Belinda is a public health researcher with experience working in Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She completed her Master’s at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with a focus on Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and now joins the ISPM IeDEA-SA team working towards a PhD focusing on the Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Disease Risk factors among HIV-infected adults in Southern Africa.
The global scale up of antiretroviral therapy is promoting immunologic recovery and increasing lifespan among ART-treated adults. This population now face emerging challenges of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related cardiometabolic risks. The overall objective of her work is to increase current knowledge on the epidemiological determinants of modifiable NCD risk factors among HIV-infected adults in Southern Africa. Specifically she seeks to assess the association between HIV-infection and cardiometabolic risk factors and determine the impact of ART on the dynamic of cardiometabolic risk factors in urban Zambia and Zimbabwe.