Biography
- Denise Evans joined HE2RO as a Senior Researcher in Epidemiology in 2011, having worked for two years at another WHC research unit, the the Clinical HIV Research Unit.
- She has a background in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Immunology and completed her doctorate in Biomedical Technology at the University of Johannesburg in 2007.
- Since then she has completed 2 post-doctoral fellowships.
- Denise is part of the HIV treatment outcomes focus area and her current role is to analyse observational data obtained from large cohorts of HIV positive patients to monitor treatment and patient outcomes.
- Her research interests include interventions to improve adherence, low cost monitoring of HIV in resource-limited settings and impact of nutritional supplementation during the first months on ART.
- She has been involved in prospective studies, the first of which evaluated the impact of a nutritional supplement in HIV-positive adults starting ART.
- The second, an ongoing observational study funded by a CFAR/NIH CNIHR grant, looks at low cost monitoring of HIV treatment in resource-limited settings.
- Denise is also the recipient of a NRF Thuthuka grant for her adherence work and together with Professor Matt Fox from Boston University they are conducting a pilot study to evaluate the use of electronic patient adherence monitoring devices in patients failing second-line ART.
- Her work has been published in several international peer-reviewed journals including PanAfrican Medical Journal, PLoS ONE, Nutrition Journal, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, AIDS and Journal of AIDS and Clinical Research.
- She also mentors several MSc, MPh and MMed students registered at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Research interests
- HIV