HIV-prevention research in South Africa

Abstract

Gita Ramjee is the Director of the South African Medical Research Councill's HIV Prevention Research Unit and Director of the HIV/AIDS lead program. She was awarded distinguished visiting professor by Tamil Naidu Medical University in Chennai, India. In 1988, she joined the department of Pediatrics, University of Kwazulu Natal, to complete a Masters degree studying fungal diseases in malnourished children. She then went on to complete her PhD in kidney diseases of childhood. In the early 1990s, she joined the Medical Research Council to work on HIV/ AIDS, and in particular, women-initiated HIV-prevention options. She is well known for her work on HIV-prevention trials. Her unit is the only one worldwide which conducted four Phase III and one Phase IIB trial of women-initiated prevention methods consecutively. She has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and serves as a reviewer for numerous international journals and research organizations. In 2006, she was a finalist in the science category of the Woman of the Year award in South Africa. She is an invited member of several societies in recognition for her contribution to the field of HIV prevention. © 2008 Future Medicine Ltd.