I completed my BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University, and my MSc in Biology and Control of Parasites and Disease Vectors at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. I then worked at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital as a HPCP registered Biomedical Scientist specialising in virology specifically HIV infection, therapy and diagnostics. Whilst at the Royal, I was awarded a highly competitive NIHR Biomedical Research Fellowship and completed my doctorate entitled ‘The clinical pharmacology of HIV antiretroviral therapy failure’ at the University of Liverpool in 2013.
I joined LSTM in 2016 and I am currently working on the UNITAID/ PSI funded, HIV Self-testing in Africa (STAR) project. My role focuses on the regulatory aspects of HIV self-testing devices and their implementation into national HIV testing policies in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. I take a lead role in delivering international regulatory workshops, which bring together high-level stakeholders from Ministries of Health, Regulatory Authorities and National Reference Laboratories.
The laboratory aspect of my research work focuses on the quality assurance of HIV self-test devices and ways in which external quality assurance models can be applied to HIV self-testing implementation.
I am a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) HIV Self-Testing Technical Working Group, and contributed to the WHO Guidelines on HIV self-testing and partner notification, and the Technical Specifications Series for submission to WHO Prequalification guidelines.
Teaching:
- HIV module. Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) Course, HIV Point of Care testing
- TROP 939 Joint Masters Course. Diagnostic Virology