I am currently Head of the Treatment Research Program at the Centre of the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). I have been a lead investigator in CAPRISA’s clinical studies aimed at optimizing treatment strategies for TB-HIV co-infected patients, most notably the CAPRISA SAPiT trial, which served as the basis for the 2009 WHO Rapid Advice on TB-HIV treatment integration. Findings from this trial were subsequently incorporated into the WHO international guidelines, the US government DHHS, the British HIV Association and the South African treatment guidelines for TB-HIV co-infected individuals. My research on immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and rifampicin-efavirenz drug interactions has been influential in defining treatment strategies for these two common complications of integrating TB-HIV treatment.

I am principal investigator of the CAPRISA Advanced Clinical Care Award, 2014-2019, that strengthened health systems for improved detection, management and referral of patients with unstable and complicated HIV/AIDS, TB and drug-resistant TB, in all districts within the KwaZulu-Natal and North West Provinces in South Africa. I am currently principal investigator on the Newton Fund/South African Medical Research Council funded cluster-randomized study addressing the scale-up of TB-HIV integration in rural primary health care clinics in KwaZulu-Natal. I lead the CAPRISA study on TB recurrence in TB-HIV co-infected patients, the CAPRISA Improving Retreatment Success (IMPRESS) trial, a randomized controlled trial comparing two treatment regimens for patients with retreatment pulmonary TB.

I serve as co-Principal Investigator in the Individualized M(X) drug- resistant TB Treatment Strategy Study, a strategy to improve treatment outcomes in patients with drug-resistant TB and co-investigator of the Correlate of Risk Targeted Intervention study that evaluates a targeted screen and treat strategy for tuberculosis.

In addition, I serve on data safety monitoring committees for various community-based strategy studies aimed at enhancing TB treatment and prevention outcomes in HIV infected patients, and as Advisor, guiding policy and clinical governance in TB-HIV service integration in KwaZulu-Natal. I also serve as a reviewer for several leading international journals and was awarded the SA Medical Research Council post intern research scholarship in 1994, the Fogarty Ellison Research Scholarship in Global Health in 2005, and the 2013 Union Scientific Prize awarded by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.

I am well-suited for my role in this proposed project due to my experience in conducting high quality clinical trials assessing various strategies aimed at improving health outcomes.