Singapore Democratic Party chairman Paul Tambyah is set to commence his term as President of the International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID) in 2022.
SDP in a Facebook post on Monday (15 June) congratulated Dr Tambyah for his election as the Boston-based Society’s current President-Elect.
The role of the President-Elect entails supporting the president and assuming the role of the president when required. Being on track for the role of the President, Dr Tambyah will be learning the means of operations for the society, and may also chair some committees at the discretion of the president, according to ISID.
Currently, Imperial College London infectious disease professor Alison Holmes serves as president of ISID.
Dr Holmes is also a Fellow of the United Kingdom’s Academy of Medical Sciences and a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator.
Marc Mendelson, the immediate past president of ISID, said that Dr Tambyah is “is well-known to all in the field of infectious diseases, and brings a wealth of experience from his time with multiple international societies and august bodies, as well as formidable experience across the spectrum of infection, including outbreaks, tropical medicine, and clinical applied research”.
“He is a go-to speaker on so many topics and currently serves as Chair of the ISID Publications Committee, playing a vital role in the success of our journal IJID [International Journal of Infectious Diseases],” added Dr Mendelson, who is a professor of Infectious Diseases and spearheads the Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Dr Tambyah also currently serves as a professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and Senior Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician at the National University Hospital.
He is also the immediate past president of the Singapore Society of Infectious Diseases and Secretary-General of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
Among ISID’s notable feats include launching the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (PROMED) in 1994.
PROMED is an online service designed to identify unusual health events related to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and toxins affecting humans, animals and plants, according to ISID.
The service is used daily by international public health leaders, government officials at all levels, physicians, veterinarians and other healthcare workers, researchers, private companies, journalists and the general public.
