Management and international experience

DiaPrep’s founder, Dr. Michael Favorov, is an internationally recognized expert in the field of public health and epidemiology who has devoted more than 40 years to the study and prevention of infectious diseases across the globe, from rare forms of hepatitis in Central Asia to typhoid fever in Kenya and Mali. 

Dr. Favorov started his career in the Soviet Union’s Ivanovsky Institute of Virology and quickly rose to head the country’s National Center for Viral Hepatitis, where he advanced knowledge of the epidemiology, signs, symptoms, and outcomes associated with hepatitis E and developed and introduced serological and molecular methods for diagnosing that disease, as well as treatments for its severe forms, leading to a significant reduction in the mortality rate among pregnant women. 

As CDC Regional Director for Central Asia (CDC/CAR), Dr. Favorov helped introduce sentinel surveillance for HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis in risk groups; introduced universal hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns; worked on the adaptation and introduction of DOTS principles for the treatment of tuberculosis, a program that saved tens of thousands of lives in the region; launched a quality-control program for laboratories diagnosing HIV and tuberculosis; and helped establish programs to teach applied epidemiology in five Central Asian countries.

While serving as Deputy Director-General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Dr. Favorov worked on vaccination programs against typhoid fever, papilloma virus, cholera, influenza, pneumococcal infection, and meningococcal disease, among others, as well as programs using Bacillus Calmette-Guérin. He also oversaw field research to measure the burden of diseases on populations, as well as pre-licensing vaccine clinical trials and demonstration projects to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of vaccinations. 

Since 1993, Dr. Favorov has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology. He has published over 100 scientific works.