Dr. Nelson Sewankambo is Principal of the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Fellow and President of Uganda Academy of Sciences, Fellow of The Academy of Sciences for Developing World (TWAS), External Affiliate Member of US Institute of Medicine, Member of FAIMER Board, Recipient of the Grand Silver Medal of Karoliska Institutet, and of two Honorary doctorates (from Johns Hopkins University and McMaster University).

He is Chair of Initiative for Strengthening Health Research Capacity in Africa, Dr. Sewankambo was among the first scientists to publish data on AIDS in Africa, was instrumental in starting the AIDS Clinic at Mulago Hospital in Uganda, and continues to be active in HIV/AIDS research. He is currently Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) of the Rakai Health Sciences Program. Sewankambo was founding Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, and Co-PI of the Behavioral and Qualitative Research on AIDS Prevention funded by the Canadian International Development Research Centre.

He has served on numerous local and international advisory boards including the Working Party on the Ethics of Clinical Research in Developing Countries of the Nuffield Council for Bioethics, the Joint Learning Initiative, the WHO African Advisory Committee on Health and Research Development (AACHRD),& the Board of Directors of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) and as a member of Council of the Global Forum for Health Research. Dr. Sewankambo is Chairman of the Infectious Diseases Institute Board.