Wilmot James
Biography
Dr. James is a thought leader in global health security and democracy. He serves on a variety of advisory boards and committees including the Wellcome Trust's Climate-Health Impact Awards Advisory Committee (chair), the Scientific Advisory Council to the Fund for Science and Technology (FF-ST), the Schmidt Sciences Post Doctoral Fellows Program (panel chair) and plays a leading role in the efforts of the G7-led Global Partnership's and Africa CDC's Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biothreats in Africa. Wilmot was a Member of Parliament (South Africa) between 2009-2017 and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation of New York between 1996 and 2008. He is the author and/or editor of 17 books including the policy-oriented Vital Signs: Health Security in South Africa (2020, Brenthurst Foundation), Nature's Gifts: Why we are the way we are (2010, WITS U Press, Johannesburg) and a co-edited collection of the Nelson Mandela's presidential speeches Nelson Mandela in His Own Words (Little Brown & Co. 2003 and 2017). Wilmot co-designed the first post-apartheid immigration and refugee protection system for the Mandela Government.
Research
Current: Advance Warning and Response Exemplars (AWARE). Gates Ventures, Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. Role: Co-Principal Investigator; Africa Health Security Index; Gates Foundation. Role: Co-Principal Investigator; Risks of Mirror Biology. Mirror Biology Dialogue Fund. Role: Principal Investigator
Past: Vaccine Information Network. South Africa and Zimbabwe. Schmidt Futures. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Co-Investigator and Principal Investigator respectively; Epidemic/Pandemic Response in Africa: Covid-19 in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Schmidt Futures. Co-Principal Investigator; CHAMPS Impact Fund: Hospital Infection Survey - Pan-African Neonatal Care Assessment Survey. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Role: Co-Investigator; Vaccines and Global Health: Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Program in Vaccine Education. Pfizer Inc. Role: Co-Investigator; Mapping Survey of Children’s Hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa. ELMA Philanthropies Role: Co-Investigator.
Publications
James, W and 31 others. Measuring capacities to advance global health security and bioeconomic development on the African continent. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 168 (2026). 108675.
James, W and 19 others. Measures to strengthen international biosafety and biosecurity practices. PLOS Biology (online March 18, 2026).
James, W and 17 others. Artificial intelligence for health security in Africa: Benefits, risks and opportunities. Epidemics (online 11 November 2025). 108
James, W and 15 others. Integrating artificial intelligence into African health systems and emergency preparedness response: need for an ethical framework and guidelines. Journal of Public Health in Africa 16 no.1 (2025).
James, W and 13 others. Proposal for a fourth indicator on vaccine uptake in the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) Tool. Bulletin of the WHO (2025); 103; pp. 226-8.
James, W and 37 others. Confronting Risks of Mirror Life. Science 386 Issue 6728 pp.1351-3 (online 12 December 2024).
James, W and 12 others. Infection prevention and control and related practices in African neonatal units: The Pan African Neonatal Cate Assessment Study (PANCAS). International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 259 (2024) 114359.