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Health Systems Research Unit

Health Systems Research Unit

Research capacity development
We currently have 10 members of staff who have either enrolled or are about to enrol for PhDs. We have instituted a transformation plan to ensure that increasing numbers of our senior staff are from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Presently, nine staff are at a middle management level; three (Nothemba Kula, Thoko Ndaba & Lungiswa Nkonki) are African females; and two (Karen Daniels & Natalie Leon) are coloured females. Three of the five are currently well into their PhD studies and it is planned that all three will then move into more senior management positions once they have completed their studies in two years' time. Of the remaining two, Thoko is starting her PhD and plans to complete it in three years' time. She already has a fairly senior position with related responsibilities in our Durban office. Nothemba has just joined the Unit and has requested that she gets more field experience before choosing a possible PhD programme or taking on more administrative responsibilities.

Of the 10 staff at junior management level, six are African (Dudu Nsibande, Eric Cele, Vuyo Magasana, Wanga Zembe, Yanga Zembe, Yvonne Mtshizana) and two are Coloured (Sylvia Louw & Wesley Solomon) and one Indian (Yages Singh). Two African women (Wanga and Yanga Zembe) have been fast tracked through their Masters programme and are just about to start their PhDs. A similar process is in place for Wesley Solomon. In addition Eric and Yvonne will be completing their Masters in 2008. Dudu and Vuyo are presently undergoing their Masters training.

National Support
Senior staff are currently supervising or co-supervising four PhD students and seven Masters level students from other Universities.

Staff members are external reviewers for a number of international and national journals, including the Lancet, PLOS Medicine, BMJ, WHO Bulletin, American Journal of Public Health.

Contact details

Tel: +27 21 938-0454
Fax: +27 21 938-0483

Scientists

Catherine MathewsCatherine Mathews
Specialist Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0401
catherine.mathews@mrc.ac.za

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.

emannuelleEmmanuelle Daviaud
Senior Specialist Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0454
emmanuelle.daviaud@mrc.ac.za

Ameena Goga
Specialist Scientist

Tel: +27 12 339-8531
amena.goga@mrc.ac.za

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.

tanyaTanya Doherty
Specialist Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0803
tanya.doherty@mrc.ac.za

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
Specialist Scientist

simon.lewin@mrc.ac.za

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
Senior Scientist

Tel: +27 11 242-9912
nothemba.kula@mrc.ac.za

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.

markMark Tomlinson (Moved to a position at University of Stellenbosch)
Senior Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0401
mark.tomlinson@mrc.ac.za

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.

Thoko Ndaba
Senior Scientist

thoko.ndaba@mrc.ac.za

Duduzile Nsibande
Senior Scientist

Tel: +27 31 203-4814
duduzile.nsibande@mrc.ac.za

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.

karenKaren Daniels
PhD Intern

Tel: +27 21 938-0301
karen.daniels@mrc.ac.za

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
PhD Intern

Tel: +27 21 938-0258
lungiswa.nkonki@mrc.ac.za

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.

natalieNatalie Leon
PhD intern

Tel: +27 21 938-0881
natalie.leon@mrc.ac.za

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
Senior Scientist

Tel: +27 31 203-4736
petrida.ijumba@mrc.ac.za

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.

sallaSalla Atkins (Moved to a position in Finland)
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0412
salla.munro@mrc.ac.za

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.

sarahSarah Dewing
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0258
sarah.dewing@mrc.ac.za

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.

wesleyWesley Solomon
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0412
Wesley.solomon@mrc.ac.za

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.

wangaWanga Zembe
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0803
wanga.zembe@mrc.ac.za

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.

marianMarian Loveday
Scientist

Tel: +27 33 345-2778
marian.loveday@mrc.ac.za

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.

yangaYanga Zembe
Junior Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0316
yanga.zembe@mrc.ac.za
Yolisa Mtshizana
Junior Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0316
yolisa.mtshizana@mrc.ac.za
Vuyo Magasana
Junior Scientist

Tel: +27 31 203-4714
vuyo.magasana@mrc.ac.za

loraineLoraine Townsend
Tel: +27 21 938-0316
loraine.townsend@mrc.ac.za

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.

Yagespari Singh
Scientist

Tel: +27 31 203-3649
yages.singh@mrc.ac.za

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
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0454
selamawit.woldesenbet@mrc.ac.za

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.

hananiHanani Tabana
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 934-0454
hanani.tabana@mrc.ac.za

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.

vundliVundli Ramokolo
Scientist

Tel: +27 21 938-0454
vundli.ramokolo@mrc.ac.za

I am a Scientist and PhD candidate working in the Health Systems Research Unit. I have a keen interest in contributing to the strengthening of the South African health system through scientific research. I am currently coordinating several study sites in a large CDC funded survey that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the national Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) programme on infant HIV at six weeks postpartum in South Africa.

naeemaNaeema Hoosain 
Senior Scientist

Tel: +27 21 934-0454
naeema.hoosain@mrc.ac.za

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.

Administrator
sylviaSylvia Louw
Chief Officer

Tel: +27 21 938-0454
sylvia.louw@mrc.ac.za
Contact the Webmaster
Last updated:
29 June, 2011
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