I completed a PhD through the LSHTM in collaboration with the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Mwanza, Tanzania. My research focussed on the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in a rural area of north-western Tanzania (Kisesa, Mwanza) using a mixed-methods approach. I undertook a qualitative study on barriers to uptake of PMTCT services in the study area in 2012. The quantitative component used clinical records from Kisesa health facilities linked to data from the Kisesa HIV Open Cohort study to ascertain population-level PMTCT service use among HIV-positive pregnant women living in Kisesa.

At University College London I carried out research on HIV in a European context, primarily focussed on monitoring of the continuum of HIV care across a number of European countries, in collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). I also carried out mixed methods research in the UK, including qualitative exploration of the social context related to recently-acquired HIV infection among MSM, and managing the UK Register of HIV Seroconverters cohort study.

I subsequently returned to the LSHTM, where my research interests are still primarily in the field of HIV and related social and structural drivers, particularly among adolescents and young people, with a focus on programme evaluation using mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches. Specifically, I have worked for several years on an impact and process evaluation of DREAMS programming. DREAMS is a combination HIV prevention programme that aims to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) by tackling the underlying vulnerabilities that expose AGYW to HIV risk. Through this evaluation I have had the pleasure of collaborating with researchers from Kenya (APHRC and KEMRI), South Africa (AHRI) and Zimbabwe (CeSHAAR). My roles have entailed leading quantitative and qualitative data analysis working groups; carrying out causal analyses of impacts on outcomes including knowledge of HIV status, social support and self-efficacy among cohorts of AGYW; and mixed-methods analyses of uptake, implementation and empowerment. Alongside DREAMS research, I am co-leading a realist-style review to synthesise the evidence for gender-transformative approaches to promote sexual and reproductive health outcomes. I have also recently joined a team of researchers based in LSHTM (PHP) and NIMR Tanzania, on the evaluation of LINEA (Learning Initiative on Norms, Exploitation and Abuse), a complex intervention incorporating a radio drama and curricula workshops to reduce age-disparate transactional sex in Mwanza.