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NIH: Fogarty International Center NIH: Fogarty International Center
Advancing Science for Global Health
Advancing Science for Global Health

About AHISA

Fogarty Leadership

AHISA is led by the Center for Global Health Studies at Fogarty, which supports the initiative in collaboration with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, Office of AIDS Research, and other NIH Institutes and Centers.

Rachel Sturke, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.I.A.
Deputy Director and Senior Scientist
Center for Global Health Studies
Fogarty Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Email: Rachel.Sturke@nih.gov

Susan Vorkoper, M.P.H., M.S.W.
Public Health Advisor
Fogarty Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Email: Susan.Vorkoper@nih.gov

Steering Committee

AHISA is guided by a steering committee of experts from across the National Institutes of Health and other USG agencies as well as multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, and universities in the US and sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Susannah Allison, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at NIH
  • Wole Ameyan, World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Melanie Bacon, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH
  • Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
  • Laura Guay, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
  • Eric Goosby, University of California - San Francisco
  • Sonia Lee, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH
  • Chewe Luo, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
  • Pragna Patel, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Kate Plourde, US Agency for International Development
  • Natalie Tomitch, Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at NIH
  • Judith (Judy) Wasserheit, University of Washington
  • Damilola Walker, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Member Information

AHISA teams are composed of NIH-funded scientists conducting relevant implementation research; and in-country partners including PEPFAR in-country staff, key in-country government representatives, in-country research collaborators, youth, and other stakeholders. Members applied as teams to join the Alliance.

NIH PI: Kristin Beima-Sofie, University of Washington
Partner: Irene Njuguna, Kenyatta National Hospital
Partner: Cyrus Mugo Wachira, Kenyatta National Hospital
Youth partner: Natalie Mukami
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
Partner: Marc Cotton, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus
Country of focus: South Africa

NIH PI: Paula Braitstein, University of Toronto
Partner: Edith Apondi, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
Partner: Juddy Wachira, Moi University
Youth partner: Dennis Munyoro
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Connie Celum, University of Washington
Partner: Linda-Gail Bekker, University of Cape Town
Partner: Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, University of Witwatersrand
County of focus: South Africa

NIH PI: Ying Qing Chen, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Partner: Christopher Okoth Obong'o, PATH
Partner: Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando, PATH
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Julie Denison, Johns Hopkins University
Partner: Sam Miti, Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital
Partner: Jonathan Mwansa, Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital
Youth partner: Chibeka Mambwe
Country of focus: Zambia

NIH PI: Geri Donenberg, University of Illinois, Chicago
Partner: Brenda Asiimwe-Kateera, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Partner: Millicent Atujuna, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation / University of Cape Town
Partner: Sabin Nsanzimana, Ministry of Health, Rwanda
Country of focus: Rwanda

NIH PI: Dorothy Dow, Duke University Medical Center
Partner: Nyasatu Chamba, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
Partner: Aisa Shayo, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
Youth partner: Angelina Goi
Country of focus: Tanzania

NIH PI: Robert Garofalo, Northwestern University
Partner: Kehinde Kuti, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Country of focus: Nigeria

NIH PI: Simon Gregson, Imperial College London
Partner: Constance Anesu Nyamukapa, Imperial College London
Partner: Owen Mugurungi, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
Country of focus: Zimbabwe

NIH PI: Juliet Iwelunmor, Saint Louis University
Partner: Oliver Ezechi, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
Partner: Joseph Tucker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Partner: Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Wake Forest University
Youth partner: Chisom Obiezu-Umeh
Country of focus: Nigeria

NIH PI: Moses Kamya, Makerere University and Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC)
Partner: Fred Collins Semitala, Makerere University Joint AIDS Program/Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Partner: Eleanor Namusoke-Magongo, Ministry of Health, AIDS Control Program
Country of focus: Uganda

NIH PI: Pamela Kohler, University of Washington
Partner: Grace John-Stewart, University of Washington
Dalton Wamalwa, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Ann Kurth, Yale University School of Nursing
Partner: Kawango Agot, Impact Research Institute
Partner: Irene Inwani, Kenyatta National Hospital
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Marguerita Lightfoot, University of California, San Francisco
Partner: Megan Dunbar, Pangaea Global AIDS and Zimbabwe AIDS Trust
Partner: Felix Muhlanga, University of Zimbabwe
Youth partner: Chelsea Raviro Mazonde
Country of focus: Zimbabwe

NIH PI: Elizabeth Lowenthal, University of Pennsylvania
Partner: Mogomotsi Matshaba, Botswana-Baylor Children’s Centre of Excellence
Partner: Thabo Phologolo, University of Botswana
Country of focus: Botswana

NIH PI: LaRon Nelson, Yale University, School of Nursing
Partner: Patrick Appiah, Youth Alliance on Health and Rights
Partner: Francis Boakye, Priorities on Rights and Sexual Health (PORSH)
Youth partner: Godfred Addai Amoako
Country of focus: Ghana

NIH PI: Audrey Pettifor, University of North Carolina
Partner: Kathleen Kahn, University of Witwatersrand
Country of focus: South Africa

NIH PI: Sarah Tyler Roberts, RTI International
Partner: Kawango Agot, Impact Research and Development Organization
Partner: Careena Otieno, Impact Research and Development Organization
Youth partner: Sarah Ndelema
Country of focus: Kenya

NIH PI: Nora Rosenberg, University of North Carolina
Partner: Twambilile Phanga, University of North Carolina (UNC) Project Lilongwe, Malawi
Country of focus: Malawi

NIH PI: Nadia Sam-Agudu, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Partner: Victoria Isiramen, UNICEF Nigeria
Partner: Ayodotun Olutola, Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance
Country of focus: Nigeria

NIH PI: Maryam Shahmanesh, University College London
Partner: Natsayi Chimbindi, Africa Health Research Institute
Country of focus: South Africa

NIH PI: Fred Ssewamala, Washington University in St. Louis
Partner: Abel Mwebembezi, Reach the Youth Uganda
Partner: Gertrude Nakigozi, Rakai Health Sciences Program
Youth partner: Ann Atusingwize
Country of focus: Uganda

NIH PI: Sujha Subramanian, RTI International
Partner: Michael Mbizvo, Population Council, Zambia
Partner: Maurice Musheke, Population Council, Zambia
Youth partner: Mumbi Namwawa
Country of focus: Zambia

NIH PI: Thespina (Nina) Jeanne Yamanis, American University
Partner: Lusajo Joel Kajula, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti
Partner: Mrema Noel Kilonzo, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
Youth partner: Rachel Jarden Mtei
Country of focus: Tanzania

NIH PI: Brian Zanoni, Emory University
Partner: Thobekile Sibaya, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Partner: Moherndran Archary, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Partner: Nothando Ngwenya, Africa Health Research Institute
Country of focus: South Africa

Updated May 26, 2023