Pascale Ondoa is the Director of Science and New Initiatives of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM). She holds a medical degree from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Virology) from the University of Antwerp. Dr Ondoa worked in academic research at the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp, Belgium from 2002 to 2009 focusing on immunology and virology studies of HIV and SIV infections in human and non-human primates and on the development of alternative tests to monitor HIV infection. She is affiliated with the Amsterdam Institute for Global health and Development (AIGHD), University of Amsterdam as an assistant professor. Dr Ondoa worked at AIGHD from 2009 to 2016 on research and implementation aspects of various projects looking at HIV drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa, exploring ways to mitigate barriers to laboratory test uptake. Since 2016, Dr Ondoa has been providing scientific leadership to the ASLM team, with the overall goal of advancing the laboratory profession and practice. She particularly focuses on addressing gaps in the laboratory systems and networks in African countries. She leads several projects and programmes funded by PEPFAR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Fleming Fund.