Dr Helen Thomson
Helen is a junior doctor completing her Internal Medical Training at King’s College Hospital in London (UK). She obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and subsequently worked as a research assistant at the Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust in Blantyre, Malawi. She has recently spent time with the Pulmonology Department at Tygerberg Hospital which sparked her interest in PTLD and inspired the creation of this website!
Professor Brian Allwood
Brian Allwood is a Professor in the Division of Pulmonology at the Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, where he runs the interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension services. He has obtained degrees from the Universities of Witwatersrand and Cape Town, as well as the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, and a Fellowship from Massachusetts General Hospital.
He initiated a Post-Tuberculosis Service at Tygerberg Hospital and chaired the Steering Committee for both the 1st & 2nd International Post-TB Symposium in Stellenbosch.
His current research interests include post-TB lung disease (PTLD), and in particular, the pulmonary vascular effects after tuberculosis.
Nicola Baines
I am a research coordinator in the division of pulmonology. Coming from a medical household I spent many school holidays volunteering at clinics and on studies. I began my research career as a recruiter in TB related studies and later moved into coordinating clinical trials within HIV and drug resistant TB fields. My work is mainly based within the clinical setting and involves interacting with patients within this setting. Because of this I have been able to gain a unique perspective of both the clinical aspects as well as the patient perspective. I am currently involved in the set up and running of numerous studies within the Pulmonology department, as well as assisting with patient liaising within the clinic.
Dr Dillon Wademan
He has worked as a socio-behavioural scientist at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre, since 2016, where he had the opportunity to work on a range of TB and HIV treatment and prevention studies and clinical trials. In these studies they test and trial new drugs and new formulations of drugs for use in high-risk, high-burden population groups (like children). His research has predominantly focused on children’s experiences of novel TB treatment formulations, and how to improve overall acceptability of TB treatment.
His work involves using qualitative and participatory research methods to interrogate how people living with TB manage their treatment within the constraints of their social contexts. This includes interrogating the limits of medical interventions and interventions targeted at minimizing interruptions along care cascades (in the form of pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, health systems and psychosocial support interventions). The chronicity of TB, how it occurs alongside other chronic and acute infections and, what impact it has on people’s lives has also stimulated his research interests.