Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Deputy Governor Ogun State, Nigeria

Special Guest of Honor

Engr. Noimot Salako- Oyedele is a Civil Engineer who graduated from the University of Lagos Nigeria, followed by a Master's degree in Public Health Engineering from the Imperial College of Science & Technology London, UK. She is a multi-talented professional with over 3 decades of proven records of experience in  Civil Engineering, Consulting, and Real Estate.  While in the United Kingdom, she worked as a Graduate Engineer and Project Manager at Ove Arup & Partners. On her return to Nigeria, she was Managing Director, NOS NIGERIA LIMITED between 1995 and 2014, where she engaged in the construction of numerous projects ranging from office, commercial, industrial and residential buildings for the public and private sectors.

Engr. Salako-0yedele was also former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer between 2014 and 2015 at Glenwood Property Development Company Limited where she previously served as General Manager Business Development.  She  then became the Acting Managing Director, GRENADINES Homes Limited in 2015, a position she held till she ventured into politics and emerged as the Ogun State Deputy Governor, making her the only female Deputy Governor in the South West States of Nigeria.

​Prof. Abiy Ambaye

Speaker

Prof.  Abiy Ambaye is originally from Ethiopia and he later attended medical school in Europe. Since moving to the United States more than 25 years ago, he worked initially at the Mayo Foundation/Clinic as a research fellow for several year, after which he completed his postgraduate training to become a pathologist. For the last 17 years, he has been working at The University of Vermont Collage of Medicine, where he is now a professor.  The institution is the largest in the state of Vermont. The vast majority of laboratory testing for SARS-Cov-2 in the state Vermont and many samples from two neighboring states are performed in this laboratory. Currently, only PCR testing is performed, but they are also exploring the utility of antigen and serologic/antibody testing.

Dr. Yvonne Holt

Speaker

​Dr. Yvonne Holt is the Chief Medical Officer at Next Biosciences, a South African biotech company involved in cryopreservation of stem cells and human tissues, production of human biological products and genetic testing. Next Biosciences was founded 15 years ago and has its head office and laboratory in Midrand, Johannesburg. Next Biosciences aims to combine medicine, science and technology to create innovative products and services that empower people to invest and take personal ownership in their future health. In March 2020, Next Bioscience decided to be part of the COVID solution in South Africa and expanded their testing laboratory to include COVID testing. Dr. Holt graduated from Wits University as a medical doctor and has a diploma in Pediatrics and Transfusion Medicine. 

Dr. Zelalem Mekuria DVM, PhD

Speaker

Zelalem Mekuria DVM, PhD is the Associate Director of Infectious Disease Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (IDMEL) at the Ohio State University, Global One Health Initiative (GOHi). In his role he oversees the laboratory activities for GOHi and coordinates trainings for postdoctoral and PhD fellows in the area of molecular diagnostics, genomics and virology. Dr. Zelalem has PhD in molecular virology with additional trainings in the area of applied genomics and bioinformatics. He has been a postdoctoral scholar at the Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center, at the University of Kentucky, where he extensively used next generation sequencing technologies to investigate evolution and transmission dynamics of rapidly mutating RNA viruses. He also worked at Louisiana State University as postdoc fellow where he was involved in establishment of new laboratory with aim of advancing next generation sequencing methods for diagnostic applications.

Dr. Joseph N Uhama

Speaker

Dr. Joseph Uhama is a specialist  in  General  Pediatrics  and Clinical  Adolescentology He is also a Certified  Nutritionist  and  Herbalist, and a Fellow of the  Italian  Federation  of  Pediatricians. He is an associate  member of the School  of  Natural  Health  Science (UK) and the  World  Medical  Association (France). He has practiced for over 30 years  as  Family/Community  Pediatrician  and  Nutrition  Physician in Milan, Lombardia region of Italy – which in many ways was the frontline of the Italian Covid19 Pandemic. He is also a healthcare consultant to several international organizations.

Dr. Gebeyehu N Teferi

Moderator

Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi is Chief, Infectious Disease, Unity Health Care Washington DC. He is an Infectious Disease Specialist in Washington, DC and has over 33 years of experience in the medical field. He is a medical graduate from Med Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia. He was Chief resident at the Prince George’s Hospital Center, Cheverly, Maryland and a Fellow at the Georgetown University Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He is involved in clinical research and is the site Principal investigator in HIV studies funded by the NIH, University of Maryland and District of Columbia. He is also on several expert advisory panels on various viral infectious disease for several organizations including  Department of Health and Social Services,  and several private companies.

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Dr. Ronke Dosunmu

Moderator

Dr. Ronke Dosunmu, M.D. FAAP is the Medical Director of Foundation Pediatrics and the founder of Journey Health. She has been a physician for over 30 years and is a board certified Pediatrician. In 1995, she started Foundation Pediatrics,  a private practice providing quality care to the underserved urban population in Essex County, New Jersey. She is a serial entrepreneur in the healthcare space and a business coach. 

Dr. Dosunmu is also a consultant in the field of pharmacovigilance and drug safety, for many major multinational pharmaceutical companies. She currently leads an alliance of physicians who are working to increase diversity and ethnic minority representation, in clinical trial research.