Dr Rupa Kanapathipillai

Dr Rupa Kanapathipillai, MBBS, FRACP, DTM&H, MPH, has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for over 10 years; she is currently the clinical lead of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) at MSF and Senior Medical Staff at Monash Health Infectious Diseases in Melbourne, Australia.

Dr Kanapathipillai obtained her medical degree from Monash University and completed Infectious Diseases specialization in Melbourne; she earned a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She joined MSF as an Infectious Disease Doctor in 2008 in Malawi. After obtaining her Master's in Public Health at Columbia University in 2013, she completed an editorial fellowship at the New England Journal of Medicine, and subsequently rejoined MSF for the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Since 2015 Dr Kanapathipillai has been the AMS specialist at MSF, focusing on AMS implementation and capacity building. She leads a multidisciplinary team promoting rational antibiotic use, strengthening surveillance, and supporting stewardship programs in resource-limited settings.

She is a member of the Fellow Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Dr Kanapathipillai is a clinical mentor to junior physicians, author and reviewer of multiple publications, and contributor to clinical guideline development.