Peter van Heusden is an expert in the use of bioinformatics and genomic epidemiology for response to infectious disease outbreaks, and has collaborated with WHO AFRO (Regional Office for Africa) and the AU's Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to build capacity in national public health institutions for the use of pathogen genomic sequencing and genomic epidemiology.In doing so he has leveraged his background as an advocate for reforming the structure of the scientific workforce, both in the academic and public sector. In this regard he has 5 years of experience in advising on and advocating for the development training programmes to enable translation of software engineering and digital infrastructure development into skills relevant for outbreak response and the study of infectious diseases on the African continent.