Staff

Eric Ottesen is the Director of the LF Support Center and a Research Professor in the Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.  He received his A.B. from Princeton University in 1965; his M.D. from Harvard University in 1970 and is board certified in pediatrics.  Formerly head of the Clinical Parasitology Section of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIH (1975-1994), he was the Project Leader in establishing the Filariasis Elimination Programme at the World Health Organization (1995-2001).   

 

 

Dr. Ottesen’s research interests have focused principally on host responsiveness to parasitic helminth infections (primarily filariasis, onchocerciasis and schistosomiasis) and on the relationship between allergic and parasitic diseases.  Professional activities now target the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis worldwide (especially program monitoring and evaluation), integrated control of tropical diseases, and the clinical and immunological aspects of filarial disease.

Dr. Dominique Kyelem is Project Manager at the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center. He serves as a key liaison of the LF Support Center to various partner organizations such as the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF), WHO, the World Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, and other organizations involved with LF elimination. Dr. Kyelem is responsible for developing and implementing various program objectives of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), as well as for the day-to-day management of project related activities.

Prior to joining the LFSC, Dr. Kyelem was in charge of the unit of communicable diseases including lymphatic filariasis in the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso; he worked at various levels and sectors of the health system of his country for more than 14 years. He was the pioneer of national NIDs for polio eradication district- wise implementation in Burkina Faso. Dr Kyelem has been a consultant for WHO since 2001 supporting African countries in lymphatic filariasis elimination activities and is a member of several advisory committees.

Dr. Kyelem holds a medical degree from the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and a PhD degree from the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom).

Professor Steven Williams is spending his sabbatical year as a Contract Project Coordinator with the LF Support Center, assisting with the Gates grant objective focused on establishing the effectiveness of new tools for LF diagnosis. Steve is a Gates Professor of Biological Sciences at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts since 1997.  He also serves as Director of the New England Biolabs Molecular Biology Summer Workshops (1986 – present) and as Professor on the Graduate School Faculty for the Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (1983 – present). 

 

Steve’s other professional activities include his current Directorship of the NIH/NIAID Filarial Research Reagent Resource Center at Smith college since 2005, and past Directorships of the River Blindness Genome Project (2000 – 2005) and the World Health Organization’s Filarial Genome Project (1994 – 2005).  He has authored or co-authored 67 articles and 2 books.

 

Steve received a Ph.D. in Genetics in 1982 and an M.S. in Genetics in 1978 from the University of California, Davis.

Ms. PJ Hooper is a Program Associate for the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center. Her responsibilities include working with the World Bank on the development of innovative financing strategies for countries to use in building financially sustainable LF elimination programs, and carrying out costing and cost-effectiveness analyses of vector control activities as complementary strategies for LF elimination. She also is responsible for the LF Support Center’s communications, including website renovations and newsletter updates to partners.

PJ holds a Master’s degree in Political Science specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Science degree in International Affairs and French from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  She is now pursuing a graduate Certificate in Core Public Health Concepts from the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill.

Waithera Kagira-Watson serves as the Financial Analyst for the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center (LFSC) at the Task Force for Child Survival and Development.  Prior to joining the LFSC, Waithera worked as a Financial Associate at Harvard University for more than seven years. She has also worked with various companies in Kenya and in the Finance Department of the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel.

 

 

Waithera holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, and also a graduate Certificate in Special Studies in Administration and Management from the Harvard University Extension School (concentration in International Management). Her recent studies have focused on the management of nonprofit organizations.

DiAnn Watson is the Administrative Assistant for the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center.  She works closely with Dr. Eric A. Ottesen, Director of Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center.  Prior to joining this department at Emory University, she was an Administrative Assistant of Pastoral Services at Emory Hospital, as well as an Administrative Assistant in the Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center.  Before relocating to the Atlanta area, DiAnn worked for 26 years at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.  

 

DiAnn is a graduate of Washington Irving High School in New York City. She has earned certificates in Advanced Secretarial Science, and managerial courses at Lehman University.  She also has taken the Negotiation and Mediation Course with the Harvard Management Group, “Getting to Yes,” gaining skillful negotiating techniques.