST), and Infectious Diseases Association of Thailand. Editorial Board, Clinical Infectious Diseases Editorial Board, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Committee, SHEA External Affair Committee 2009-present. Member, SHEA Annual Meeting Planning Committe 2009-present. Bangkok, Thailand. Asia. Bangkok, Tailandia. Asia.

Toshihiro Mitsuda, Advisory Board Member. JAPAN

Head of the Division of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Yokohama City. University Hospital. Associate Professor at University Hospital, Yokohama City. Board of Directors of Japanese Society of Environmental Infections. Board of Directors of Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology. Yokohama, Japan. Asia.

Larson, Elaine, Former Advisory Board Member. USA

Elaine Larson is Associate Dean for Research and the Anna C. Maxwell Professor of Nursing Research, Columbia University School of Nursing and Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is a former Dean, Georgetown University School of Nursing. Dr. Larson has been a member of the Board of Directors, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the Report Review Committee, National Academy of Sciences. She received the first Pathfinder Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research in 2003 and an International Nurse Researcher Award from Sigma Theta Tau in 2011. In 2013, Dr. Larson became the first recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology for her contributions to hand-washing and other epidemiologic research. She is a fellow in the Institute of Medicine, Society for Healthcare Epidemiologists of America, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Prevent Infections at Columbia University and an interdisciplinary T32 pre- and post-doctoral training grant, “Training in Interdisciplinary Research to Reduce Infections.” She has been Editor of the American Journal of Infection Control since 1995 and has published more than 250 journal articles, four books and a number of book chapters in the areas of infection prevention, epidemiology, and clinical research.

French, Gary, Former Advisory Board Member. UNITED KINGDOM

Professor French was a lecturer in Microbiology at London and then the University of the West Indies (1977 – 79). In 1980, he became a Senior Lecturer/Hon Consultant in Microbiology at St Thomas’. He was appointed the Foundation Chair of Microbiology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Head of the Department of Clinical Microbiology at the Prince of Wales Hospital in 1982. Professor French returned to UK in 1990 and was appointed Professor of Medical Microbiology at King’s College London (KCL). Until his retirement in November 2011, Professor French was Consultant in Microbiology and Head of Infection Control at the Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital NHS Trust (GSTT). He was also advisor in Infection Control to the Moorefield’s Eye Hospital and the Lambeth & Southwark Primary Care Trust, and Civil Consultant in Microbiology of the Royal Air Force from 2001-2009. Professor Gary French As an Honorary Professor at KCL and Honorary Consultant at GSTT, Professor French continued to supervise MD research degrees at KCL and a large Department of Health funded research project on rapid MRSA diagnosis at GSTT and King’s College Hospital, London. Professor French is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, a member of the Hospital Infection Society, the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, the Association of Medical Microbiologists, the Pathology Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. He was Chairman of the Hospital Infection Society from 1999 -2001 and Editor of the Journal of Hospital Infection from 1995-1999. He was also a Board Member of the International Federation of Infection Control from 2000-2006. Professor French has the Diploma in Hospital Infection Control (DipHIC), which is the highest UK postgraduate specialist qualification in hospital infection awarded by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His areas of specialist interest are clinical microbiology, hospital and healthcare-associated infections, antibiotic therapy and antimicrobial resistance.