ASLM is proud to announce the expansion of our ASLM Ambassadors Program. The role of an ASLM Ambassador is to disseminate the Society's name and objectives, as well as facilitate the establishment and implementation of ASLM programmes. Ambassadors advocate for ASLM among health authorities and professional organizations, and help to identify regional training needs.

 

Three new Ambassadors join Professor El-Hadj Belabbes, the first ASLM Ambassador. Professor Belabbes resides in Algeria and he has represented ASLM across North and West Africa since March 2012. Belabbes is a medical doctor, professor of medical microbiology, and a long-time advocate for laboratory medicine in Africa.

 

Professor Daniel Sess joins ASLM as the Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Sess has served West Africa's laboratory community through many prominent leadership positions and he has authored more than 60 publications on biochemistry, bioclinical, quality control, and evaluation subjects since 1987. Sess has secured several education degrees, including a Doctorate of Medicine in Lille, France.

 

Dr. William Ampofo joins ASLM as the Ambassador to Ghana. Ampofo currently serves a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Virology Department at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, Ghana. Ampofo's career milestones include working on the laboratory discovery of the first Ghanaian case of HIV in 1986, being involved in the first isolation of wild type poliovirus, confirmation of the first cases in 2007 of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in Ghanaian poultry and establishment of the National Influenza Centre in Ghana 2007.

 

Dr. Adil Ismail joins ASLM as the Ambassador to Sudan. Ismail has served the Sudan Ministry of Health for more than 18 years; he currently serves as an Assistant Research Professor in the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Khartoum and as the Acting Director of NPHL since early 2012. Ismail was awarded his PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum. He participates in teaching programs at the University of Khartoum and the Institute of Tropical Medicine Research at Sudan Academy of Science.

 

In the coming weeks, ASLM staff will continue the roll-out of the ASLM Ambassadors Program. Additional information, such as qualifying criteria, nominations, and applications, will be forthcoming via ASLM e-News messages and our web portal, www.ASLM.org.

On 31 August, the ASLM Secretariat met with a delegation from BD Biosciences to discuss current and future collaborations. BD has supported ASLM since its launch in 2011, and continues to provide key support - namely, ASLM's recent Point-of-Care (POC) discussions and ASLM2012, ASLM's upcoming first international conference.

Tsehaynesh Messele, ASLM Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Alberto Mas, BD Biosciences Worldwide (WW) President, gave overviews of current activities from each respective organization and shared ideas about possible areas for future collaborations. Participants discussed current POC technologies and the role of ASLM in supporting and guiding countries in POC implementation, as well as the functions of ASLM Collaborating Centers and the role of ASLM and partners in strengthening their capacity. 

Picture above, L to R:

BD Biosciences: Alberto Mas, WW President; Henok Tilahun, WW Senior Product Manager HIV/AIDS; Emiel Jans, Business Director EMA; Jean-Francois Mathieu, Senior Director, Global HIV/AIDS Initiative; Maria Nyamai, Business Manager East Africa;
ASLM: Corey White, Acting Communications Officer; Etalem Engeda, Administration Officer; Tsehaynesh Messele, Chief Executive Officer; Celestin Hakiruwizera, Acting Director of Programs; and Teferi Mekonen,  Accreditation Officer.