Catherine Mathews
Tel: +27 21 938-0401

I am a social scientist and epidemiologist in the Health Systems Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council.  I am also an honorary lecturer in the Women's Health Research Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town. I am a member of the Adolescent Health Research Unit at the University of Cape Town.   I have experience in adolescent reproductive health and HIV prevention. I have been involved in school-based and clinic-based research to develop and evaluate reproductive health interventions.   

Ameena Goga
Tel: +27 12 339-8531

I am a paediatrician with a Masters in Mother and Child Health and a Masters in Epidemiology. I am currently working on a UNICEF 5-country intervention and evaluation to improve infant feeding in the context of HIV. I am reviewing the nutrition sections of the MBB tool. I am working on a project to evaluate the feasibility of earlier diagnosis of HIV, and supporting the Gauteng PMTCT working group.
Area of expertise:
I am interested in improving quality of child health care and increasing access to high quality integrated services for all children.

Tanya Doherty
Tel: +27 21 938-0803

I am a specialist scientist and currently working on a community randomised trial to assess the impact of door-to-door offer of VCT on HIV testing uptake in a rural community of KwaZulu-Natal. My  research focus areas are prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV , child health  and community randomised trials. 

Simon Lewin

Simon Lewin is a social scientist at the Medical Research Council of South Africa and the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services. His current work is largely within the field of implementation research, including the development and evaluation of strategies for changing professional practice and the organization of care; systematic reviews
of complex interventions; and methods for synthesizing the findings of qualitative studies. He is currently working on the evaluations of interventions to improve adherence to TB treatment and HAART in South Africa and strategies to improve the quality of care delivered by nurses in primary care. He also has a strong interest in lay or community health worker programmes, including their effective- and cost-effectiveness. The use of research evidence in policy making is another area of work, and Simon was recently involved in a study of these processes in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Simon is an Editor for the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group and a member of the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Review Group. He has expertise in trials of health systems interventions, complex interventions, health services research, research to policy relationships and systematic reviews.

Nothemba Kula
Tel: +27 11 242-9912

I worked as a microbiologist, but recently qualified with an MSc in Bioinformatics from the University of the Western Cape and an MPH in Health Services Management from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine. Areas of interest include health policy reform, organizational management and  human resources for health. I am currently undertaking research for recommending appropriate interventions towards a more productive and efficient health workforce in South Africa.

Mark Tomlinson (Moved to a position at University of Stellenbosch)
Tel: +27 21 938-0401

I am a Specialist Scientist based at the MRC and Stellenbosch University.  The main study that I am involved in at present is an effectiveness study of an integrated, community-based package for maternal, newborn, child and HIV care in a disadvantaged community in South Africa.
My main interests are in the area of maternal and child Health, infant and child development, maternal mental state and related effects on infant and child development.  I am particularly interested in testing the effectiveness of community-based interventions in environments characterized by high levels of adversity.

Senior Scientist

Duduzile Nsibande
Tel: +27 31 203-4814

Supporting the integration of PMTCT within Maternal and Child Health Services in Amajuba District, KZN. 

She is currently pursuing MPH degree at the University of the Western Cape. Area of Interest are Maternal and Child Health, STI, HIV and AIDS & Training.

Karen Daniels
Tel: +27 21 938-0301

I am a PhD student at the Nordic School of Public Health.  My PhD and appointment in the Health Systems Unit is funded through the Department of Science and Technology Internship programme.  My thesis focuses on community health workers, with a special interest in gender and policy making. I have a wide interest in research methods for public health questions.  While my experience lies mainly in qualitative research, I take an active interest in epidemiological methods and I have been involved in a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.  My content interest areas are equally wide and includes: public health in general, primary health care, policy making, knowledge translation, community health workers and gender.

Lungiswa Nkonki
Tel: +27 21 938-0258

I hold a Masters degree in Public Health specialising in Health Economics from the University of Cape Town.

I am currently pursuing Phd studies with the University of Bergen in Norway.  My research focus is on economic evaluations of randomised controlled trials aimed at improving child health outcomes, primarily trials using community health workers. The other component of my work is measuring inequity in child health outcomes. I have an interest in economic evaluations, measuring inequity in child health outcomes and the use of qualitative research in health economics.

Natalie Leon
Tel: +27 21 938-0881

I am a PhD Fellow entering my last year of research at the University of Cape Town. My doctorate is about health systems evaluation of routine HIV screening for STI patients.

It also looks at the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability as part of an operational evaluation that is contributing to health management decision-making about rolling out provider-initiated HIV testing in Cape Town.

I have trained and worked as a clinical psychologist in a psychiatric hospital setting for 10 years. I then trained and worked in a public health development capacity for the Health Systems Trust, supporting initiatives to integrate provincial and municipal health services in Cape Town and in the rural node of the Central Karoo, Western Cape.  I have an interest and expertise in strengthening health systems at primary care level.

Petrida Ijumba
Tel: +27 31 203-4736

I am the manager of the “An effectiveness study of an integrated, community-based package for maternal, newborn, child and HIV care in a disadvantaged community in South Africa”,  a project based in Umlazi- Durban. I am currently exploring the possibilities of doing a PhD in Maternal and Child Health. My areas of interest include promotion of community-based health care; maternal and child health; nutrition and diarrheal diseases.

I am a senior scientist, registered for a PhD at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. My PhD is about an evaluation of a tuberculosis treatment intervention being implemented in pilot sites in Cape Town. I have interests in qualitative syntheses/systematic reviews, programme evaluation, patient centered care and adherence to treatment.

Sarah Dewing
Tel: +27 21 938-0258

I have a Masters degree in Psychological Research and am currently employed as a scientist and project manager on a study evaluating the implementation of a positive prevention intervention. The project is called "Options for Health: Western Cape" and is aimed at increasing adherence to anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and decreasing sexual risk behaviour among HIV-positive people receiving ARV treatment in Cape Town.

I have recently completed my Masters in Public Health at the University of Cape Town. My thesis topic investigates predictors of severe morbidity in infants born to HIV positive mothers. I have an interest in maternal and child health outcomes and have expertise in statistical analysis and electronic questionnaire implementation.

Wanga Zembe
Tel: +27 21 938-0803

I recently completed a Masters in Social Policy from the University of Oxford in England. I have begun doctoral studies at the same university focusing on the impact of the Child Support Grant on child health outcomes. I have been involved in two major intervention trials since joining the MRC – the Good Start II project which looked at the effectiveness of community health workers promoting exclusive feeding on the one hand, and the effectiveness of community health workers promoting the uptake of social grants on the other; and currently I am involved in the Community VCT project (also known as Good Start III) which is testing the effectiveness of home-based VCT in increasing HIV testing rates.

Marian Loveday
Tel: +27 33 345-2778

I am a senior scientist and have just started my doctoral studies in the Public Health Department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. My thesis is assessing decentralised treatment for multidrug resistant tuberculosis in the KwaZulu-Natal and looking at the evaluation of a pilot project being introduced by the Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal province. I have interests in tuberculosis, TB/HIV co-infection and health systems.

marian.loveday@mrc.ac.za

Loraine Townsend
Tel: +27 21 938-0316

I am a senior scientist currently completing my PhD in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cape Town. The working title of  my thesis is: Development, implementation and evaluation of an HIV risk reduction intervention among adult men.

My research interests have evolved over the past 5 years from alternative care for orphaned and vulnerable children to examining high school dropout and tobacco use among South Africans, and lately to HIV behavioural and biological surveillance among high-risk sub-population such as men who have multiple, younger female sexual partners. The latter has led to the development of an HIV risk reduction intervention for men between the ages of 25 and 54 years. The intervention is currently being implemented and evaluated.

Data Quality Manager currently working on Promise – Goodstart 11, Goodstart III,
Baseline Survey – Saving Newborn Lives.
I have expertise in Data Quality Management and training in Good Clinical Practice.

Selamawit Woldesenbet
Tel: +27 21 938-0454

I am a public health specialist with a Masters in public health(Epidemiology). I am currently working as a project manager on a CDC/UNICEF funded national PMTCT (prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV) evaluation project that aims to measure the national vertical HIV transmission rate at six weeks immunization clinic;I am also involved in a PMTCT MCH integration project that aims to improve quality of PMTCT in the priority districts of South Africa. I am currently registered for my PhD. I am interested in PMTCT related studies emphasizing on application of quantitative methods and improving quality of maternal and child health care in the context of HIV.

Hanani Tabana
Tel: +27 21 934-0454

I am a scientist and currently working on a community randomised trial to assess the acceptability and uptake of home-based VCT of HIV in a rural KwaZulu Natal. My research focus areas are maternal and child health and community interveventions to address HIV and AIDS.

hanani.tabana@mrc.ac.za

Vundli Ramokolo
Tel: +27 21 938-0454

I am a Masters in Public Health (Epidemiology track) candidate registered at the University of Cape Town. I have a keen interest in contributing to the strengthening of the South African health system through scientific research. I am currently involved in the conceptualisation of a research project that will not only aim to improve the coordination and management of the national PMTCT programme but will also seek to improve the integration of this programme with other health programmes.

vundli.ramokolo@mrc.ac.za

Naeema Hoosain 
Tel: +27 21 934-0454

I have a qualification in MA (Research Psychology) at WITS University and am a scientist currently completing a Masters of Public Health at the University of Cape Town. My thesis is a sub-study of the Goodstart 3 project titled, " A study exploring the applicability and cultural appropriateness of a counselling booklet that is part of of a community-based health package in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal." I have interests in HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and Maternal and Child Health Outcomes.

Senior
Scientist