International Vaccine Institute appoints two members to its Board of Trustees representing Ecuador and Rwanda
Dr. Ximena Garzón Villalba, MD, PhD, Minister of Public Health, Government of Ecuador
Dr. Leon Mutesa, MD, PhD, Professor of Human Genetics, University of Rwanda
“For the first time, IVI has made the decision to include two representatives from non-funding member states to its Board of Trustees. I am delighted to welcome H.E. Ximena Garzón Villalba, Minister of Public Health of Ecuador, and Prof. Leon Mutesa of the University of Rwanda to our board, bringing their combined expertise and leadership in medical research, public health, and capacity-building. They join board members from the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland in representing IVI’s state parties,” said George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of IVI’s BOT.
“It is a pleasure to welcome H.E. Garzón Villalba and Prof. Mutesa to IVI’s leadership, two experts in their fields who embody IVI’s commitment to scientific research and capacity-building for public good and health. Their guidance will play an invaluable role as IVI executes its next five-year strategy, expanding its geographic footprint and adopting sustainable and responsive governance,” said Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI.
Dr. Ximena Garzón Villalba, MD, PhD, Minister of Public Health, Government of Ecuador
H.E. Garzón Villalba holds an MD from the Universidad Central del Ecuador, a PhD in Public Health with a concentration in Occupational Health, and a Post-Doctorate in Occupational Health Research and Occupational Epidemiology. She has worked as an undergraduate and postgraduate professor at universities in Ecuador and the United States. In addition to private practice, she has held public positions as Deputy Director of Medical Technology and Deputy Director of Teaching and Research at the Hospital General del Sur de Quito of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security, and General Coordinator of Teaching at the Carlos Andrade Marín Specialty Hospital.
Dr. Leon Mutesa, MD, PhD, Professor of Human Genetics, University of Rwanda
Professor Mutesa created the Center for Human Genetics at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences-University of Rwanda where he currently serves as Director. Throughout his career, he has been immensely involved in clinical services, academics, research, capacity-building, and management in the health sector. He founded the Rwanda health research commission which reviews research grants and studies before approval by the Rwanda National Ethics Committee. Dr. Mutesa has pioneered new developments and implementation of a reference center for medical genetics in Rwanda, the only one in the East Africa region. He has supervised and mentored more than 80 MSc, MMed, PhD, and Post-Doc fellows from Rwanda and overseas universities and published over 150 peer-reviewed papers.
Learn more about IVI’s BOT here.
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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a nonprofit inter-governmental organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, IVI was the first international organization hosted by Korea. IVI has 38 signatory countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on its treaty, including Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland as state funders.
Our mandate is to make vaccines available and accessible for the world’s most vulnerable people. We focus on infectious diseases of global health importance such as cholera, typhoid, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, Group A Strep, Hepatitis A, HPV, TB, HIV, MERS, COVID-19, as well as antimicrobial resistance. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int
Aerie Em
International Vaccine Institute
aerie.em@ivi.int
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