We are thrilled to introduce the panel of international experts for the Wellcome Snakebite Innovation Prize.
Our 11 judges bring together a wealth of expertise across science, global health, field research, antivenom logistics, data science, MedTech, and decades of lived experience supporting people affected by snakebite. This team of experts will be tasked with evaluating entries and ultimately determining who will be selected as prize finalists and winners.
All entries for the finalist and winner stages of the prize will be assessed against the set Judging Criteria by a pool of independent Technical Assessors and by the prize’s multidisciplinary Judging Panel, who will make decisions on which entries should move forward in the prize. We will let you know about the status of your submission in January 2027.
Darryl Wood
Darryl Wood is an Emergency Medicine physician based at Queens Hospital in London. Prior to relocating to the UK, he served as Chief Specialist for Emergency Medicine in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Doãn Uyên Vy (Vanessa)
Vanessa is a highly experienced Medical Toxicology specialist with a distinguished 16-year career at Cho Ray Hospital.
Joao Vissoci
Joao Vissoci, MSc, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Duke, serving as Chief of the Division of Translational Health Sciences.
"I am thrilled to see an award that is going beyond current research and focusing on the patient journey. I am eager to see the much-needed growth in the clinical care portion of this field and learning from the advances in other fields and technologies."
— Joao Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci,
Assistant Professor, Duke University Medical Centre, and the Chief of the Division of Translational Health Sciences in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Manuela Pucca
Manuela Pucca is a Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University and Principal Investigator of the Immunology and Toxicology Laboratory.
Vikram Paradkar
Dr Vikram Paradkar is the Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Biological E Limited, Hyderabad.
Elvis Nekehforba
Elvis Nekehforba, MPH, is a Public Health Specialist and Data Manager with the Neglected Tropical Diseases Unit of Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health.
"I accepted the judging role because advancing Snakebite innovation can save lives, and this prize is a powerful platform to identify and elevate real solutions. I'm excited to learn from fellow experts, broaden my perspective, and apply rigorous, objective evaluation to help recognise ideas with the greatest potential for impact and scalability"
— Elvis Nekehforbai,
Assistant Professor, Public Health Specialist and Data Manager, the Neglected Tropical Diseases Unit of Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Kirthika Kumar
Kirthika is a Regional Associate Manager for Business Development Strategy at Zimmer Biomet, covering the APAC region.
Yogesh Jain
Yogesh Jain is a public health physician in practice in India, running community health programmes in some of the poorest parts of the world.
Matthew Coldiron
Matthew Coldiron is Director of the Manson Unit, a medical and research support unit of MSF-UK and serves as Deputy Medical Director of MSF-Operational Center Amsterdam.
"There are few conditions that affect as many people around the world but that are as neglected as snakebite. I am proud to join the WSIP jury and hope to see exciting and innovative ideas for providing quality care to snakebite victims, who are often vulnerable, live in isolated rural areas, and who are unable to access basic health care."
— Matthew Coldiron,
Director of Manson Unit, MSF. Deputy Medical Director of MSF-Operational Centre Amsterdam.
Nicklaus Brandehoff
Nicklaus Brandehoff is the Executive Director of the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation. He is board-certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, and addiction medicine.
Priscilla Banda
Priscilla Banda a global health development leader focused on public health issues affecting sub-Saharan Africa.
"I accepted the judging role because advancing Snakebite innovation can save lives, and this prize is a powerful platform to identify and elevate real solutions. I'm excited to learn from fellow experts, broaden my perspective, and apply rigorous, objective evaluation to help recognise ideas with the greatest potential for impact and scalability"
— Priscilla Banda,
Program Management for Development, Kairos Management Advisory Services. Board Member of When Females Lead and AMREF
What's next?
We want to extend a massive thank you to our judges for dedicating their time, expertise, and passion for improving health outcomes for people affected by snakebite.
You can find full details on the judging criteria and how to submit a high-quality entry in the Innovator Handbook.
Our judging panel will be assessing entries based on Impact, Innovation & contribution to the field, Implementation pathway & sustainability, Understanding of the end user, Team capability & project delivery, and Safety & ethics.
