SAIL for Health: host of the University of Oxford in Latin America
Through an agreement with the Department of Paediatrics, SAIL for Health is the official host of the University of Oxford in Latin America. The operation is led by Professor Sue Ann Costa Clemens CBE, a renowned vaccinologist and specialist in infectious diseases.
Professor Clemens is also the first post-holder of the permanent Chair of Global Health and Clinical Development, created in 2023 after an unprecedented endowment from SAIL for Health to the University. The initiative promotes capacity-building and translational research in Latin America, strategically positioning the region in the global clinical development pathway, attracting investments and addressing global public health issues, such as neglected diseases, vaccine development, and preparation for future pandemics.
Prof. Dr. Sue Ann Costa Clemens, MD, PhD, COMM, CORB, CBE
Head of the Oxford LATAM Research Group and SAIL for Health Chair Professor of Global Health and Clinical Development at the University of Oxford
Professor of Global Health and Vaccinology at University of Oxford and University of Siena, where she is the Head of the Institute for Global Health and created the first Master in Vaccinology and Drug Development worldwide. Since 2023, Prof. Clemens is also the head of the SAIL for Health Chair of Global Health and Clinical Development at the University of Oxford.
In over 25 years of experience, she has been contributing to teaching and capacity building in different areas and publishing extensively on vaccinology and public health, besides being involved with the development of more than 20 globally licensed vaccines and pharmaceuticals – such as the new oral type 2 polio vaccine, the first vaccine that gained Emergency Use Listing by WHO, and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19, which she was one of the main investigators.
Prof. Clemens was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, for services to Sciences and Public Health in 2021 by Queen Elizabeth II, and Commander of the Federal Republic of Brazil (Ordem do Rio Branco and Ordem do Mérito Médico). She is senior consultant for BMGF since 2012 and has been recently appointed as member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Market Access for Vaccines (TAG-MI4A).