Ajoy Chakrabarti | Portfolio And Platform Lead
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Ajoy Chakrabarti has PhD (Biochemistry; University of British Columbia) and MBA (Cornell) degrees. He has over 30 years of diverse product development experience in both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He joined the Gates Foundation (GF) in 2016, working across multiple polio vaccine programs to provide strategic guidance and product development expertise as part of the effort to eradicate polio. He manages a portfolio of Polio vaccine investments worth >$120M across grantees in Asia & Europe. Several recent investments involve the use of AI to improve vaccine development. His experience at Emergent BioSolutions, Vaccine Research Center (NIH) and Bristol-Myers Squibb included leading product development teams, marketing, portfolio management, decision analysis and forecasting.

Appearances:

Day 2 (21st October) @ 10:45

Panel: Emerging Outbreaks at the Front Line: From Early Signals to Real-World Response

How do we spot outbreaks earlier in practice, not just in theory? What role do surveillance, genomics, community reporting, and data sharing really play on the ground? the critical role of medical interventions, particularly vaccines, in managing and containing emerging and infectious disease outbreaks.
What role do medical countermeasures, particularly vaccines, play in recent outbreak responses (e.g. hantavirus, Bundibugyo virus, avian influenza), and how are these experiences shaping preparedness around speed, coordination, and decision-making under uncertainty?
Where are the biggest gaps right now, funding, manufacturing readiness, regulatory pathways, or last-mile delivery, and who needs to act first?

Moderator: Bassam Hallis, Head of Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre, UK Health Security agency