Our team is made up of passionate healthcare professionals, researchers, and advocates who are committed to making a positive impact on global health. We work with a wide range of partners, including governments, NGOs, and community organizations, to address some of the most pressing health challenges facing the world today.
Our programs are designed to be sustainable, evidence-based, and locally led. We work closely with communities to understand their specific health needs and to develop solutions that are tailored to their unique circumstances.
Meet The Team
We are a collection of synergy from around the globe that is embodied in the same passion and purpose: to ensure quality healthcare for all. We are driven and tenacious in our goal and impact.
“The Global Health Impact Group's ability to connect community-level practices with national strategies has been critical in shaping policies that are both effective and locally relevant.”
The Global Health Impact Group started by Debi Boeras in 2014 was formed in response to the need for stronger partnerships to meet global HIV targets.
Debi brings with her over 10 years of HIV experience as a molecular virologist at Emory University Yerkes Primate Research Center and then as the Lead for Molecular Diagnostics at the International Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Debi’s experience, the most efficient and effective approach to ensure successful programs in HIV diagnosis and monitoring is through strong collaborations. Debi continues to work closely with the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), CDC and PEPFAR, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), UNAIDS, UNITAID and the World Health Organization (WHO), providing laboratory and programmatic technical expertise to ensure sustainable country-owned health care programs and health systems.
Founder & CEO
DEBI BOERAS, PHD
The Global Health Impact Group started by Debi Boeras in 2014 was formed in response to the need for stronger partnerships to meet global HIV targets...
Dr. Lara Vojnov was trained in Cellular and Molecular Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a focus on HIV immunology and vaccinology. Since obtaining her PhD, she moved into global public health first as a Senior Scientist with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and later as the Diagnostics Advisor in the Global HIV, hepatitis, and STIs Programme at the World Health Organization.
She brings nearly 15 years of experience supporting country programs to expand access to diagnostic testing and improved health systems in resource-limited countries. During her time at the World Health Organization, she was seconded to the Health Emergencies team providing support during several outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lara has published over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including in the Lancet, Nature, PLoS Medicine, Journal of Interational AIDS Society, and several other scientific journals. She has lived in Canada, the US, South Africa, Liberia, Tanzania, and Switzerland and worked in a variety of settings including throughout East and Southern Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and Asia.
Chief Scientist
LARA VOJNOV, PHD
Laura Broyles, MD is a board-certified infectious diseases physician with over 15 years experience in global HIV programs and clinical HIV care...
Rosanna Peeling is currently Professor/Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Director of the International Diagnostic Centre (IDC). Trained as a medical microbiologist, she was Research Coordinator and Head of Diagnostics Research at the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO/TDR) in Geneva and Chief of the National Laboratory for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Canada before assuming her current position.
Her research focuses on defining unmet diagnostic needs and facilitating test development, evaluation and implementation in developing countries. She established the IDC to advocate the value of diagnostics, foster innovation, and accelerate access to quality-assured diagnostics to improve global health and to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). She is a member of the Prize Advisory Panel for the UK Longitude Prize, the European Commission Horizon 2020 AMR Prize and the Global AMR Innovation Fund.
She contributed to WHO Testing Guidelines for HIV, Hepatitis, Dengue and sexually transmitted infections and served as a member of the WHO/TDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee and the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on In Vitro Diagnostics (SAGE IVD). She is a member of the Global Validation Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis, the Social Innovation in Health Initiative and the WHO COVID-19 Advisory panel for developing Target Product Profiles for diagnostics. She is a member of the Africa CDC Laboratory Working Group for the COVID-19 Pandemic Response and has worked with the Africa CDC to set up a Biobanking Network for the evaluation of diagnostic tests for diseases of epidemic potential.
Concerned about the lack of capacity in critical decision making in diagnostics in developing countries, Professor Peeling collaborated with Fondation Merieux to organise an Advanced Course on Diagnostics, which, over the last 10 years, has trained over 350 policy makers in 80 countries.
Professor Peeling is the recipient of a YM-YWCA Women of Distinction Award, a 5NR Award for Canadian Leaders of Sustainable Development, and is the first woman scientist to be awarded the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine’s George MacDonald Medal in 2014. Her research was featured in a Discovery Channel documentary on Chlamydia Infection and Infertility, and in Fighting Syphilis, a documentary in the highly acclaimed BBC Kill or Cure series.
Chief Technical Advisor
ROSANNA PEELING, PHD
Dr. David Heymann is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He currently serves as a special advisor and Chair of the World Health Organization Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for the global COVID-19 pandemic response.
He was the Executive Director of the WHO Communicable Diseases Programme, where he led the global response to many outbreaks of infectious diseases including SARS and Ebola. He was also the representative of the Director-General for the Global Polio Eradication programme. Earlier experiences at WHO include chief of research activities in the WHO global programme on AIDS.
Before joining WHO he worked for 13 years as a medical epidemiologist in sub-Saharan Africa, on assignment from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he participated in the first and second outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and supported ministries of health in research aimed at better control of malaria, measles, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Prior to joining CDC he worked in India for two years as a medical epidemiologist in the WHO smallpox eradication programme.
Technical Advisor
DAVID HEYMANN, BA, MD, DTM&H
Dr. Noah Fongwen is currently a clinical research fellow and a Doctor of Public Health (Dr.PH) candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He also provides support to Africa CDC through the LSHTM/Africa CDC collaboration.
He is a global health expert skilled in advanced research methods, implementation science, economic evaluation of complex public health interventions and point of care technologies. He has expertise in areas such as diagnostics research, maternal and child health, HIV/TB control, NTDs and other chronic diseases, antimicrobial resistance control and outbreak response.
He previously worked in Cameroon as a clinician and public health specialist where he supported the government in implementing its public health strategies including outbreak response. He also works with WHO TDR and SIHI in promoting research within social innovation across Africa.
His current Dr.PH research work is on transforming health systems by two-way communications tool through Health Centre by Phone innovation that can provide alerts of infectious outbreaks and other health information such as vaccine coverage.
Consultant
NOAH FONGWEN, MD, MPH
Vernell is a communications strategist and visual design specialist who supports GHIG’s mission to strengthen health systems and improve public health outcomes globally. He leads the development of strategic communication assets that transform complex technical content into engaging, culturally informed visual materials for a range of audiences, including stakeholders, policy makers, and community partners.
At GHIG, Vernell designs branded educational resources, communication pipelines, and multimedia content that amplify program visibility and support evidence‑based decision making. His work enhances engagement with global health audiences and contributes to partnership building, awareness campaigns, and advocacy efforts.
Communication Specialist & Designer
VERNELL MILLER
Dr. Bain is a public health physician, empirical bioethicist (research and clinical ethics), and global health researcher with over 15 years of experience in antimicrobial resistance and One Health, the impact of climate change on health, community engagement in global public health, sexual reproductive health and rights, implementation research, and global health research funding.
In recent years, he has developed personal interest in disruptive science communication – decolonization of global health knowledge systems and science – global health diplomacy.
Luchuo has consulted for the WHO, UNFPA, IDRC, USAID, PSI International, and the Gates Foundation in multiple high-impact projects across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He holds an Erasmus Mundus Joint PhD Degree in transdisciplinary global health solutions from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and the University of Bordeaux, a Master of Science Degree in Bioethics (KU Leuven), an MBA in strategic human resources management (UNIR), a master of public health-epidemiology (MPH) (Hebrew University), a medical degree in family medicine (University of Yaounde), and advanced executive training in global health diplomacy (University of Toronto).
Community Engagement Officer
LUCHUO E. BAIN, MD, PHD, MSC (BIOETHICS), MPH, MBA
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Global Health
Impact Group
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Join GHIG in our mission to bridge the healthcare gap, ensuring that vital services reach every corner of the globe.
About
Global Health Impact Group
based in Atlanta, Georgia
