Women's
Health
Research
Women's Health Advancing understanding of conditions affecting women across the life course — including infectious diseases, reproductive health, and microbiome-related conditions — with interventions and diagnostics tailored to African contexts.
What the Team
Investigates
Investigating biological, behavioural, and social drivers of HIV and STI acquisition in women, and evaluating prevention strategies including PrEP, vaccines, and microbiocides.
Studying infectious disease during pregnancy, vertical transmission, preterm birth, and neonatal outcomes to improve maternal and child health across Africa.
Characterising vaginal microbiome composition and its role in HIV susceptibility, STI risk, reproductive outcomes, and overall gynaecological health.
Developing and validating point-of-care diagnostics for reproductive tract infections, cervical disease, and other conditions disproportionately affecting women.
Evaluating gender-responsive interventions including vaccines, topical therapies, and microbiome-modulating treatments tailored to African women's health needs.
Addressing structural gaps in women-centred health research by integrating gender analysis, community engagement, and equity-focused approaches into all studies.
From Community
to Clinical Impact
Building trust and partnerships with communities to support participant recruitment, ethical research conduct, and community-informed study design.
Collecting clinical samples, microbiome specimens, and behavioural data from cohorts of women across diverse African settings.
Immunological, genomic, and microbiome profiling to characterise disease mechanisms and identify biomarkers and targets for intervention.
Combining biological, clinical, and social data to understand multifactorial drivers of women's health outcomes across the life course.
Translating findings into diagnostics, prevention tools, treatment guidelines, and gender-responsive public health policies.
Key Areas of
Investigation
Research &
Partner Network
Joint research on vaginal microbiome composition, dysbiosis, and its role in HIV risk and reproductive health outcomes.
Characterising local and systemic immune responses in women to inform vaccine design and prevention strategies.
Collaborating with maternal health clinics, antenatal care networks, and gynaecology services to recruit participants and translate findings.
Contributing to international vaccine and prevention trials through shared immunological and microbiome data from African women.
Meet the
Team
Latest
Publications
Culture, Health & Sexuality 1-12