As the vice president of the External Relations team at PATH, Scott Jackson is responsible for maximizing the visibility of PATH’s work. In his current role, he focuses on developing and strengthening relationships with global health partners and donors. Mr. Jackson’s extensive background and knowledge come from more than 20 years of experience working internationally to develop and carry out a number of successful global health and development public-private initiatives. Prior to joining PATH, Mr. Jackson served as senior vice president for World Vision US. He serves on several national boards, including Global Impact, and was a founding member of the management committee for ONE, the campaign to make poverty history. He received his MBA from the University of Edinburgh School of International Business, which he attended as a Rotary International Ambassador Scholar.

Mayowa Joel, Communication for Development Centre, Nigeria

Dr. Elly T Katabira, MBChB, FRCP Edin., is a Professor of Medicine and former Deputy Dean for Research, School of Medicine, College of health Sciences, Makerere University. He was trained as a medical doctor in Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and later trained as a physician and specialized in Neurology (Manchester UK; 1984). Since his return to Uganda in 1985 he has worked extensively in the field of Care and Support for HIV infected people. He is the Clinical Advisor at the AIDS Clinic in Mulago Hospital and at the Infectious Diseases Institute of Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Uganda.

His strength is in the development of treatment and management guidelines for HIV/AIDS and has written several publications and chapters in various books on this topic. His research interest includes clinical trials and operational research issues on various aspects of HIV/AIDS care and support delivery both within institutions and at community level.

He is also co-Founder of The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) and is their Medical Advisor since 1987. He is a founding member of the Academic Alliance of AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa. In June 2000 he was elected a member of IAS Governing Council in the African Region. Since then he has actively participated in many IAS activities including co-chairing the IAS Industry Liaison Forum (ILF) and as a co-Editor of the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS).

Dr. Makatini is a Clinical Virologist (pathologist) received training as a Scientist BSc (Hons) majoring in a Biochemistry and obtaining a Masters in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London, UK.  She later went on to train as a medical doctor at the University of Sheffield, in Yorkshire in the UK – later spending time in rotations involving Infectious Diseases and pediatrics.  She has Diplomas in Travel Medicine (University of Glasgow), DTM&H (Wits) and Diploma in HIV Medicine from Stellenbosch University and College of Medicine.

Dr. Makatini chose to come back to South Africa after many years absence to specialize in Virology at the National Institute of Virology (now National Institute of Communicable Diseases [NICD]). The bulk of the HIV clinical training was within a Clinical Research clinical trial background conducted in the military by the National Institute of Health, Bethesda Washington. It was there that she gained further experience in HIV clinical research working in my capacity as National Principal Investigator, Head of Laboratory and Site Principal Investigator.  She is a member of the Clinical Trials Committee and Microbicide Task Team member. She is presently based at the University of Limpopo working as a Clinical Virologist (Pathologist) at the Department of Virology.

Her key interest is in HIV research – in particular HIV resistance and HIV serodiscordancy within the population. She has a cohort of over 100 patients with HIV drug resistant mutations.  She also lectures for Abbott Pharmaceuticals in their Peer to Peer Training on HIV Resistance, Travel Medicine lecturer for programs conducted by the NICD and a senior lecturer for the University of Limpopo MBChB program, BDS and scientists.

Dr. Nelly R. Mugo is a research scientist working with ICRC, University of Washington, on HIV prevention clinical trials in Kenya. Her other responsibilities include clinical and teaching responsibilities at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)/ University of Nairobi, Kenya.

She commenced work in clinical trials in 2003, as the East African Director for  the Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study.  During the course of this trial Dr. Mugo set up a clinical trial site in Central Kenya, Thika site, which is presently enrolling HIV-1 discordant couples on the “Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis” (PrEP) clinical trial. In collaboration with research scientists from the University of Washington, International Research Center (ICRC), funded by the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.

To date she is actively involved in providing care and treatment to women with cervical neoplasia at Kenyatta National Hospital outpatient clinic. Subsequently, she conducted research on human papillomavirus (HPV) in a cohort of commercial sex workers in the Korogocho-Kariobangi slums, specifically, provided colposcopic screening and LEEP treatment to over 90 women in that cohort.

Dr. Mugo also participates as a member of the International Partnership for Microbicide (IPM) as a member of the Scientific Evaluation Committee.

Gita Ramjee heads the South Africa Medical Research Council’s HIV Prevention Research Unit. She has been the principal investigator a number of microbicides trials including the Population Council’s Phase 3 Carraguard® clinical trial.

She has been a member of several committees, including the co-chair of the Microbicides Development Programme’s Management Committee, and a member of the International Committee for Contraception Research, the International Working Group on Microbicides, the Microbicide Trials Network Executive Committee, and several steering committees. Ramjee has been a co-chair on three Microbicides conferences (2006, 2008, and 2010). 

Ramjee’s research interests focus on HIV prevention and women-initiated prevention options such as microbicides and vaccines, as well as treatment and care of HIV-positive populations. Ramjee has been instrumental in addressing the needs of HIV-positive women screened out of clinical trials and those who seroconvert during the course of the trials. She has pioneered a care program in partnership with health service providers and PEPFAR to ensure continuum of care for HIV-positive women, including ARV therapy.
Ramjee received her Ph.D. at the University of Natal, South Africa, in 1994 and was awarded a distinguished visiting professorship by the Tamil Nadu Medical University in India. Ramjee was recently a finalist in the Woman of the Year awards in South Africa.