Speaker Biographies​

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Dr. Michael Wilson, MD, MAS is a neurologist who specializes in infectious and autoimmune syndromes of the central nervous system. His research involves using genomic technologies to enhance understanding of the development of multiple sclerosis, and to identify novel causes of autoimmune and infectious meningoencephalitis. Dr. Wilson obtained his medical degree from UCSF. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and a neurology residency at MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He then pursued a clinical and research fellowship in neuro-infectious diseases at MGH and Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in metagenomics in the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He also earned a master's degree in clinical research methods at UCSF. Dr. Wilson is a fellow of the American Neurological Association and American Academy of Neurology. He directs the UCSF Center for Encephalitis and Meningitis and is the Debbie and Andy Rachleff Distinguished Professor of Neurology.

Dr. David Meya, MBChB, MMed, PhD is an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University and holds an appointment as adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He has been involved in clinical research of central nervous system infections and complications, with a focus on HIV Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), an often deadly complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with AIDS with opportunistic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis. Dr. Meya has led epidemiological and translational research studies as well as randomized clinical trials in Uganda in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Minnesota, Cape town, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and other Institutions.

He also has a specific interest in public health interventions to prevent meningitis at population level. He has advocated for cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) screening as a strategy to reduce deaths and hospitalizations from cryptococcal meningitis.  Dr. Meya continues to lead efforts to implement the national CrAg screening program in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Central public health laboratories and U.S. CDC.