Our team

As Executive Director, Dr. Sujith J Chandy leads ICARS’ science- and operations teams and works closely with the Board of Directors. Prior to joining ICARS, Sujith was a Professor in Clinical Pharmacology at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, and Director of ReAct Asia Pacific. Following his MBBS and MD (Pharmacology), he attained a PhD focusing on antibiotic use, from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Sujith has been on various national expert committees related to medicine use, ethics, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoepidemiology and medical education, and has made key publications on antibiotic use. Sujith has played a significant role as resource person in antibiotic use and stewardship at national and international workshops and meetings and is a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on AMR. Working at ICARS Sujith retains his passion for researching and advocating responsible antibiotic use and stewardship.

Helle Krarup holds a background in political science with a focus on international relations. As Director of Operations, Helle is part of ICARS Executive Management and heads the Department of Operations, Partnerships and Communications. Together with the Scientific Director, she leads the work on ICARS strategic and organizational development. Helle holds a Master of Political Science from Aarhus University (DK). She has previously worked with international relations and international cooperation on health in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Danish Ministry of Health and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Dr. Kristina Osbjer is a veterinary epidemiologist with over 15-years of working in research, capacity development and management of emerging health threats, including antimicrobial resistance, in low and middle-income countries. As Director of Science, she leads the growing Science Team, oversees the ICARS-supported project portfolio of more than 40 projects aiming to mitigate Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) across the One Health Spectrum and advocates for ICARS’ vision and mission on the global stage.

Kristina holds a degree in veterinary medicine (DVM) and a PhD in One Health and zoonotic diseases from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. In the past, she has served as Team Lead on AMR and animal health for FAO and has worked closely with governments and the Quadripartite on governance and control of AMR and infectious diseases.

Dr. Sunday Ochai is a veterinarian with experience in the veterinary health sector, One Health domain, and humanitarian efforts sphere on building livelihoods and resilience in crisis regions in Africa. As a Science Advisor, he supports the development and implementation of ICARS projects in LMICs. Sunday holds Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Veterinary Tropical Diseases, specializing in the roles of hosts and the environment in the transmission of persistent pathogens. He is also a Mandela Rhodes scholar. Previously, Dr. Ochai was an academic at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases. He served as a Livestock Officer for Christian Aid UK in Nigeria, where he implemented the World Food Programme (WFP)/FADAMA 3 program and worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Additionally, he has completed basic, advanced, and applied epidemiology programs at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Erica Westwood is a global health researcher and programme manager, with diverse experiences working in infectious disease programmes for low- and middle-income country settings. As an Implementation Research Advisor at ICARS, she brings a critical lens to ensure that programmes are contextually-specific and sustainable with innovative research approaches that can help advance public health preparedness and global knowledge to prevent AMR. Erica holds a Bachelor’s of Health Sciences from the University of Calgary and a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University in Canada. Previously, Erica has worked in AMR research and development fund management and public health consulting for governments, industry and multilateral organisations.

Dr. Gloria Córdoba is a trained medical doctor with a master’s and PhD degree in Public Health and epidemiology. As Senior Scientific Advisor for ICARS, she coordinates the co-development and implementation of ICARS’ research projects. Gloria has 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating context-specific solutions within One Health, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial stewardship in Europe and Latin America. She is passionate about strengthening research capacity building in LMICs.

Dr. Nandini Sreenivasan is a medical doctor and an epidemiologist with over 10 years of experience working on infectious diseases in global health settings. She has extensive field experience and has previously worked on strengthening surveillance systems, emergency preparedness and response, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public health interventions. As an Implementation Research Advisor, she uses her experience from LMICs to ensure that projects are technically sound and operationally feasible. She holds a medical degree from the University of Copenhagen and completed the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) fellowship at the US CDC.

Prof. Anders Dalsgaard is a veterinarian and microbiologist who has worked for more than 25-years with research and research capacity building in low- and middle income countries, including on antimicrobial use and resistance. As an independent consultant for ICARS, he provides input to the development, implementation and management of demonstration projects. Anders works closely with the ICARS Science team and local governments. Anders holds a degree in veterinary medicine (DVM) and has a Ph.D. in microbiology and epidemiology from the University of Copenhagen where he also works as a Professor in Veterinary Public Health.

Prof. Sabiha Essack is the South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. She is an independent consultant to ICARS. Using her vast experience in the field of IR, Sabiha offers valuable guidance to ICARS’ country partners throughout the process of conceptualizing and implementing IR projects to mitigate AMR, while providing input to the ICARS strategy as part of the Science team. Sabiha serves as expert consultant on AMR and antimicrobial stewardship to the World Health Organization and its regional offices, as well as on several other advisory boards/groups of national and international organizations.

Fabian Maza is a trained medical doctor with work experience in primary care and clinical research. He holds a Master of Medical Science in Global Health and was a Swedish Institute scholar between 2020-2022. As a Science Officer at ICARS, he provides support to Science Team with the development and implementation of ICARS’ portfolio of projects in LMICs on AMR mitigation. In the past, he had the opportunity to work as a Young Researcher at the Ministry of Science in Colombia and collaborate with the Pan American Health Organization in different research studies conducted in Latin America. Before joining ICARS, Fabian worked as a project assistant at ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance, where he supported the advocacy and development efforts of projects such as the ReAct Toolbox.

Dr. Wesal Zaman is a Social and Behavioural Science Advisor at ICARS, where he draws on his academic background and field experience to support projects aimed at addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). He holds a PhD from Roskilde University, where his research focused on the global political dynamics of AMR, particularly the behaviours of political, public, and expert domains. Wesal has significant experience in community engagement, having co-led the development of the Responsive Dialogues toolkit for ICARS, which promotes effective stakeholder collaboration. His expertise includes developing interventions that prioritize sustainable behaviour change and community-focused solutions. Before joining ICARS, Wesal worked as a consultant for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development and Post-doctoral researcher at Roskilde University. He also has a background in journalism, having served as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, and worked with the Danish Refugee Council on international development projects in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and conflict zones.

Sarah is a public health professional with extensive experience with the One Health approach. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and a PhD in One Health, which analysed policy processes for the institutionalisation of the One Health approach within and across research institutions. In the past, she had the opportunity to work as a public health consultant in the area of Health and Environmental Impact Assessments to strengthen the considerations of health aspects within mandatory environmental assessments. Before joining ICARS, Sarah worked as a project manager at the World Organisation for Animal Health, where she supported the implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action and collaborated with the Quadripartite secretariat, regional colleagues and stakeholders on One Health-related issues, such as antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases.

Vanessa is an Administrative Assistant at ICARS. She supports the Science team, including the Acting Director of Science and the Science team staff member. She assists the team on project-related administration and meeting support including liaising with the ICARS Technical Advisory Forum Members, facilitating communication between the Science and Operations departments, and organizing external meetings, workshops, and events. Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Federal University of Parana, Brazil, and a Master’s degree in Cognition and Communication from the University of Copenhagen.

Xafsa Ali is ICARS’ Student Assistant, and a Masters student of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen. She works mostly with the Copenhagen team, assisting whoever needs a hand in the office with organising meetings and solving practical and theoretical tasks. Xafsa also works on outbreak detection in the department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, at Statens Serum Institut. Her interests include improving health at the national and international level.

Robert Skov is a medical doctor from the University of Copenhagen and a specialist in clinical microbiology. He has worked on antimicrobial resistance throughout his career with more than 25 years of experience as a Public Health microbiologist. Robert 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. Since 2020, Dr. Skov is board member of the European Society forClinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). His research has mainly focused on S. aureus inclusive MRSA epidemiology and AMR, especially phenotypic susceptibility testing. He has been working at ICARS since its inception in 2019.

Cèlia Ventura i Gabarró is a global health practitioner with a background in biomedicine and experience in AMR surveillance, gendered health, and non-communicable diseases. As a Science Officer at ICARS, she focuses on integrating gender and equity perspectives into AMR research. Before joining ICARS, Cèlia worked at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in the Antimicrobial Resistance and Consumption Unit. She has also served as a research assistant at the University of Gothenburg, collaborating closely with the World Health Organization and working on unmet healthcare needs, elder abuse, and aging populations. Cèlia is passionate about the role of effective science communication in public health and actively engages in science dissemination projects in her free time.

Dr. Claudia Cobo Angel is a Colombian veterinarian and epidemiologist. Her research interests and experience are related to the intricate connections between animal health, environmental sustainability, and animal well-being, as well as the urgent need for antimicrobial resistance mitigation. Before joining ICARS, she worked at the Universidad de Caldas (Colombia), the University of Guelph (Canada), and Cornell University (United States) on various projects related to antimicrobial resistance and One Health. In recent years, she has focused on analysing the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance over time and understanding the consequences of shifts in antimicrobial use on bacterial tolerance to antimicrobials, as well as antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary medicine. As a Science Advisor at ICARS, she aims to contribute to global efforts in addressing antimicrobial resistance through sustainable solutions in LMICs.

Dr Jonathan Mayito is an internal medicine physician with a PhD in medical immunology. As a Science Advisor at ICARS, Jonathan works to support the development and implementation of ICARS projects in LMICs. Jonathan previously led the Uganda Fleming Fund country grant, which supports national efforts to set up antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use and consumption (AMUC) surveillance in human, animal, and environment sectors. Jonathan has over the last 15 years gained expertise in clinical care, clinical research, and building health systems. His areas of interest include AMR, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, and his research niche is identifying biomarkers for latent tuberculosis and delineating mechanisms of reactivation and relapse, with a focus on hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells.

Dr Brecht Ingelbeen is a pharmacist and infectious disease epidemiologist with experience in various contexts in prevention and control interventions. He completed a master’s in public health at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, a European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET) Fellowship at Santé Publique France, and a PhD in epidemiology from Utrecht University. Brecht led research investigating drivers of community-acquired bacterial AMR infections, and interventions to address those, and investigated several infectious disease outbreaks (cholera, yellow fever, ebola, hepatitis A, Salmonella). Before joining ICARS, Brecht worked at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Belgium), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Epicentre (France, DR Congo), and Médecins sans Frontières (DR Congo, Guinée, Pakistan, Syria, Central African Republic).

Rodolphe Mader is a French veterinarian with a Master of public health. As a Science Advisor for ICARS, he provides technical support to project co-development and implementation. Rodolphe started his career as a large animal practitioner in France. He then joined ANSES (the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) to coordinate the development of the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance network in Veterinary medicine (EARS-Vet). Rodolphe also worked for the FAO Regional office for Asia and the Pacific, where he led activities on the monitoring of antimicrobial use and the promotion of prudent antimicrobial use in farms.

Dr. Mabel J. Ortiz De Leo is a medical doctor with previous experience in clinical medicine, infectious diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, and the One Health approach.  She has previously worked in researching and implementing public health campaigns in Sexual and Reproductive Health, focusing on HIV testing and monitoring. She holds a master’s degree as a Chevening Scholar in Antimicrobial Resistance from the University of Sheffield, in which she focused her research on antimicrobial stewardship and heteroresistance patterns of fungi in immunocompromised patients. Mabel has been trained in science communication and knowledge mobilization, which have led her to work as a consultant on this topic internationally. She is a strong advocate for the One Health approach which led her to develop a project to teach and engage young audiences in the One Health spectrum called One Health Action! 

As an Independent Chief Scientific Consultant at ICARS, Professor Timothy Walsh engages with the Science Team to ensure ICARS-supported projects continue to deliver evidence-based, contextually appropriate solutions. Before joining ICARS, Tim led numerous international research collaborations across South Asia, SE Asia, China, and Africa. Among his many projects, he currently leads on large international studies examining the clinical and economic burden of AMR in low-middle income countries.  His work is mainly focused on understanding AMR transmission patterns between humans, animals, and the environment – a One Health approach that mirrors ICARS’ holistic vision for addressing AMR.

Dr. Jyoti Joshi has over twenty years’ experience working on maternal and child health, public health policy and immunisation and vaccine safety in Asia. Through her career, she has stressed the need for mainstreaming activities aimed to address AMR, has forged research collaborations between the public and private sector and strengthened immunization, disease surveillance and outbreak response programs in India and the Gulf region. At ICARS, Jyoti works with partner ministries to ensure that actions to tackle AMR are tailored to local contexts and effectively implemented. Prior to ICARS, she was Head-South Asia for the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP). Jyoti got her Doctor of Medicine degree in Community Medicine from Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, India and her Masters of Sciences degree in Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.

As Head of Resources and Compliance, Morten Brandt-Pedersen leads ICARS’ functions in administration and IT, legal affairs and human resources. Morten holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School. He has managed and developed several functions and personnel units in organisations in Denmark and abroad. He has experience in the Danish healthcare sector and has headed Northern Denmark’s European office in Brussels, specialising in EU health policy, networks and stakeholders. Morten formerly worked for the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, where he implemented grant programmes for the development of projects under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy. He also has experience in working with NGOs on programmes in Africa and Asia, implementing humanitarian demining projects in collaboration with local operators and international organisations.

Ringaile is the Office Administrator at ICARS. She holds a BA in Communication and Cultural Encounters and brings strong communication and organizational skills to her role. She enjoys working in international environments, where she can learn from others, gain new insights, and broaden her perspectives. At ICARS, Ringaile oversees various aspects that support the organization, including IT, travel, facilities, office supplies, and the overall work environment, ensuring ICARS remains a pleasant and efficient workplace.

Anni Vejstrup is a Senior Programme Manager for Human Resources, collaborating with the Resources and Compliance Team to ensure the organization benefits from efficient processes, well-structured policies, and expert support. With extensive HR experience in both the private and public sectors, including the Danish Medicines Agency, Anni brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. She holds a Master’s degree in Occupational Psychology from the University of Copenhagen.

Karolina is an Australian Legal Practitioner, who holds a law degree from Charles Darwin University, and a GDLP from the College of Law, Melbourne.

She commenced her legal career working at law firms but has since moved into inhouse roles, working for Too Good to Go, prior to joining the team at ICARS.

Throughout her career, she has taken a keen interest in human rights; working in migration, administrative, commercial, transnational, and corporate law. She is particularly drawn to mission led projects.

At ICARS, she is part of the legal team, responsible for advising the organisation on contractual matters, compliance, and providing legal guidance for ICARS projects.

Jens Højer Larsen is a Danish lawyer with experience advising on corporate commercial law and regulation, often in an international context.

Jens has worked in Danish and international law firms and corporates, such as Bech-Bruun and Nestlé. He has also worked in public positions, including at the Danish Business Authority.

At ICARS, he is part of the legal team responsible for advising the organisation on among others corporate compliance, policies and communication as well as international commercial contracts, partnerships and projects.

He holds a law degree from the University of Copenhagen and a master of laws degree from Georgetown University.