Leo is a medical entomologist, having spent most of his life in Africa. He moved to Asia in early 2019 where he now works for Malaria Consortium as Senior Vector Control Specialist, supporting malaria and dengue vector control projects in mainly Cambodia and Myanmar. He is also Co-Chair and Technical Lead for the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) Vector Control Working Group (VCWG), and through that platform supports the development and implementation of various vector control capacity-building interventions for NMCP’s and other institutions in Asia Pacific. Leo believes that as malaria recedes in impact and importance in Asia in the decade ahead, dengue is going to emerge as a serious public health threat which deserves early attention.

Dr Muhammad Mukhtar is the Director in the Directorate of Malaria Control (DoMC); focal person for control of malaria vectors, author of national vector control policy & guidelines. He is an entomologits/vector control specialist. Also working as Incharge Research & Development Wing-DoMC; Ex-Head of Department of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Public Health Laboratory Divisions-National Institute of Health-Pakistan.

An NHMRC Fellow, Professor Freya Fowkes is Deputy Program Director, Maternal and Child Health, and Head, Malaria and Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Burnet Institute.

Professor Fowkes completed her doctorate in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Oxford and post-doctoral training at New York University and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

Her research program spans basic science, epidemiology, statistics and mathematical modelling and focuses on malaria in high risk populations, antimalarial drug resistance and malaria elimination.

She is involved in several multinational studies of drug resistance and malaria elimination and works with international partners, including WHO and National Malaria Control Programs, to translate findings into relevant malaria control, elimination and surveillance strategies.

Dave dela Cuesta is Head of Asia Operations based at DFI’s Regional Headquarters in Manila, Philippines. With 9+ years at DFI, Dave has extensive experience in over 20 countries implementing programs to identify and analyze international funding flows, build-out qualified sales pipelines, conduct thought leadership campaigns, and implement capture strategies to convert leads to revenue and partnerships for DFI’s clients.

Driven by his commitment to public-private partnerships and capability to bridge business and development, Dave’s work has supported the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly around Education, Health, Hunger, Poverty Alleviation, and Clean Water and Sanitation. These initiatives have resulted in meaningful impact on neglected populations through new life-saving health commodities for millions of people at risk of tropical diseases, health information solutions for hospitals in low-income countries, access to affordable and safe access to potable water in Southeast Asia, and quality research material to over 400,000 students and professors in Asia Pacific.

Dave has delivered workshops to client field staff on emerging market business strategies, procurement, and public-private partnerships to support sustainable business growth in Asia. Dave is also leading the expansion of DFI’s network in Asia including with the World Bank, Asian Development, UN agencies, bilateral donors, and government agencies. Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Dr Risintha Premaratne serves as the technical officer (Malaria) at the World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia. A former director of the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, he played a leading role in the last stage of malaria elimination in Sri Lanka and the achievement of the WHO malaria-free certification for the country in 2016.

He is a board-certified specialist in Community Medicine and holds a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery, a master’s degree, and an MD in Community Medicine from the University of Colombo-Sri Lanka and a master’s in Public Health in Biosecurity from Massey University-New Zealand. With over 25 years of experience in public health, he has expertise in surveillance, immunization, field epidemiology, research methods, statistics, monitoring and evaluation, program management and malaria elimination.

Leo is a medical entomologist, having spent most of his life in Africa. He moved to Asia in early 2019 where he now works for Malaria Consortium as Senior Vector Control Specialist, supporting malaria and dengue vector control projects in mainly Cambodia and Myanmar. He is also Co-Chair and Technical Lead for the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) Vector Control Working Group (VCWG), and through that platform supports the development and implementation of various vector control capacity-building interventions for NMCP’s and other institutions in Asia Pacific. Leo believes that as malaria recedes in impact and importance in Asia in the decade ahead, dengue is going to emerge as a serious public health threat which deserves early attention.