Innovation is at the center of the Partnership’s mission to eradicate TB.  The Innovation Constituency seeks to promote new tools and new approaches as part of providing equitable and person-centered policies and strategies for TB elimination.

Members of the Innovations  Constituency Delegation 

Name Organization Country of work
Board Members
David Lewinsohn Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Director, OHSU Center for Global Child Health Research, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics United States
Alternate Board Members
Violet Chihota Aurum Institute South Africa
Uzma Khan Consultant Technical Advisor, IRD; Member TB People Global & Canada Canada/Pakistan
Delegation Members
Grant Theron DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, SAMRC Centre for TB Research Department of Biomedical Sciences | Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences | Stellenbosch University South Africa
Lynn Lau Private Equity Singapore
Luan Vo Friends for International TB Relief Vietnam
Seda Yerlikaya Heidelberg University Hospital Germany
Madhav Joshi India Health Fund  India 
Patrick Agbassi Global TB CAB / Enovpharm Cote d'Ivoire
Jessica Potter UK Academics & Professionals to End TB United Kingdom
Hanna Henao TB Social Observatory Colombia
Zaid Tanvir Working Group on New TB Drugs United States
Aiymgul Duishekeeva Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, KNCV-KG Kyrgyz Republic
Morten Ruhwald FIND, Director of TB Programme Switzerland
Pradeep Kakkattil Health Innovation Exchange - HIEx Switzerland
Dr Anand Date US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 David1

Board delegations are formed independently by Board constituencies. If you would like to join this constituency, please contact the Stop TB Board Affairs Team at boardaffairs@stoptb.org 
-David M. Lewinsohn, MD, PhD is a Professor at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Dr. Lewinsohn received his undergraduate degree from Haverford College, his MD and PhD from Stanford University School of Medicine, internal medicine training at the University of California, San Francisco, and fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Lewinsohn’s research interest is in Tuberculosis Immunology. The core research question has been that of how the immune system can find those cells harboring the intracellular bacterium. Dr. Lewinsohn has had a long-standing interest in the development of vaccines for tuberculosis. He participated in the development of the M72/AS01E vaccine, and serves as the chair of the StopTB Partnership Working Group on Vaccines.
-Violet Chihota is a scientist in global health with over 20 years of research experience. She is currently a Chief Specialist Scientist at Aurum Institute and has worked on various projects across different countries and continents leading, designing, and managing the implementation of research studies. Her work has focused on evaluating the implementation of new tools for control and prevention of TB and TB/HIV coinfection in high burden settings. She has worked with international organizations and has collaborated with global partners. Violet has contributed to a wide range of articles and has published widely contributing to the scientific community.
-Grant Theron is a Professor of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Arica. He founded and leads the CLIME research group dedicated to pursuing practical and translatable solutions to end tuberculosis via Africa-centred excellence in training.
-Lynn Lau is CFO (South East Asia) for a global private equity firm. She was previously the Executive Director of a healthcare foundation, a portfolio company of a private equity firm, and drove financial return alongside social impact in the area of eliminating tuberculosis in South East Asian countries
-Luan Vo is president of Friends for International TB Relief and technical advisor for IRDVN in Vietnam. Luan has supported Vietnam’s NTP in the evidence generation for active case finding, private sector engagement, social protection, TB diagnostics and prevention. He co-led the 2020 Program Review and was on Vietnam’s 2021-2023 GFATM CCM TB advisory group. He serves as Treasurer of the Union, on the STBP Board's Innovation Constituency and WHO’s Civil Society Task Force on TB. Luan is a PhD candidate from Karolinska Institute, holds an MPH from LSHTM and a bachelor in bioengineering and mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania.

 -Seda Yerlikaya is a molecular biologist with postgraduate training in molecular life sciences and global health. She worked at FIND, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, in various capacities from 2015 to 2021. She joined the Denkinger group in February 2021 as the technology lead for the NIH-funded R2D2 TB Network. She has experience and knowledge in infectious disease diagnostics, clinical research, and global health issues, especially in the areas of tuberculosis and malaria.
-Madhav Joshi is Chief Executive Officer of India Health Fund – an initiative of Tata Trusts which aims to help accelerate the elimination of communicable diseases by funding the development of technology-led solutions which can help improve patient outcomes and strengthen primary care
-Patrick Agbassi is a global health expert, advisor, and management consultant for civil society organizations (CSOs) and United Nations agencies. As co-Chair of the Global Tuberculosis Community Advisory Board, Patrick is a strong advocate for TB patients and communities – ensuring their voices are heard. He is the founder of Envopharm, an organization focused on the facilitation of public-private approaches in the health sector. Previously, he was the Country Lead of Village Reach and served on the COVID-19 task force for Côte d'Ivoire. He is also a member of the UNITE4TB Community Advisory Group. Patrick holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and Master's degrees in Health Economics and Development Practice.
-Jessica Potter is a clinician, academic and activist. She leads a TB service in London where she works as a respiratory specialist. Her research uses qualitative research to explore people's experiences of healthcare access and she campaigns for the healthcare rights of migrants. Jess co-chairs the network UK Academics and Professionals to End TB which uses the expertise of its members to lobby for research, investment and policy change to end TB.
-Hanna Henao is a PhD in Social Sciences and a medical doctor with a Master's in Anthropology. She has lectured in clinical, community and social areas at Faculties of Health and Education. She works as an advisor in high-quality assurance processes at the University of Antioquia. Passionate about ethnography, and its application to clinical and community practices of public health, since 2006 she has conducted research on TB from cultural and social perspectives. She is the secretary of Colombia TB Social Observatory and the president of the Country Coordinating Mechanism of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in Colombia.
-Zaid Tanvir is the Secretariat for the Stop TB Partnership's Working Group on New TB Drugs and also holds a position as Preclinical Project Manager at TB Alliance. He holds a Masters of Science in Biology with a focus in neurophysiology and has been working in the TB field for 11 years.
-Aiymgul Duishekeeva is a clinician and a teacher for undergraduate students at KSMA. Worked in penal sector as TB specialistin Kyrgyz Republic and in TB department in Sierra Leone with MSF, in USAID Challenge TB project implemented Bdq, DLM, re-purposed drugs, with KNCV-KG implemented BPaL regimen in Kyrgyz Republic, participated in implementation of nanopore NGS withim DreamFund project
-Morten Ruhwald, MD, PhD leads the TB programme at FIND in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining FIND Morten was Chief Medical Officer at Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark where he oversaw the clinical development of the TB and Chlamydia vaccine programs and clinical development of the specific skin test Cy-Tb/C-Tb for TB infection. At FIND Morten is responsible for a large portfolio of development projects and clinical trials spanning biomarkers, next generation LAM assays, molecular assays for TB and drug resistance detection, digital diagnostics and AI based tools. A key aim of the program is to develop and trial new non-sputum based tests and sampling strategies to enable the post pandemic recovery of TB programs.
-Uzma Khan is a physician, implementer, researcher, and advocate with extensive experience in TB program implementation and research. She has provided TB technical assistance to countries globally and been a member of the WHO EMRO’s Regional Green Light Committee (GLC). Uzma is a member of the WHO’s Working Group on Maternal TB Surveillance Systems. She provides technical oversight in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs that address TB, hepatitis C, and mental health conditions, with a focus on improving service accessibility and reducing social, health and gender disparities in Pakistan. As a part of the endTB Project leadership, she serves as a Co-I for the endTB Clinical Trials and previously as Co-PI for the endTB Observational Study. She holds an MD, an MSc in Epidemiology, and a PhD Candidate in Epidemiology at McGill University. 
-Pradeep Kakkattil is a Social Innovator and intrapreneur. Co-founder of “Health Innovation Exchange” (HIEx) – a platform connecting political leadership with innovators and investors for healthcare access, co-creator of the “Solar for Health” initiative to bring solar solutions for health sector; Co-founder of the Technical Support Facility (TSF), the largest TA mechanism of the UN in HIV.
Mr Kakkattil joined UNAIDS in India in 1999 and served as senior adviser to the UNAIDS Executive Director between 2015 and 2017. In that capacity, he coordinated the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in 2016
-Dr. Anand Date is currently serving as the Branch Chief for Global TB Branch in the Division of Global HIV and TB at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Date has more than 15 years’ experience working on CDC’s global TB and TB/HIV response in a variety of capacities, including as the Team Lead for the TB/HIV Team (2014-15), Associate Branch Chief of GTB (2015-2021), and Acting Branch Chief (2021-2022). He has contributed to the development of global TB and TB/HIV guidance, including serving as a member of several expert panels for the development of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and policies. He has also assisted Ministries of Health in many countries with updating their guidelines as well as developing strategic and implementation plans for TB and TB/HIV programs. He has contributed to the development of global TB and TB/HIV guidance, including serving as a member of several expert panels for the development of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and policies.