I undertook my specialist clinical training in Sexual Health and HIV medicine in London and currently hold an honorary consultant contract in HIV medicine in Cardiff. During my clinical training, I was fortunate to be awarded an MRC studentship to study the MSc Epidemiology at LSHTM and went on to undertake a Clinical PhD based overseas, funded by the Wellcome Trust on investigating M.tuberculosis transmission in rural Malawi using infection status (inferred from tuberculin skin test positivity) in young children as sentinels of recent transmission.

Since completing my specialist clinical and research training, I work part-time with LSHTM as a Clinical Associate Professor where I lead an NIH-funded study exploring the infectiousness of different types of TB patients (HIV positive on ART versus HIV positive not on ART; asymptomatic versus symptomatic) at the Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. My aim is also to set up a TB surveillance system within the AHRI demographic surveillance area, whilst strengthening local Department of Health data capacity.

I also work part-time for Interactive Research and Development (IRD) as a clinical epidemiologist. I was based out in Karachi during 2018-2019 to undertake a TB prevalence survey using CAD4TB and Ultra where we screened more than 30,000 adults to estimate the burden of infectious tuberculosis in the city. This forms the initial part of an impact evaluation of the Zero TB Cities project implemented in Karachi  since 2018 with a planned endline survey some time in 2022-2023. I also work on the endTB project with IRD as part of a consoritum with Médécins Sans Frontières and Partners in Health (http://endtb.org), which aims to find shorter, less toxic and more effective treatments for multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

Despite the challenges, I enjoy working at the clinical academia-implementation interface, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It helps to reduce the disconnect that can occur with purely academic research and maintain a healthy level of pragmatism whilst striving to improve health for all.