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Samuel Thevasagayam
Samuel Thevasagayam leads the Livestock Initiative within Agriculture Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He oversees implementation of foundation’s strategy in animal health, livestock genetics, and livestock production & markets
Prior to joining the foundation in 2012, Sam spent significant time in the pharmaceutical Industry, where he held various roles in clinical development, regulatory affairs, business development and external research alliances. Sam was responsible for development and registration of several drugs and vaccines (human and animals) in North American, European and International markets. Previously, Sam was the foundation director of R&D for Global Alliances for Livestock Veterinary Medicine (GALVmed), a not-for- profit animal health organization. He spent his early career teaching and practicing companion animal internal medicine before spending five years in veterinary virology research at the Institute for Animal Health at the Pirbright Institute.
Sam holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, a PhD in veterinary virology for his research on foot-and-mouth disease virus at the Pirbright Institute in the UK, and an MBA from the University of Oxford, Said Business School.