IRIDS Virtual Science Talks

Professor at the University of Hamburg and head of the Department of Arbovirology and Entomology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg Germany

Dr. Schmidt-Chanasit is a professor and the head of the department of Arbovirology and Entomology at the Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit is a leading expert in tropical medicine, renowned for his extensive research on arboviruses, including the dengue virus. As a prominent figure at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, he specializes in the epidemiology and virology of these vector-borne diseases, contributing significantly to our understanding of their transmission, prevention, and control. Dr. Schmidt-Chanasit's work has been instrumental in addressing the global challenges posed by arboviruses, advancing both scientific knowledge and public health strategies.

Professor at the department of Microbiology and head of the department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka; until June 2024: Head of the Global Dengue Program.

Dr. Gathsaurie Neelika Malavige is an esteemed immunologist and infectious disease specialist, widely recognized for her expertise in dengue and other tropical diseases. With a distinguished career that includes serving as the Head of the Global Dengue Program, Dr. Malavige has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat the dengue virus. Her work encompasses crucial research into the immunopathogenesis of dengue, leading to significant advancements in understanding and mitigating the impact of this disease. Dr. Malavige's leadership and scientific contributions continue to shape global strategies in the fight against dengue and other vector-borne diseases.

Prof. Moradpour earned his medical doctoral degree from the University of Zürich in 1989, subsequently completing clinical training in Internal Medicine as well as Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University Hospitals in Zürich and Freiburg i. Br., alongside a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

In 2004, following his role as staff physician at the University Hospital in Freiburg i. Br. and a visiting professorship at Rockefeller University, he joined the CHUV, initially as Chief of Hepatology and, since 2009, as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 

He is a distinguished member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and of the Executive Board of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. He is also a scientific advisor to the German Center for Infection Research and an Associate Editor of Hepatology. Prof. Moradpour has authored over 400 original articles, reviews, and book chapters, which have garnered over 20,000 citations, underscoring his profound impact on the field of hepatology and viral hepatitis.

Dr. Polz is a senior scientist working at Roche Diagnostics GmbH for the past 12 years. He has a remarkable track of patents filed, including a method for detection and reduction of interferences in immunoassays, and publications on the field of hepatitis B. After earning a PhD in immunology at the University of Regensburg, he has joined Roche as development lead for several infectious diseases immunoassays. Among several projects, he has successfully developed the Elecsys Anti-HEV IgM immunoassay.

Dr. Kienle holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences obtained at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and Cardiff University, Wales in 2013. After obtaining his PhD in Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany in 2020, he joined Roche Diagnostics GmbH as Science Trainee Immunoassay in the Research and Development group. Since 2022 he is Development Lead in the R&D Elecsys Assay Development Infectious Diseases team. Among several other projects, he has successfully developed the Elecsys Anti-HEV IgG immunoassay.

Dr. Bier is a global medical affairs manager working at Roche Diagnostics International AG, Rotkreuz for more than 12 years. She is a trained biochemist with a PhD from the Goethe University Frankfurt a.M., Germany. She started her career at Roche as a Technical Project and Team Lead in PCR assay development in infectious disease. With her broad expertise, she joined the Global medical affairs team for Infectious Diseases and Immunity early in 2022 and supported the MPXV assay on the x800 instruments, the first monkeypox virus tests to receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Furthermore she is part of a team monitoring emerging pathogens to be prepared for the response to urgent needs to be supported by diagnostic solutions. 

Gilles Wandeler, MD, MSc, is an attending physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, and a senior researcher at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern. He obtained a master’s degree in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and started his research career within the framework of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. He leads numerous projects on HIV and viral hepatitis infections and currently holds a Professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation to study HBV functional cure in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a member of the Scientific Board of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and the chairman of the EuroSIDA Steering Committee. He teaches at the Universities of Bern, Basel, Bordeaux, Paris and Barcelona. In addition to his clinical work, Prof. Wandeler is involved in clinical and epidemiological research in HIV medicine, both in Switzerland and in sub-Saharan Africa. With his studies on hepatitis B and C co-infections and the evaluation of HIV therapy strategies, he aims to reach a better understanding of the hepatitis C epidemic in homosexual men leading to an improvement of its clinical management thus improving the care of patients.

Vu Ngoc Bao, MD, MA is a medical doctor, researcher, and public health professional with over 20 years of experience in public health programming, behavioral and social science research, behavior change intervention and clinical practice on a variety of health programs, including HIV, tuberculosis (TB), viral hepatitis, sexual and reproductive health, primary health care, and community development. Currently, he is serving as Senior Technical Director for HIV, TB, and viral hepatitis programs at PATH in Vietnam. He was Deputy Chief of Party for USAID/PATH Healthy Markets during the period 2014-2021 that pioneered and successfully advocated for nationwide scale up of innovative approaches, such as HIV lay testing and self-testing, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through key population-led health services, private sector engagement, and total market approach. He also worked as TB Technical Director that led PATH’s TB portfolio focusing on strengthening TB diagnostic network, public-private mix (PPM), advocacy, communication and social mobilization (ACSM), and pediatric TB since 2011.

Prof. Puhan studied medicine at the University of Zurich, and earned his PhD at the University of Amsterdam in 2006. From 2008 to 2012, he was a tenure track Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, USA. Since 2013 he serves as chair of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Zurich and as director of the EBPI. Prof. Puhan’s main research interests are in prevention and management of chronic diseases and in the development of tools to support preference-sensitive health care. Prof. Puhan coordinated the Corona Immunitas Initiative that united Swiss national efforts to determine the SARS-CoV-2 immunity of the general population, school children, vulnerable population groups and professional groups at high risk of infection.

Dr. Cervia-Hasler  trained as a physician-scientist at the University Hospital Zurich. After earning his MD, he completed a PhD in Immunology, where he established a multicentric prospective patient cohort and investigated the pathomechanisms of Long COVID. Dr. Cervia-Hasler is passionate about data-driven decision-making, bridging various functional areas, and developing long-sighted strategies at Roche.

Dr. Jochum is an immunologist and virologist by training. His doctoral research focused on the early immune response to viral infection and viral immune evasion strategies at the Helmholtz Center and LMU Munich, Germany. He joined Roche Diagnostics in 2014, where his team is responsible for developing assays for viral diseases, with a major focus on emerging viruses. In recent years, Dr. Jochum and his team were fully engaged in developing diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and associated pandemic research.