Meetings & Events

Search

International Advisory Panel Meetings 2025

IAP members and ACHS faculty at Day 2 of the meeting held in Singapore from the 26–28 February 2025.

From left to right: Dr Osman Dar, Prof Dale Fisher, Dr Ryan Clarke, A/Prof Marc Ho, A/Prof Michael Friedman, Dr Tomoya Saito, Prof Hsu Li Yang, A/Prof Poh Lian Lim, Prof Helena Legido-Quigley, Prof Mely Caballero-Anthony, A/Prof Ayelet Berman, Ms Anita Cicero, Dr Chong Chee Keong, Ms He Shiying, Dr Jose Ma. Luis Montescalaros, Ms Astrid Khoo, Dr Alvin Chua, Ms Indira Kantiana, Dr Julius Cesar Imperial Trajano, and Ms Jeselyn

 

From the 26 to 28 February 2025, the Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS) convened meetings with its International Advisory Panel (IAP) to review the centre’s progress in the first year and to seek guidance on its strategic direction. ACHS was established with the aim of advancing policy research, strengthening implementation strategies, and enhancing regional resilience, while promoting collaboration between academic institutions and governments.

The meetings began with a welcome dinner attended by ACHS faculty, staff, and IAP members on the 26 February. This was followed by a full day of presentations and discussions, that was held at Citadines Science Park, Singapore. Key research areas presented included are:

  1. Emerging Biosecurity Landscape in Southeast Asia (Prof Caballero-Anthony)
  2. The NUS-Lancet PRIME Commission (Prof Legido-Quigley)
  3. Global and Regional Regulations of DNA Synthesis Screening (A/Prof Berman)

 

ACHS also provided updates on its educational initiatives, including the launch of the ACHS Fellowship 2025, quarterly ACHS webinar series and the Laboratory Biosafety & Biosecurity workshop.

Key roundtables and expert panel discussions, including the Southeast Asia Health Security Roundtables, roundtables organised by RSIS on the emerging biosecurity landscape in Southeast Asia and the expert panel discussions in India. The key milestones achieved by ACHS since its inception were also featured. The IAP members participated in insightful discussions, offering valuable recommendations and insights on the Centre’s programmes, research initiatives, and fostering partnership and collaboration.

On the 28th February, the IAP members visited key partners of ACHS, including the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), National University of Singapore (NUS); the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU); and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA). These visits provided the IAP members with a deeper understanding of ACHS’ collaborative relationships with the governmental agencies and academic institutions.

The three-days of meeting was highly productive, fostering meaningful dialogue and generating key recommendations, including (1) expanding ACHS’s role in regional health security, (2) enhancing ACHS’s visibility across the region, (3) exploring additional funding opportunities, and (4) strengthening the Centre’s activities and networks throughout Asia

These recommendations will be pivotal in guiding ACHS as it continues to work towards its mission of advancing health security in Asia.