Professor David Heymann

Academic Professor, Dr David Heymann is an award-winning epidemiologist who has worked extensively with the World Health Organisation to combat infectious disease. From Ebola to Covid-19, David has been at the forefront of research and response on a global scale and uses his experiences to advise individuals and corporate clients on strategies for business survival during such international events. As a public health expert, David is equipped with the knowledge required to educate audiences as a speaker and transform complex scientific findings into digestible Layman’s terms.

An integral member of the WHO, David held a variety of roles over the course of 22 years starting out as the Chief of Research for the organisation’s AIDS program. Committed to overcoming health challenges on an international level saw David develop strategies and research as part of the Emerging and Communicable Diseases and act as the Executive Director of WHO Communicable Diseases Cluster. At the pinnacle of his career with the WHO, David was backed by over two decades of expertise in global infections, as he took on the role of the Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, a position he proved highly influential in.

Having achieved a degree and master’s qualification, as a young scientist David opted to pursue his education in tropical diseases and later completed his epidemiology training in a practical setting with the Epidemic Intelligence Service. Throughout his professional experience, David has travelled to countries around the world tackling infectious disease at a local level. At the start of his career, David responded to the first outbreak of Ebola in the Congo and completed several assignments in sub-Saharan Africa.

For the impact his work has had globally, David was honoured with a CBE in 2009, followed by being accepted to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences a year later. Having left his position as the Chairman of Public Health England in 2017, David has since been involved in the WHO’s response in South Africa to the Covid-19 Pandemic, supporting the country’s effort to stabilise the spread of the infection.