ISAC / ESCMID webinar

AMR in low resource settings and / or displaced populations

The joint ISAC / ESCMID webinar aims to explore the challenges of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low-resource settings and displaced populations, highlighting practical solutions for infection control. It seeks to promote global collaboration and innovative strategies to address AMR in these vulnerable communities.

October 22 @ 17.00 CET*

*Find your start time by time zone.

Speakers

Dr Rana Hajjeh is a senior public health leader with 30 years’ experience in global health, infectious diseases epidemiology, health policy and diplomacy, and health management, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Dr Hajjeh currently holds the position of President, Population Council, New York, USA. Between 2019 and 2024, she held the position of the Director of Programme Management (DPM) at the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office. Between 2016 and 2019, she held the position of the Director of the Department of Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control.
Prior to joining the WHO Regional Office in 2016, Dr Hajjeh worked at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 23 years, where she held many senior positions. Her last position was the Director of Bacterial Diseases division (2008-16). Between 2005 and 2010, Dr Hajjeh was the Director of the GAVI Hib Initiative, that introduced Hib vaccines to millions of children in limited resource countries around the world. During her work at CDC, Dr Hajjeh led responses to major epidemics across the world, including meningitis in Africa, and during hajj in Saudi Arabia in 2000, cholera in Haiti in 2010, as well as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and Ebola in West Africa.
Dr Hajjeh holds a Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon, and is American board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, as well as trained in epidemiology at the CDC (EIS Class of 1993). She has received many awards, including the prestigious U.S. Federal Employee of the Year Award in 2014 for her global vaccine work. Dr Hajjeh has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, serves as a reviewer for multiple journals, and holds visiting professor positions in medicine and public health at Emory University, Johns Hopkins University and AUB (Lebanon).

Dr Guido Granata graduated in Medicine from the University "Sapienza" in Rome, Italy in 2010.
During his medical studies he became interested in the interactions of the human immune system with different pathogens. He started his specialisation in Clinical Immunology to combine his interest in clinical research with an evidence-based approach to infectious diseases. During his specialisation, he focused on human immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases.
In 2016, he continued his research as a Visiting Fellow in the Rheumatology Research Group, Institute of Infection, Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, UK. In 2017, he moved to the Italian National Institute of Infectious Diseases "L. Spallanzani" as a physician and consultant in infectious diseases.
At the "L. Spallanzani" Institute he is the scientific coordinator of research projects on Clostridioides difficile infection, infection control, antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship.

Prof. Souha Kanj is currently a tenured Professor of Medicine, Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases (ID), Chair of the Infection Control (IC) Program and co-Chair of the Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon. She is Consultant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, USA.
She has co-authored 300 papers in peer reviewed journals, several book chapters and UpToDate® cards. She has contributed to the work of WHO in various programmes.
Professor Kanj is a fellow of the ACP, IDSA, RCP, ESCMID, and ECMM. She is currently President-Elect of ISAC and President of the Lebanese Society for Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology.
Professor Kanj has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards and an honorary degree from Radboud University in 2020.

Prof. Robert Skov is a medical doctor from University of Copenhagen and specialist in clinical microbiology. He works as senior consultant for the director of Epidemic Disease Preparedness at Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark and is the current President for the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).
Robert has worked on antimicrobial resistance throughout his career with more than 25 years’ experience as a Public Health microbiologist. From 2019 – 2024 he was the scientific lead of the International Centre for Antimicrobial resistance Solutions (ICARS). He has served as Danish AMR focal point at ECDC, member of the EUCAST steering committee, the EMA Expert Group (AMEG), and Danish and international expert groups on AMR including One Health cross sectorial committees. He is a member of ESGS and since 2020 he is board member of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and President of ESCMID since May 2024. His research has mainly focused on S. aureus inclusive MRSA detection, resistance mechnisms and epidemiology as well as AMR testing, he has published +230 peer reviewed papers.