Plenary Speakers
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI)
Mo Archary is a Professor in Paediatric Infectious Disease at Victoria Mxenge Hospital, affiliated with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Academic Lead: Implementation Sciences at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI). He is a NIHR Global Health research professor, vice chair of the treatment scientific committee in IMPAACT, and a member of the HIV guideline development group and Paediatric Antiretroviral Working Group in WHO. His research interest focuses on improving the outcomes in children and adolescents with TB and HIV, with a focus on long-acting formulations, conducting both clinical and implementation trials in South Africa and internationally.
University Of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital
Marc is professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and senior consultant in the division of clinical pharmacology at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town. He exemplifies a strong culture of evidence based medical practice, exemplified by his involvement in the teaching and application of the evidence-based ethos.
He has been involved since 1995 with the Essential Drugs Programme of South Africa, becoming Chairman in 2008; and Co-chair 2025. He is a member of the Universities medical and bioethics programme; and he is Chair of the Health Sciences Human Research and Ethics Committee, as well as chair of various data safety monitoring committees (DSMBs). He is Chair of the University of Cape Town’s Senate Ethics in Research Committee, which plays an oversite role over all the research ethics committees of the University
He is recognised as an expert on International, National and Provincial Drug Policy; and serves on SAHPRA; as recent chairperson of the pharmacovigilance expert committee and now chair of the clinical expert committee. He serves as an International Consultant for the WHO; and is executive member of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Advisory Committee and is chair of the Groote Schuur Hospital’s PTC.
He is a well-respected lecturer and was awarded the Distinguished Teachers Award from the University of Cape Town
University of the Witwatersrand
My research focuses on understanding the population-level epidemiology of fungal and bacterial infections and the associated pathogen genomics and antimicrobial resistance. Based on this, we design and evaluate ambitious public health/ clinical trial interventions to improve outcomes for affected people, particularly in resource-limited settings. As an NIHR Global Research Professor, I am currently on long-term leave from my position as head of the NICD’s Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses. I provide technical support to the World Health Organization through the NICD’s Collaborating Centre on AMR.
Awanui Labs Auckland & Northland, New Zealand
Dr Ranmini Kularatne is the Clinical Lead for Microbiology and Infectious Serology at Awanui Labs Auckland & Northland, New Zealand. She trained as a Clinical Microbiologist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and holds an MSc in Epidemiology from the University of London. She is a Fellow of both the College of Pathologists of South Africa and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. Before taking up her current role, Dr Kularatne headed the STI Section at the Centre for HIV & STI at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa and served on the executive committee of the International Union Against STI (Africa region). She is a member of the World Health Organization’s STI Guideline Development Group and an honorary lecturer in the Department of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences.
University of Cape Town
Marc Mendelson is Professor of Infectious Diseases and head of Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at University of Cape Town, where he combines clinical, research, and policy work on antibiotic resistance, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries. He is PI of the Centre for AntiMicrobial Optimisation Network Cape Town Hub, enjoys riding bikes, sourdough baking, and bird photography
Sikhulile Moyo
Botswana Harvard Health Partnership
Sikhulile Moyo (MSc, MPH, PhD) is a medical virologist/scientific director based at Botswana Harvard Health Partnership, an extraordinary professor with Stellenbosch University, and an adjunct professor (University of Botswana, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and University of Pretoria). His focus is on advancing research in pathogen genomics to understand the genetic diversity and evolutionary patterns of multiple pathogens, characterising early founder viruses and HIV reservoirs, drug resistance mechanisms, and molecular epidemiology to guide effective treatments and public health strategies, and applying phylogenetic analyses to track viral evolution and inform interventions to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Professor Moyo has received numerous honors, including the German Afrika Foundation Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, recognition in Time100 as one of the world’s most influential people in 2022, the Botswana Presidential Order of Honour and Presidential Meritorious Service, Order of the Great Zimbabwe, and Botswana’s inaugural Research Excellence Awards. He has over 250 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 42.
FIDSSA
Prof Nicolette du Plessis is a paediatric infectious diseases subspecialist and head of the clinical unit based at the University of Pretoria and Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital. She holds a PhD in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and currently serves as President of the Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of Southern Africa (FIDSSA). Her research and clinical work focus on paediatric HIV, vaccine-preventable diseases, epidemiological surveillance and antimicrobial resistance. She has published widely in leading journals and contributes to national policy through advisory roles in immunisation and HIV working groups. Prof du Plessis is also a committed educator and speaker at national and international congresses, and an advocate for child health and infectious disease prevention in South Africa.
University of the Western Cape
Megan Shaw is a Professor in the Department of Medical Biosciences at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She also holds cross appointments at Stellenbosch University and at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, USA). She earned a PhD in Virology from the University of Glasgow (UK) and started her academic career in the USA before moving to UWC in 2019. She is an experienced virologist who specializes in research on RNA viruses, particularly influenza viruses and SARS coronavirus 2. Her interests include the early-stage discovery of antiviral drugs, and investigating how viruses interact with their hosts at a molecular level. She has published extensively in these areas, filed patents on her discoveries, and served on the editorial boards of several international journals.
David Jay Weber
MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA, FRSM (London)
Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Paediatrics, School of Medicine
Professor Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7030
Medical Director, Department of Infection Prevention, UNC Hospitals
Associate Chief Medical Officer & Associate Chief Quality Officer, UNC Hospitals
Chair, Biomedical IRB, UNC-Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Immediate Past President, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Associate Editor, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
Associate Editor, Vaccine
South African Medical Research Council
Professor Liesl Zühlke is Vice President of the South African Medical Research Council and a paediatric cardiologist at Red Cross Children’s Hospital and UCT. A global leader in rheumatic and congenital heart disease, her work spans clinical care, implementation science, genetics, and health systems strengthening. She is committed to advancing equity, empowering women in medicine, and shaping a resilient, inclusive research ecosystem across Africa.
She has over 250 publications, conference proceedings and book chapters, an her h-index of 64 , she has been cited over 88 000 times and was the 2018 recipient of the MRC/Dfid African Research Leader Award, the Winner of the NRF award for Social Impact in Research, the International Metrodora Award for Public Health and Research and the UCT Vice-Chancellors Alan Pfifer Award for research. She was recently inducted into the prestigious UCT College of Fellows, UCT’s highest academic honour, inducted in 2024 into the The World Academy of Scicence, a Member of the South African Academy of Sciences (MASSAf) and is NRF-B1 rated.