Prof. Sasheela Sri La Ponampalavanar

Professor Dr Sasheela Ponnampalavanar is a Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and Professor of Medicine at Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She chairs the Hospital Infection and Antibiotic Control Committee. Under her stewardship, the hospital received the Asia Pacific Hand Hygiene Excellence Award, APSIC Safe Surgery Award and other significant milestones. She serves on Malaysia’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Committee, the Technical Working Group for the Malaysian Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and the AMR Curriculum Development Task Force, contributing to the 2026–2030 AMR education curriculum and National Action Plan. Her interests include infection prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), multidrug-resistant organisms, AMR in older adults, and genomic and digital surveillance. A Fulbright scholar trained at Johns Hopkins, she received the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America’s (SHEA) International Ambassador Award in 2022. She serves on SHEA’s External Affairs Committee and the Clean Hospitals Expert Network, and spearheads AMS and IPC initiatives through Malaysian professional societies. She chaired the recent Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control (APSIC) congress, welcoming 1,500 regional and international participants. She is committed to advancing patient safety and infection prevention to support healthy ageing, preserve independence and reduce avoidable healthcare costs.