Project Title: The road to elimination: barriers and facilitators to the prevention of vertical HIV transmission among adolescent mothers and their children in South Africa
My main research interests include public health policy, women’s sexual and reproductive health, and the social determinants of health, with a particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS epidemiology. Motivated by this, my PhD examines the socio-economic and health system factors that shape access to—and retention in—HIV vertical transmission prevention services among adolescent mothers and their children in South Africa. The goal is to identify key points of attrition to inform targeted policies and interventions towards the elimination of paediatric HIV.
I am a South African social epidemiologist with a background in public health research. I completed a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and a BSc(Hons) in Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch (cum laude), and an MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (with a dissertation highest distinction).
From there, I worked on the HEY BABY longitudinal cohort study as Quantitative Research Coordinator within the Adolescent Accelerators Hub (a research collaboration between the Universities of Oxford and Cape Town).
