The Scientific Leadership Program identifies mid-career scientists who would benefit from additional resources and mentorship on their way to becoming leaders in the field. This program also has a solid commitment to ensuring that our clinical trials are led by people from the communities which we serve. To learn more about our awardees, check out their profiles below.
Mitch Matoga, MBBS, MSc
HVTN Site: UNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi
Mentor: Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH, UNC School of Medicine
Vimla Naicker, MBChB
HVTN Site: South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Durban, South Africa
Mentor :Ameena Goga, MD, MS, PhD, South African Medical Research Council
Tariro Chawana, MBChB, MSc
HVTN Site: University of Zimbabwe CTRC Seke South, Harare, Zimbabwe
Mentor: Z. Mike Chirenje, MD, FRCOG, University of Zimbabwe
Cassie Grimsley Ackerley, MD
HVTN Site: The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Mentor: Srilatha Edupuganti, MD, MPH, Emory University
Alfredo Jose Mena Lora, MD
HVTN Site: University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Mentor: Richard Novak, MD, University of Illinois
Valeria Cantos, MD
HVTN Site: Emory University Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, Georgia
Mentor: Colleen Kelley, M.D., M.P.H., Emory University School of Medicine
Jorge Gallardo, MD
HVTN Site: Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales (CITBM) of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) in Lima, Peru
Mentor: Jorge Sánchez, M.D., M.P.H., PERU Clinical Trials Unit
Portia Hunidzarira, MBChB, MSc
HVTN Site: Seke South CRS, Harare, Zimbabwe
Mentor: Z. Mike Chirenje, M.D., F.R.C.O.G., University of Zimbabwe Clinical Trials Research Centre
Rachel Kawalazira, MBBS, MSc
HVTN Site: Johns Hopkins Research Project, Blantyre, Malawi
Mentor: Johnstone Kumwenda, M.B.Ch.B., M.Sc., F.R.C.P., Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Formerly, College of Medicine under University of Malawi
Pamela Mda, MBChB, MMed
HVTN Site: Nelson Mandela Academic Clinical Research Unit, Mthatha, South Africa
Mentor: Glenda Gray: M.B.B.CH., F.C.Paed., D.Sc., President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council
Deborah Theodore, MD
HVTN Site: Columbia Physicians & Surgeons Clinical Research Site, New York City
Mentor: Magda Sobieszczyk, M.D., M.P.H., Harold C. Neu Professor of Infectious Diseases (in Medicine) at the Columbia University Medical Center