Dr Rashida Ferrand MB BS MRCP MSc PhD DTM&H Dip HIV

Senior Lecturer

I am a Clinical Epidemiologist and a specialist physician in HIV Medicine and Sexual Health. I first joined LSHTM in 2001 as a Wellcome Trust Entry Level Fellow and started my research career investigating immune responses to tuberculosis. In 2003, I moved to Zimbabwe and worked as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe Medical School, and completed a Distance-Based Learning MSc in Epidemiology. Between 2007-2010, I held a Wellcome Trust Clinical Training Fellowship and was based in Harare for my doctoral research. After a short break from research to complete my clinical specialist training in London, I returned to Harare in 2012. I am a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow and work on clinical and epidemiological studies in HIV infection. In Harare, I am hosted by the Biomedical Research and Training Institute. I am an Honorary Consultant Physician at St Bartolomew's Hospital, London.

Affiliation

Teaching

I am a tutor on the AIDS module for the Distance-based Learning MSc course at LSHTM. I teach on Research Methods courses at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute. I also contribute to the clinical teaching program of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in the Department of Medicine at the University of Zimbabwe.

Research

My main research interest is HIV infection in older children and adolescents. Our studies in Harare highlighted an epidemic of longterm adolescent survivors of vertically-acquired HIV infection. Previous assumptions were that survival with untreated HIV infection beyond 5 years of age was exceptional. Diagnosis of HIV infection is frequently delayed until presentation with advanced disease in older childhood, resulting in a high risk of life-threatening infections and development of chronic complciations such as pubertal delay, stunting and organ damage. My current research focuses on investigating strategies to improve HIV testing, access to and retention in HIV care for older children and adolescents. We will evaluate opt-out HIV testing, decentralised HIV care at primary care level and use of community lay workers to support families of HIV-infected children. We also conduct clinical cohort studies to investigate chronic complications, particularly HIV-associated lung disease and growth failure. My other research interest is the pathogenesis of HIV-related complications and the immunology of HIV infection. I collaborate with Professor Sarah-Rowland Jones at the University of Oxford on studies to investigate the immunogenetic correlates of slow progression of HIV infection in children.

Research areas

  • Adolescent health
  • Child health
  • Clinical care
  • Evaluation
  • Primary care
  • Public health

Disciplines

  • Epidemiology
  • Medicine
  • Operational research

Disease and Health Conditions

  • HIV/AIDS
  • Infectious disease
  • Respiratory disease

Regions

  • Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Countries

  • Malawi
  • Zimbabwe

Other interests

  • Adolescence
  • Adolescent HIV
  • Africa
  • Antiretroviral Therapy
  • Child Disability
  • Community Health Workers
  • Growth
  • HIV Testing
  • HIV Treatment
  • Opportunistic Infectious Diseases
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