Melinda Suchard

Dr Suchard obtained her medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2000, followed by a specialist qualification in clinical pathology from the College of Medicine of South Africa in 2006. Dr Suchard heads the Centre for Vaccines and Immunology at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, with joint appointment to the Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The Centre for Vaccines and Immunology serves as the regional referral laboratory for polio, measles and rubella for the World Health Organisation. Dr Suchard holds ministerial appointments to the National Advisory Group on Immunisation as well as the National Polio Expert Committee, and is president of the South African Immunology Society. Dr Suchard supervises postgraduate students and conducts research on vaccine preventable diseases