AMR - The 'Conservation Agenda'

Remesh kumar R is a Pediatrician in Angamaly, Ernakulam and has an experience of 26 years in this field. Heis a senior consultant & HOD paediatrics at the Apollo Adlux Hospital in Cochin. He completed MBBS from Government Medical College, Kottayam in 1987 and MD - Pediatrics from Dr VM Govt Medical College, Solapur, Maharshatra in 1994.He is a member of Medical Council of India (MCI) and the incoming president for the year 2022 of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

Pious Makaya is currently the Director of the Division of Veterinary Technical Services under the Department of Veterinary Services, Zimbabwe. In this role, he directs three branches which are Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostics and Research (VLD&R), Veterinary Public Health (VPH) branch and Veterinary Epidemiology including specialized units which are wildlife, dairy services, poultry and pigs. In addition, he also sits on different boards and committees addressing different disciplines of animal health including being the Core-Chair of Zimbabwe’ AMR/AMU Core Group.

At regional level, he is the current Chairperson of the SADC Veterinary Diagnostics Subcommittee which consists of heads of SADC veterinary national laboratories. In this capacity, he organizes and chairs annual subcommittee meetings and is actively involved in efforts to improve the diagnostic and research capacities of the regional (SADC) veterinary national laboratories, putting in place internationally recognized Laboratory Quality Management Systems based on ISO/IEC 17025 international standard, Laboratory Information Management System (LabLIMS) and in participating in the development and documentation of Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans for selected national and regional zoonotic and trans-boundary animal diseases.

He holds an MSc in Veterinary Medicine degree, an MSc in Veterinary Bacteriology degree and a doctorate (D. Phil) on S. enteritidis molecular epidemiology.

Balasubramanian Ganesanis Principal Scientist at the Mars Global Food Safety Center conducting research in metagenomics of foods, and has been working with Mars, Incorporated for the last 6 years. DrGanesan has extensive experience on applications of metagenomics in food safety and metagenomics and metatranscriptomics broadly in foods and extreme environments from his tenure previously at Utah State University, where DrGanesan was a research investigator for 8 years, after obtaining his Ph.D. there in 2005. Dr. Ganesan is performing work on AMRs on bacteria on a global scale at Mars Incorporated. Dr. Ganesan has published over 30 manuscripts on bacterial physiology and metabolism, food quality and safety, and microbial metagenomics and metabolomics, and has presented his research in major international conferences such as ASM, ADSA-ASAS, and IAFP.

Since 2001, Steve Roach has led the Safe and Healthy Food Program at Food Animal Concerns Trust. FACT works to create a world where all food-producing animals will be raised in a humane and healthy manner, and everyone will have access to safe and humanely-produced food. Steve is also a Senior Analyst for Keep Antibiotics Working, a coalition of health, consumer, and environmental advocacy organizations that have joined forces to combat the inappropriate use of antibiotics in food animals. He represents Consumers International at the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food and at the Codex Ad hoc Task force on Antimicrobial Resistance. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the World Health Organization Advisory Group on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance. He has an undergraduate degree in physics and philosophy, and a MA in anthropology

Amit Khurana is director of the food safety and toxins programme at the Centre for Science and Environment, India. Along with his team, Amit works to push for necessary change in policy and practice on issues related to junk foods and non-communicable diseases; pesticide use and organic and natural farming; and antibiotic use in food production and waste management from farms and factories and their linkages with the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance. He works for the required change at the national level, and in countries of the global south as well as global policy relevant to such countries.

Rajeshwari Sinha is a Programme Manager in the food safety and toxins programme at the Centre for Science and Environment. At CSE, she leads the global and national portfolio of the antimicrobial resistance programme, focusing on the animal and environmental aspects. Her work entails policy advocacy and research on issues around AMR, food systems and sustainable food, and supporting the implementation of National AMR Action Plans at national and pan-Africa-Asia level. She holds a doctoral degree in microbial biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology of Delhi, following which she transitioned into working at the science-policy interface in the public health space. She is also an alumna of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.