6th Meeting of the WHO Advisory Group on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial
Resistance (AGISAR)
10-12 June 2015, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Since the previous AGISAR meeting (2013, Bogota, Colombia) a number of events related to
antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food chain have been reported, and there is more new
evidence of the link between antimicrobial use in food animals and AMR in human infections. The
Annual Meeting of AGISAR is convened in order to review new evidence, and discuss past and future
activities of AGISAR.
The main objectives of the meeting are to:
1. develop a five-year strategic plan following the adoption of the WHO Global Action Plan on
Antimicrobial Resistance at the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2015
2. review progress and lessons learnt from the AGISAR pilot projects
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Biographies of participants to AGISAR 6th Meeting
Professor Jacques Acar
Professor, Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Emeritus Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
Senior expert at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Paris, France
Dr Jacques Acar, trained at the Pasteur Institute( Prof. Y. Chabbert) and at Harvard Medical School ( Prof. M. Finland), have been
since 1972 chief of the research unit on antimicrobial resistance at the Ecole de Medecine " Broussais -Hotel- Dieu" Universite Pierre
et Marie Curie, Paris.
He is Founder member and former President of the ISID (International Society of Infectious diseases) and the ESCMID (European
Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases). He established in the seventies with Pr Thomas O'Brien at Harvard
University, one of the earliest system of antimicrobial resistance surveillance in hospitals. In 1981 at the foundation by Stuart B. Levy
of APUA (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics), he became member of the scientific advisory board. In the eighties he
contributed to meetings held in Europe on antimicrobial resistance: Sweden, Denmark, France, UK, Germany, Czech Republic and
Austria. Under the auspices of ESCMID, different study groups were launched to study antibiotics and bacterial resistance. He started
ESGAR (European Study Group for Antibiotic Resistance) with Prof. F. Baquero and Prof. G. Cornaglia.
He co-chaired the WHO meeting held in November 1994 in Geneva, which was followed by several publications and meetings
(Berlin, Geneva, Oslo, Canberra) then by the establishment of WHO-AGISAR led by Dr. Awa Aidara-Kane. As Fellow of the American
Academy of Microbiology, Dr J. Acar co-chaired the colloquium "Antibiotic Resistance, an ecological perspective on an old problem"
October 12- 14 2008. Since 1999 Prof. J. Acar was with the ad hoc Committee at the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) in
charge to write and update the chapters of the" Terrestrial Animal Code" related to antibiotic usage and responsible use, surveillance
of antimicrobial resistance and of antibiotic consumption, and critically important antibiotics for animals.
Professor Antoine Andremont
Professor of Microbiology, University of Paris 7 Medical School
Head laboratory of bacteriology, Bichat Hospital
Paris, France
MD 1976, Medical School of Tours University (Fr.). Ph. D. 1986, Pharmaceutical school of University Paris 11 ( Fr.). Board certified in
paediatrics, tropical medicine and microbiology. Training in epidemiology at the CDC (Atlanta, GA)1979. Research fellow at SUNY
(Brooklyn, NY) 1975. 1979-1996 clinical microbiologist at Institut Gustave Roussy (Fr.). 1988 -1996.Pr Microbiology at Pharmacy
School of University Paris 11. 1996-today Pr.microbiology, University of Paris7 Medical School, Head bacteriology Laboratory Bichat
hospital. 2005-Today, Expert -witness at the National Highest Court of Law. 2001-2011.member of the French Scientific Council for
Defense. AGISAR Member since 2009. SAB member GPI-AMR since 2010. Research focuses on the role of commensal microbiota in
bacterial resistance and infection. 214 pubmed publications (April 15th, 2014) .Google Scholar h indice 51. 20 patents connected
with academic research. Advisor of a biotech company (Davolterra) ( under the hospices of the French Law for Innovation and
Research).
Professor Peter Collignon
Executive Director, ACT Pathology, Canberra Hospital, Garran, Australia
Professor, Medical School, Australian National University
Canberra, Australia
Professor Collignon is currently Executive Director of ACT Pathology. He was previously director of the Infectious Diseases unit and
Microbiology at Canberra Hospital and where he has worked since 1987. He continues to be involved in the care of patients as an
Infectious Diseases Physician and also is involved with laboratory work as a clinical Microbiology. He is a Professor at the Medical
School, Australian National University.
His main research interests involve antibiotic resistance (both resistant bacteria acquired via the food chain and cross infections
with resistant bacteria between people), Influenza, blood stream infections, Infection Control and Healthcare-associated infections
(especially from IV catheters). He has had published over 200 research articles, review articles and book chapters in the peer
reviewed scientific literature.
He has been a member of many national and international committees, including those of the Australian Quality and Safety
Commission. He has been on many expert committees of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the issue of antibiotic resistance
and the use of antibiotics in food animals since 2000. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2009 for services
to Infectious diseases, Microbiology and Infection Control.
Professor John Conly
Professor of Medicine, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases,
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary
Medical Officer, Infection Prevention and Control, Calgary Zone, ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES, Foothills Medical
Centre
Alberta, Canada
John Conly is a Professor and former Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary and the Alberta Health Services
- Calgary and Area, Canada, where he developed the largest Alternate Funding Plan for internal medicine in Canada and spearheaded
the development of 17 new innovative clinics and initiatives including the use of alternate care providers, central access and triage to
improve wait times and founding the Ward of the 21st Century. He is medically trained as a specialist in Infectious Diseases, and was
a founding Co-Chair of the Canadian Hospital Epidemiology Committee, past President of the Canadian Infectious Disease Society,
past Chairman of the Board for the Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance and a previous Vice Chair for the Canadian Expert
Drug Advisory Committee. He is currently the Medical Director of the W21C, a member of both the Institute for Public Health and the
Synder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the University of Calgary, a Board member for the Canadian Foundation for Infectious
Diseases, the Editor-in-Chief for the Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology and a consultant to the WHO
for the GIPC Network and the WHO Advisory Group on Integrated Antimicrobial Surveillance. He has published over 300 papers, and
has received numerous career honours in teaching, research, mentorship, innovation and service. His current interests focus on
innovations in health care, patient safety and antimicrobial resistance.
Dr Pilar Donado-Godoy
PhD Researcher, Coordinator of the Unit of Food Safety, Centre of Biotechnology and Bioindustry, Corporacion
Colombiana de Investigacion Agropecuaria (Corpoica)
Bogota, Colombia
Dr Pilar Donado is a Veterinarian from the National University of Colombia. She holds a Master of Science in Veterinary Epidemiology
from the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College, Canada and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California,
Davis. At present, she is working with the Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (Corpoica) as a Senior Researcher
coordinating the Unit of Food Safety and Quality for the Center of Biotechnology and Bioindustry in Bogotá. Dr Donado is leading the
development of the Colombian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (COIPARS), the first initiative of this
type in Latin America and which is being replicated in other countries of the continent.
Dr Elisabeth Erlacher-Vindel
Deputy Head of the Scientific and Technical Department , World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Paris, France
Dr Elisabeth Erlacher-Vindel graduated from the Veterinary University, Vienna, Austria. She was first employed and obtained her
Doctor’s Degree in the Institute of Breeding and Genetics (Vienna, Austria) and later worked in Paris in the Institut Pasteur.
After having worked as a field veterinarian in different countries, she worked in the French professional dairy organisation, where
she became Head of the Food Safety and Environment Unit and Deputy Director of the Scientific Department. She joined the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in 2008 as Deputy Head of the Scientific and Technical Department and is the Focal Point for
tripartite activities on antimicrobial resistance.
Professor Paula Fedorka-Cray
Professor and Head, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North
Carolina State University
North Carolina, USA
Dr Fedorka-Cray joined the USDA-ARS in 1991 studying the pathogenesis of Salmonella in swine, expanding into antimicrobial
resistance in 1995. In 1999, she became Research Leader of the Bacterial Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit
in Athens, GA studying the ecology, pathogenesis, and antimicrobial resistance of food borne pathogens. She also led the USDA
animal arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System from its inception in 1996-2012 and the USDA VetNet from
2004-2012. She holds a BS from the Pennsylvania State University, a MS from North Dakota State University (Bacteriology), a MAS
degree from The Johns Hopkins University (Administration) and a PhD from the University of Nebraska Medical School (Veterinary
Medical Sciences Interdisciplinary Area – Microbiology/Immunology). In 2014, she moved to Raleigh, NC as Head of the Population
Health and Pathobiology Department at the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, where the mission of the
Department is to recruit, train, inspire, and graduate Doctors of Veterinary Medicine of exemplary knowledge, skill, and character.
She continues her research in antimicrobial resistance of food borne pathogens.
Dr Marcelo Galas
Chief of Bacteriology Department, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, National Administration of Laboratories
and Health Institutes, Ministry of Health, Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dr Galas, Chief of Bacteriology Department at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, is the General Coordinator of the
Bacteriology Laboratory Networks System This system includes the following national thematic surveillance networks: Bacterial
Meningitis and Respiratory Tract Infections, Diarrhoea and Food Transmitted Infections, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Brucella
Infections, Tuberculosis Infections and the WHONET-Argentina network for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance. He also is the
manager of the last thematic network. At the Malbrán Institute, Dr. Galas has specialized in antimicrobial resistance, especially in
clinical diagnosis, characterization of mechanisms of action and resistance, and surveillance. One of his greatest contributions was
improving the quality of clinical diagnostic services in Argentina, including establishment of a national program of external quality
assessment. Quality indicators over the past 15 years have demonstrated a significant decrease in diagnostic errors. Dr. Galas has
collaborated with the Pan American Health Organization to introduce this successful model to nearly all Institutes of Health in Latin
America. Currently Dr. Galas is responsible for the coordination and integration of all bacteriological networks of the National
Institute of Infectious Diseases orientated to the improvement of clinical diagnosis in health centers, introduction of molecular
diagnostic methodologies, characterization of human pathogens and the detection and characterization of both hospital and
community outbreaks . The introduction of new diagnostic methods with extensive training of laboratory professionals has
improved the accuracy of diagnostic laboratories across the country. Nowadays Dr. Galas is Advisor of CLSI representing Latin
American Countries for PAHO, Member of Accreditation Board of Argentinean Organization for Accreditation of Assay Laboratories
and South American Coordinator of Global Foodborne Infectious Network (GFN) for WHO. Areas of expertise include clinical and
molecular aspects of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, building capacity for bacteriological diagnostic, surveillance
and quality assurance management.
Dr Rene Hendriksen
Senior scientist at National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Food), Division of Bacterial
Genomics and Epidemiology, Research Group of Bacterial Genomics and Antimicrobial Resistance, WHO Collaborating
Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in Foodborne Pathogens and European Union Reference Laboratory for
Antimicrobial Resistance
Lyngby, Denmark
In 1999, our institute was appointed as WHO Collaborating Centre and my duties and responsibility were transferred to building up
laboratory capacity and developing teaching curricula around the world in relation to the WHO Global Foodborne Infections
Network (WHO GFN). January 2010, I defended my thesis “Global epidemiology of non-typhoidal Salmonella infections in humans”.
Currently, I work as senior scientist at the Technical University of Denmark, National Food Institute (DTU Food), and act as deputy
for the reference centres; WHO Collaborating Centre and European Union Reference Laboratory. My main focus is research in global
epidemiology, surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, and population structure of mainly food and waterborne pathogens.
Dr Rebecca Irwin
Director, Surveillance Division, Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance, Laboratory
for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada
Ontario, Canada
Dr Irwin received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1986, and a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology in 1988 from
the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Dr. Irwin has a long career with the federal government in Canada in both
agriculture and health departments. Since 1998 Dr Irwin has worked intensively on the antimicrobial resistance issue and was
instrumental in the founding and development of the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
(CIPARS). Dr Irwin is now Director of the Surveillance Division which operates the agri-food components of CIPARS at the
Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada. This programme encompasses surveillance of AMR and AMU,
research and risk assessment activities primarily focused on the animal, food and environmental aspects of the antimicrobial
resistance issue.
Dr Mohammad Aminul Islam
Associate Scientist, Centre for Food and Water Borne Diseases, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,
Bangladesh (icddr,b)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr Mohammad Aminul Islam is an Associate Scientist of the Centre for Food and Water Borne Diseases at the International Centre for
Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). Dr. Islam obtained his Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Wageningen University,
the Netherlands and M.Sc. and B.Sc. (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He joined icddr,b in 2002 after
completing his M.Sc. Currently, he is leading the Food Safety Research Group and Food Microbiology Laboratory at icddr,b. He is a
GHES Fellow of the Fogarty International Centre, NIH, USA. Dr. Islam received advanced training from Institut Pasteur in France,
National Autonomous University of Mexico, Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley in USA and other reputed
organizations. He has been actively involved in strengthening national food safety systems and serving as an expert member of
committees dealing with food safety in Bangladesh. He is serving as a consultant for FAO in developing capacity of National Food
Safety Laboratory in Bangladesh and also serving as a consultant for WHO in developing food safety needs assessment tool. He is one
of the initiators of Biosafety and Biosecurity program in Bangladesh. His main research interests lie in the field of food safety with a
focus on microbiological contamination of food. The major areas of his research are: source tracking and transmission pathways of
foodborne bacterial pathogens, characterization of bacterial pathogens, emerging antibiotic resistance and transmission of multidrug resistant organisms in humans via food and food-producing animals. Dr. Islam has published a considerable number of original
papers in reputed journals and book chapters mainly in the areas of food microbiology and antimicrobial resistance.
Professor Samuel Kariuki
Professor and Head of Department, Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)
Nairobi, Kenya
Sam Kariuki is a Chief Research Scientist and Head of Department, Centre for Microbiology Research at KEMRI in Nairobi and a
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute International Fellow. He is also a visiting Professor of Tropical Microbiology, Nuffield Department of
Medicine, University of Oxford, UK. He obtained his PhD in Tropical Medicine from University of Liverpool, UK in 1997, and has a MSc
in Pharmacology and Toxicology and a basic degree in Veterinary Medicine. He has research interest in the epidemiology and
molecular characterisation of enteric bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance epidemiology and surveillance, including for
invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis (NTS) and typhoid fever, which are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Other areas of interest have
been in surveillance and monitoring antimicrobial resistance among other key foodborne pathogens in Kenya including Shigella spp,
Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli. He has authored/co-authored in over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and written
chapters in 3 text books in related fields of Antimicrobial resistance and Food safety.
Dr Hyo-Sun Kwak
Director of Hazardous Substances Analysis Division, Daejeon Regional Food & Drug Administration, Ministry of Food
& Drug Safety
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Dr Hyo-Sun KWAK is the Director of Hazardous Substance Analysis Division of Ministry of Food & Drug Safety in Korea. She obtained
her PhD degree in Microbiology from Sungshin Women’s University, Korea. She joined the Ministry of Food & Drug Safety(MFDS,
formerly Korea Food & Drug Administration) as researcher in 1991. She visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA
as a visiting scientist in 1995. She had a wealth of experience mainly in Microbiology Division and Foodborne Disease Prevention &
Management Division in MFDS, Korea. She had contributed to the Codex Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance for organizing and
operating as Korean Secretariate from 2007 to 2010. She is currently a director at Daejeon Regional Food and Drug Administration,
working on hazardous substance analysis including foodborne pathogens from 2013. She has spent most of her career in national
and global food safety especially for the characterization of foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
Pr Lothar Kreienbrock
Professor for Biometry, Epidemiology and Information Processing, University for Veterinary Medicine,
Hannover
Federal Republic of Germany
Pr Lothar Kreienbrock is the Director of the Department of Biometry, Epidemiology and Information Processing at the University of
Veterinary Medicine in Hannover. By education he is a statistician and epidemiologist. His methodical expertise is in risk modelling
and techniques in monitoring and surveillance in the field of veterinary medicine and veterinary public health. In recent years Pr
Kreienbrock was heading a series of epidemiological studies in the area of zoonoses research with a special emphasis on antibiotics
use and antibiotics resistance. He is the principal investigator of VetCAb – Veterinary Consumption of Antibiotics (see vetcab-s.de) , a
sentinel-project, which summarizes the use of antibiotics in German livestock and of RESET (see http://reset-verbund.de/) a joint
consort project of human and veterinary medicine with a special emphasis on extended spectrum β-lactamases in enterobacteriacae.
Professor Ghassan Matar
Professor , Department. of Experimental Pathology, Immunology & Microbiology, American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
Dr. Ghassan M. Matar is currently a Professor in the Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology & Microbiology and
Laboratory Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research at the Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut (AUB).
Professor Matar was a post-doctoral fellow (Fulbright) at the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) and Department of
Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was then appointed as Research Microbiologist at the
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, CDC. Professor Matar was also appointed as Assistant Dean at the Faculty of Health
Science, AUB. He serves as resource advisor in the WHO-Advisory Group on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Agents
(AGISAR), and as American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Ambassador to Lebanon and member of the ASM Ambassador
Leadership Circle. Professor Matar’s Laboratory is also a PulseNet Laboratory certified by CDC/NAMRU3. To present he published 90
articles in refereed international journals and presented 115 abstracts in international, regional and local conferences. He received
funding from various extramural sources. Professor Matar’s research interests include: 1) Molecular mechanisms of resistance to
antimicrobial agents in pathogenic bacteria, namely methicillin resistance in S. aureus, macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae and
carbapenem resistance in ESBL and non-ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae, 2) Potential Treatment with antibacterial agents singly
or in combination of E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O104:H4 infections in a mouse model, 3) Genetic basis of biofilm production in P.
aeruginosa isolated from patients with nosocomial infections and potential inhibition of biofilm formation by Micafungin in in vitro
and in vivo studies, 4) Expression levels of virulence factors produced by pathogenic bacterial agents in relation to disease
production, 5) Molecular epidemiology of foodborne diseases and nosocomial infections, 6) Assessment of combination therapy in
infections caused by carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae harboring various carbapenemase encoding genes, 7) Molecular
characterization of Listeria monocyogenes from food items
Dr Patrick McDermott
Director, The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Maryland, USA
Dr McDermott is Director of the U.S National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) for enteric bacteria at the U.S.
Food & Drug Administration (FDA). He is a Microbiologist by training, who has studied antibiotic resistance for over 20 years. Dr.
McDermott’s research examines the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in food animal production and its relationship to
food safety. In addition, he represents the FDA on the U.S. government’s Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance and on
the Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance. He joined FDA in 2000, where he coordinates surveillance of antibiotic
resistance in foodborne bacteria.
Professor Scott McEwen
Professor, Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph
Ontario, Canada
Dr Scott McEwen obtained his DVM and Doctor of Veterinary Science degrees from the University of Guelph. He is currently a
professor in the Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College. His research on antimicrobial resistant bacteria and
other foodborne pathogens focuses on the distribution of fecal shedding in animals and risk factors for infection in animals and
humans. He also studies surveillance of antimicrobial use and assessment of human health risks from antimicrobial use in animals.
Dr Gérard Moulin
Deputy Director, National Agency for Veterinary Medicinal Products (ANMV/Anses)
Fougères, France
Gérard Moulin is Deputy Director of the National Agency for Veterinary Medicinal Products (Fougères, France) since May 2008.
Before his appointment, he was head of Marketing Authorisation Department and in charge of International Affairs. His main areas of
activities are antimicrobial resistance, pharmacokinetics and residues of antimicrobials, Veterinary pharmaceutical legislation,
Benefit risk analysis.
At the National level, he is responsible of the French survey of veterinary antimicrobial sales and is part of different working groups
on antimicrobial resistance. At the European Level, he was Chairman of the Committee of Veterinary medicinal products between
2003 and 2010. He is currently the French representative of the ESVAC network (European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial
Consumption) and participates to a number of EU Working parties on antimicrobial resistance. He is currently the Chair of the AMEG
(Antimicrobial Expert Group) and of the JIACRA (Joint Inter-Agencies Consumption and Resistance Analysis EU expert Group). At the
international level, he participated to tripartite WHO/OIE/FAO consultations on antimicrobial resistance and is an expert working
on a regular basis for OIE. He was involved as an expert in different WHO activities and is a Member of WHO-AGISAR since 2009.
Mr Arno Muller
Consultant, individual entity
La Boissière, France
Arno Muller is a consultant with expertise in antimicrobial use in humans and animals. In 2005, after he obtained his at University of
Besançon, France, he worked on the Danish DANMAP report until 2007. Between 2005 and 2011, he worked for the ESAC project at
University of Antwerp, Belgium. He was responsible for data management. Since 2011, as a consultant, he is providing support for
data management, reporting to the ESAC-Net surveillance network run by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
(ECDC) and to the ESVAC project run by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Dr Antoinette Ngandjio
Head, Laboratory of Hygiene and Environment (Food and Water Microbiology)
Centre Pasteur of Cameroon
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Dr Antoinette Ngandjio obtained a MD in “Hydrobiology and Parasitology” (University of Yaounde I, Cameroon)), in “Tropical
Infectious Disease” (EDR – AUF, Gabon) and in “Public Health and Developing Countries” (University of Paris VI - Pierre et Marie
Curie, France). She obtained her PhD in Microbiology from University of Paris VI and joined Centre Pasteur of Cameroon in 2003 as
Assistant Researcher in the laboratory of Bacteriology. Then, she became in 2006, responsible for research activities in the
Laboratory of Experimental Bacteriology. Her main area of Research is Antimicrobial Resistance of enteric and zoonotic bacteria
from human and animal origins. She is actively involved in WHO – Global Foodborne Network (GFN) activities and co-organizes
workshops held in Cameroon. Since 2013, she is the head of Laboratory of Hygiene and Environment, which is accredited according
to ISO 17025 Standards in Food and Water Microbiology.
Rosa M. Peran i Sala
Policy officer Antimicrobial resistance and microbiological criteria, Coordination EC Action Plan against Antimicrobial
Resistance ,Directorate General Health and Food Safety; European Commission
Brussels, Belgium
Rosa Peran graduated as Agricultural Technical Engineer at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and as Doctor in Veterinary
Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In the period 1992-1998 Rosa worked on a number of research projects at the
University of Agriculture in Barcelona, and as official veterinarian with the Ministry of Health of Catalonia, combining this work with
a master degree in Science and Food Technology at the University of Lleida. In 1998 Rosa moved from Spain to the Netherlands. In
the Netherlands, Rosa worked for the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority carrying out several functions in the field of food
safety. Her last position was programme manager in Microbiology (food pathogens, zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and food
borne outbreaks).
In 2011 Rosa joined the European Commission as Seconded National Expert. She is policy officer at the DG Health and Food Safety,
responsible for the coordination of the Commission´s five year action plan against the raising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance
and for Microbiological Criteria in foodstuffs.
Dr Raigamage Ranjit Damsiri Premathilaka Perera
Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya
Ragama, Sri Lanka
Dr Ranjith Perera is the Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. He
obtained his B.V.Sc degree from the University of Ceylon, his Diploma in Medical Microbiology from the Post Graduate Institute of
Medicine, University of Colombo, and his MPhil in Microbiology from the University of Colombo. He had worked as the Animal
Quarantine Officer, Sri Lanka, and was involved with public health aspects of imported and exported food of animal origin. Later, he
joined the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and was appointed as the
Head of the Department in 2007. His research interests include antimicrobial resistance and community acquired MRSA infections.
Dr Thandavarayan Ramamurthy
Scientist-F (Deputy Director Sr.Gd), Division of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases
Kolkata, India
Dr. Ramamurthy's research activities have mainly focused on diarrheal disease surveillance, molecular diagnosis and epidemiology.
He is monitoring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among hospital patients, at the community level and extensively working on the
molecular mechanism involved in AMR. He is the principal investigator of several international and national research projects on
diarrheal and food-borne infections. Dr. Ramamurthy has published more than 200 scientific papers in pear reviewed journals and
contributed several reviews and book chapters mainly on enteric pathogens. He is actively involved in WHO-GFN network and Pulse
Net Asia-Pacific. Dr. Ramamurthy holds M.Sc and Ph.D degrees from the Centre of Advanced Studies in Marine Biology, Porto-Novo,
Annamali University. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Children’s Medical Research Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Dr Regan Rickert-Hartman
Senior Epidemiologist and Program Coordinator, National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC)
Atlanta, USA
Regan Rickert-Hartman is a Senior Epidemiologist in the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, National Center for Emerging and
Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at CDC. Since 2007, she has served as the Program Coordinator for the National Antimicrobial
Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) at CDC. Her work focuses on the surveillance and epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance
among human enteric infections. Ms. Rickert-Hartman also serves as a Technical Support Corps (TSC) expert in the Global Disease
Detection (GDD) program at CDC.
Dr Flavia Rossi
Director, Microbiology Laboratory , Hospital das Clínicas, Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine of the University
of São Paulo ( FMUSP)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dr Rossi is the Pathologist Director for the Central Microbiology Laboratory from the 10 hospitals that belong to the University
Complex at the University of São Paulo, Brazil since 1999. From 1996 t0 2002 she was the General Pathologist Director of the
Institute of Infectology Emilio Ribas, SãoPaulo.
1997-2006: Ambassador for Brazil. Member of the International ASM ( American Society of Microbiology) Committee.
2008-2013: CLSI ( Clinical and Laboratoy Standard Institute) Advisory member for Latin America.
2008_ until today: PAHO_TAG ( Technical Antimicrobial Group) board member.
Her area of research is phenotypic and genotypic characterization of human pathogens and antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
Professor Harvey Morgan Scott
Professor, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University
Texas, USA
Dr H. Morgan Scott is a graduate veterinarian (DVM- Saskatchewan, Canada) holding a PhD in epidemiology (Guelph) and postdoctoral training in public health (Alberta). In addition to private veterinary practice, he has worked in both government (food safety
surveillance) and academic settings. He is currently a tenured professor of epidemiology in the Department of Veterinary
Pathobiology at Texas A&M University. He was recently recruited as part of the Texas A&M University System Chancellor and the
University President initiatives on One Health and Infectious Diseases. He relocated from Kansas State University, where he held the
endowed E.J. Frick Professorship in Veterinary Medicine. In addition to WHO-AGISAR, he serves on a number of international and
national advisory committees concerning food safety, and leads several active U.S. federally funded multi-institutional research
grants. Much of his research emphasis has been on studying factors impacting antimicrobial resistance among commensal and
pathogenic enteric bacteria in food animal production systems, with a program spanning the realm from the molecular to the
sociological. In particular, he is interested in applying both epidemiological and ecological approaches to examine the emergence,
propagation, dissemination, and persistence of resistant enteric bacterial strains in integrated populations of animals, their food
products, and humans in a variety of settings. Using this knowledge, he hopes to identify opportunities to prevent and intervene
against resistance among enteric pathogens in animal agriculture; preferably, by developing readily adoptable and cost-effective
management practices suited to multiple production systems.
Dr Caroline Smith DeWaal
Director of Food Safety, Center for Science in the Public Interest
President, International Association of Consumer Food Organizations
Washington DC, USA
For over 20 years, DeWaal has directed consumer-focused food safety research and policy at both a national and international level.
She collects and compiles information on outbreaks linked to food, both nationally and internationally, and has a wealth of
experience in data analysis, risk evaluation and risk.
Dr John Stelling
Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, based at the Brigham and
Women’s Hospital
Boston, USA
Dr Stelling is Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, based at the Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr Stelling has worked since 1989 to support surveillance programmes for antimicrobial resistance in
over 110 countries, and is developer of the WHONET software used for the management, analysis and sharing of microbiology
laboratory data. Dr Stelling was a Medical Officer with the World Health Organization for three years in the Antimicrobial Resistance
Unit of the Department of Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response. Dr Stelling has an MPH from the Johns Hopkins School
of Hygiene and Public Health and an MD from Harvard Medical School and completed an internship in family practice at San
Francisco General Hospital.
Professor Jaap Wagenaar
Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University,
Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Campylobacter and OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Jaap Wagenaar is expert in the field of zoonoses, including food safety, and antimicrobial resistance. He was trained as veterinarian
in Utrecht and obtained his PhD at the same university. In 1996 he started his research group at the Central Veterinary Institute in
Lelystad, the Netherlands, on food safety and in particular on Campylobacter. Starting in 2000, Jaap Wagenaar became active as
steering committee member and trainer in the WHO-Global Foodborne Infections Network (WHO-GFN). From 2004-2006 he worked
with WHO (Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, and for the Tsunami-relief operations to WHO Indonesia), the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (Atlanta, US) and the USDA Western Regional Research Center (Albany, Ca, US). From 2006, he is appointed
as chair in Clinical Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University. His research group at the Vet School
is focussing on Campylobacter and antimicrobial resistance. He is currently coordinator of an EU-project on antimicrobial resistance
(EFFORT).