Prof. William Kwabena Ampofo is an Associate Professor of Virology at the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana. He teaches in the Medical Laboratory Sciences Department, the School of Biomedical and Applied Health Sciences, and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens. He also conducts research in the Virology Department at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

Prof. Ampofo was the founding Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s National Vaccine Institute, established to coordinate and oversee vaccine research, development, and manufacturing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he supervised the national laboratory network for testing across Ghana. He has also played a key role in strengthening disease detection capacity across ECOWAS countries, contributing to regional public health resilience.

Over the past 35 years, Prof. Ampofo has worked extensively with global health development agencies including WHO, US CDC, UNICEF, UNAIDS, Africa CDC, WAHO, and GIZ. He has served on various national, regional, and international committees focused on vaccines, viral diseases, and health security. Notably, he recently contributed to WHO advisory groups developing research and development roadmaps for Lassa fever and Influenza.

His leadership and expertise have been recognized through roles such as Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee for the 23rd International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2025, Accra), and membership in the Africa CDC Diagnostic Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Technical Advisory Group on Influenza for the Task Force for Global Health, the Board of Trustees of the Kano Independent Research Trust in Nigeria, and the Board of the Association of Public Health Laboratories Ghana.

Prof. Ampofo is currently the Executive Director of AVMI (African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative), having chaired its Board of Directors from 2012 to 2023. He is a passionate advocate for local vaccine manufacturing in Africa and actively supports the Africa CDC Technical Working Group for Manufacturing Inputs and the Industrial Fellowship Talent Building Programme.