London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

We are delighted to announce that Daniel Bausch, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and director of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST), has been voted President-Elect of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH).

Prof Bausch has served on ASTMH’s executive committee as scientific program chair for the last six years, and was recently voted President-elect by the society’s members. ASTMH is the largest international scientific organisation of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. Prof Bausch will serve a three-year term comprised of one year each as President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past-President.

As president, he will be responsible for steering the important work of ASTMH, which includes generating and sharing scientific evidence, informing health policies and practices around the world and advocating for investment in tropical medicine and global health research.

Prof Bausch is a clinician-scientist, trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases, tropical medicine and public health. He specialises in the research and control of emerging tropical viruses and has over 25 years’ experience in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia combating viruses such as Ebola, Lassa, hantavirus, SARS coronaviruses and, most recently, COVID-19. 

Prof Bausch currently directs the UK-PHRST, a partnership between LSHTM and Public Health England (PHE), funded by UK aid from the Department of Health and Social Care. The UK-PHRST is a multidisciplinary team of public health professionals and researchers with a novel integrated triple-remit of outbreak response, research and capacity development to prevent and control epidemics of infectious diseases in LMICs, playing a vital role in global health security.

Prior to this, Prof Bausch worked as the Technical Lead for the Epidemic Clinical Management Unit in the World Health Organization's Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department, as well as previous positions at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 in Lima, Peru; Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, USA; and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, USA. He is a regular consultant for numerous international organisations, including the WHO, the United Nations and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He also serves as a Scientific Advisor and Policy Advisor on Outbreaks for the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH).

Prof Bausch is a strong advocate for health and human rights, working to ensure that scientific innovations translate to better health for those most in need, especially in LMICs.

Prof Bausch said “I feel so fortunate to be elected to lead such a great and talented group of people at ASTMH who are so dedicated to making the world a better place. Furthermore, being based in London and engaging with the Royal Society over the past few years, I’m excited about the potential for ASTMH-RSTMH collaborations.”