Ashley Birkett

Ashley Birkett, PhD, is the Global Head, Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases, Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access (CVIA). In addition to serving on the CVIA leadership team, he oversees a portfolio of partnered vaccine development projects broadly categorized into the following four initiatives: malaria; tuberculosis; bacterial causes of sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis; and enteric bacterial pathogens.

Previously, he served as Global Head for PATH’s malaria vaccine development effort, which included the role of Project Leader for PATH’s work on the development and pilot introduction of RTS,S—the first malaria vaccine to receive WHO prequalification and financing from Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. He continues to lead PATH’s efforts to accelerate the development of next-generation malaria vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, and to catalyze timely access in endemic countries.

Dr. Birkett has more than 30 years of vaccine development experience, gained in both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining PATH, he spent over a decade working for biotechnology companies, where he led teams that successfully advanced several novel vaccine candidates from research through first-in-human clinical studies.

Dr. Birkett earned a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Virginia Commonwealth University (US); and a BSc (Honors) in Applied Biological Sciences from the University of the West of England (UK).