Dr. Parekh obtained his B.S. and M.S. from University of Bombay, India before moving to the United States where he earned his doctorate in Biochemistry/Virology from Louisiana State University working on lentiviruses. He did his post-doctoral research at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California working on hemorrhagic fever viruses. He worked as a Senior Scientist/Project Leader at Bio-Rad Laboratories in California where he was engaged in research and development of HIV and HTLV diagnostic assays, including Western blot assays.

Since 1990, his work focused on improving accuracy of HIV diagnosis, understanding HIV-1 and HIV-2 cross-reactivity and type-specific diagnosis, SIV surveillance in humans, early infant diagnosis, factors affecting perinatal transmission, evaluation/improvement of viral load assays, and development of HIV-1 incidence assays. As a Section Chief of HIV Serology, he ran HIV reference laboratory for several years helping to resolve difficult diagnosis. As a Team Lead of HIV Serology/Incidence Team in ILB and now as Associate Chief for Research and Innovation, Dr. Parekh provides critical laboratory support to global HIV work for PEPFAR in more than 40+ countries, assuring high quality of HIV testing in our programs and in surveys, including in PHIA surveys. Innovative quality assurance tools and HIV-1 incidence assays he developed in his laboratory have become the standards in many countries to ensure accuracy of HIV testing, estimate HIV-1 incidence, measure the impact of HIV programs, and identify hot-spots of new infections in near real-time. He has earned several awards including DHHS Secretary’s Award (twice), several nominations for Shepard Award for best publications (winning it twice) and Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, among others. He has authored/co-authored more than 160 papers, review articles, or book chapters.

Kemba is a Public Health Scientist with background in pharmacology and molecular genetics, more than 20 years of research experience and several years (since 2016) experience in Laboratory Quality Management Systems (QMS). She is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for HIV Recency and HIV Rapid Test Continuous Quality Improvement (RTCQI) program development and implementation. Her service as an RTCQI SME has assisted several countries build laboratory capacity and strengthen programs, particularly Proficiency testing and National (Site and Tester) Certification programs. She has helped to establish RTCQI programs in Malawi, Botswana, and South Africa, develop the RTCQI website, e-Tools, other program tools and training materials during the early days of RTCQI and continues to provide consultation and technical assistance to maintain and promote sustainability of quality programs in multiple countries.

She possesses extensive experience in laboratory quality assurance and improvement in context of public health, through her over 15-year service in CAP, ISO accredited HIV serology laboratory for applied research as well as WHO-accredited regional reference laboratory of the WHO’s Western Pacific Region for polio virologic surveillance. She provided technical supports under PEPFAR program to ensure the testing quality of HIV rapid diagnostic assay and HIV recent infection surveillance using a rapid test e.g., in Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, DRC, Caribbean region, and Ghana. She also supported the continuous quality improvement of laboratory network for virologic surveillance in China, as part of WHO’s global laboratory network for polio eradication.

Floris is a laboratory quality management expert and certified assessor for ISO 15189, and ISO/IEC 17025 standards; Certified Strengthening of Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation (SLMTA) trainer; and Quality Management System (QMS) trainer for (ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 15189, ISO 15190 and CAP) laboratory standards. She is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) Surveys, HIV Recency, and HIV Rapid Test Continuous Quality Improvement (RTCQI) program development and implementation.

Among her accomplishments are a successful track record of assisting laboratories in multiple countries acquire international accreditation; Proficiency testing program development and implementation in compliance with ISO/IEC 17043 standard; Design, development and validation of laboratory testing algorithms (HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis, COVID-19); and Program management.

Keisha received a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Her early career as a microbiologist involved collaborating with Saint Louis University on studies involving the cellular and humoral immune responses of HIV infected patients in HIV-1 vaccine and treatment clinical trials. Keisha continued her work in HIV in 2009 where she managed a global portfolio of capacity building efforts in PEPFAR-supported countries to strengthen quality assurance measures for HIV diagnostics and surveillance programs at national and sub-national levels. She has fostered collaborations with different organizations and partners including, the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Institut de Recherche en Santé de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation (IRESSEF), the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FNID) in order to implement robust quality management systems in PEPFAR-support countries.

From 2018 to 2022, Keisha served as the program coordinator for the HIV Rapid Test Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative (RTCQI) where she provided technical assistance and training to laboratorians and Ministries of Health, in PEPFAR-supported countries to help implement innovative and comprehensive approaches to ensure the accuracy and reliability of HIV diagnostic testing. She has provided technical assistance with protocol development, laboratory and field training and survey implementation for the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) and HIV-1 Recent Infection Surveillance in PEPFAR countries.

Keisha has over 20 years’ experience working in College of American Pathology (CAP), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) certified laboratories for public health and clinical research. As she forges ahead in a new career path, Keisha continues to support quality management systems and innovative strategies for diagnostics and surveillance both domestically and internationally.