Nelesh P. Govender MBBCh, MMed, FCPath, MSc, DTM&H

Nelesh began his career in public health in 2006 when he joined NICD as Head of GERMS surveillance. He now heads the Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), AMR and Mycoses at NICD. In this position, he works closely with the national and provincial Departments of Health to generate evidence to guide government policy with regard to the control and management of HAIs, AMR and mycoses His particular area of expertise is in medical mycology and in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), his work has focused largely on the neglected area of antifungal resistance. Nelesh is a current member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on AMR and President of the Federation of Infectious Disease Societies of Southern Africa (FIDSSA). He led implementation and evaluation of a national cryptococcal disease screen-and-treat intervention in South Africa in partnership with the Department of Health, was co-chair of the South African cryptococcal disease guidelines panel and a member of the WHO cryptococcal disease and advanced HIV disease guidelines panel. He is currently Principal Investigator on two large projects (funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the US CDC) He is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand and Hon. Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Microbiology at the University of Cape Town.