Givans Kay Ateka, M.B.Ch.B., M.Phil, M.P.H., Dr.P.H.

Givans Kay Ateka was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) fellow from August, 2003 through August, 2006. During this time, Dr. Ateka completed a Masters in Public Health degree and a Doctorate of Public Health degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health.

His Master's thesis is entitled "Assessing HIV/AIDS associations: response to therapy versus social support and HIV status disclosure versus breakdown of social support structures". His Doctoral dissertation is entitled "Evaluation of the City of Houston HIV/STD Prevention Program in Houston Independent School District (HISD) High Schools".

Originally from Kenya, Dr. Ateka had worked in Lesotho for seven years prior to joining the Baylor College of Medicine AITRP. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Ateka returned to Lesotho where he worked to enhance the implementation of that country's prevention of mother to child transmission program until September, 2007.

He then moved to South Africa to work with the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID) on an HIV prevention of mother to child transmission program in Polokwane, South Africa. Currently, Dr. Ateka is back in Lesotho and is working as a Programme Advisor in HIV/AIDS for Irish Aid (the Irish equivalent of USAID). Publications that have resulted from Dr. Ateka's research as an AITRP scholar are as follows:

• Ateka GK. HIV status disclosure and partner discordance: A Public Health dilemma. Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health, 2006; 120:493-496. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com 
• Ateka GK, Selwyn BJ. Adolescent HIV/STD Prevention Programmes: Are Gender Blind Approaches Justified? Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health, 2007; 121(9): 682-689.
• Ateka GK, Lairson DR. School-based HIV/STD prevention programs: Do benefits justify costs? J Int Physicians AIDS Care, 2008;7(1):46-51.

Andrea C. Cazuca, M.D.

Andrea C. Cazacu is originally from Bucharest, Romania. She obtained her medical degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. Dr. Cazacu, under the mentorship of Dr. Gail Demmler, evaluated two rapid diagnostic tests for influenza viruses with viral culture, performed in the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at Texas Children's Hospital.

She continued her research under the mentorship of Gail Demmler, MD and Mark Kline, MD studying the outcome of infants and children infected with CMV in both the U.S. and Romania, as well as viral pathogens in HIV positive children and their influence on HIV disease. Dr. Cazacu currently serves as Associate Director of Clinical Affairs and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Publications that have resulted from Dr. Cazacu's research as an AITRP scholar are as follows:

• Kozinetz CA, Matusa R, Ruta S, Cernescu C, Hacker CS, Cazacu AC. Alternatives to HIV-RNA and CD4 count to monitor HIV disease progression: a prospective cohort study in Romania. J Med Virol 2005;77:159-63.

Mark Mugo Kabue, B.D.S., M.S., M.P.H., Dr.P.H.

Mark Mugo Kabue was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) fellow from August, 2003 through August, 2006. During this time, Dr. Kabue completed a Masters in Public Health degree and a Doctorate of Public Health degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health. His Master's thesis is entitled: "Frequency of Contraindications to Antiretroviral Drug Combinations Among HIV Patients With Varying Medical/Drug History and Lifestyle Characteristics".

His doctoral dissertation is entitled: "Clinical Factors Associated with Growth and Mortality of Pediatric Patients on HAART at Mulago PIDC, Uganda 2003-2006". Originally from Kenya, Dr. Kabue had been working in Lesotho for seven years prior to joining the Baylor College of Medicine AITRP. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Kabue accepted a Malawi-based position as HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator for the BIPAI Children's Clinical Centers of Excellence Network.

In August, 2009 he left this position to serve as Deputy Program Director for the Howard University Technical Assistance Project (HUTAP) in Malawi. HUTAP's main program objectives are to support the MoH in addressing human resource shortages, strengthening the laboratory infrastructure through refurbishment, and procurement of lab equipment and supplies, pre-service and in-service training programs, implementation of quality assurance systems, and pediatric diagnosis, care & treatment.

The publications that have resulted from Dr. Kabue's research as an AITRP scholar are as follows:

• Kabue MM, Kekitiinwa A, Maganda A, Risser JM, Chan W, Kline MW. Growth in HIV-infected children receiving antiretroviral therapy at a pediatric infectious diseases clinic in Uganda. AIDS Patient Care STDs, 2008; 22(3):245-51.
• Kabue MM, Risser JM, and Grimes RM. The role of medical and social history in addressing relative contraindications to antiretroviral medications. Malawi Medical Journal 2007; 19(2):89.
• Kabue MM, Kazembe PN, Chitsulo C, Mizwa MB, Calles NR, Jones DC, Kline MW. A Paediatric HIV care and treatment programme in Malawi, 2008; 20(1):19-22.

Harrison Njoroge Kamiru, D.D.S., M.S., Dr.P.H.

Harrison Njoroge Kamiru was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) fellow from August, 2003 through August, 2006. During this time, Dr. Kamiru completed a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health.

His Doctoral dissertation is entitled: "Evaluation of a Training Program to Increase the Capacity of Health Care Providers to Provide Antiretroviral Therapy to Pediatric Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa". Originally from Kenya, Dr. Kamiru had been working in Lesotho for seven years prior to joining the Baylor College of Medicine AITRP.

Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Kamiru accepted a position with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Swaziland as an HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator for the BIPAI Children's Clinical Centers of Excellence Network. He left this position in December, 2008 to continue working in Swaziland as a Program Monitoring Advisor with the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at Columbia University.

Publications that have resulted from Dr. Kamiru's research as an AITRP scholar are as follows:

• Selane P, Kamiru H, Ross M. Dimension of Fear of AIDS Scale among South African Students, Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Health, 2006; 2(2):1-4.
• Essien EJ, Ogungbade GO, Kamiru HN, Ekong E, Ward D, Holmes L. Emerging socio-demographic and lifestyle predictors of intention to use condom in human immunodeficiency virus intervention among uniformed services personnel. Mil Med, 2006; 171(10):1027-34.

Poloko Kebaabetswe, R.N., M.P.H., Ph.D.

Poloko Kebaabetswe joined the Baylor AITRP from Gaborone, Botswana. She began her training in August, 2001, and completed training in May, 2004. During this time, she obtained a doctoral degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health, with a major in behavioral sciences.

Her dissertation is titled "Factors that influence pregnant women to accept or reject the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV program (PMTCT) in Gaborone, Botswana". Upon completion of her AITRP training, Dr. Kebaabestwe returned to Botswana to work with the Botswana Harvard Aids Institute Partnership for HIV Research and Education.

The publication that has resulted from Dr. Kebaabetswe's research as an AITRP scholar is as follows:

• Kebaabetswe P. Barriers to participation in the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission program in Gaborone, Botswana a qualitative approach. AIDS Care, 2007; 19(3):355-60.

Joyce Kgatlwane

Dr. Joyce Kgatlwane was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) scholar from Botswana from August, 2008 through May, 2010. She completed her MPH from University of Texas School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology.

Before joining the AITRP, she worked for the Ministry of Health in Botswana as a Pharmacist at Princess Marina Hospital, Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital, and Athlone Hospital before joining the Botswana Essential Program at the Ministry of Health. She later joined the Botswana Harvard Partnership, PEPFAR Master Trainer Program where she was involved in providing care to HIV/AIDS patients, and training and mentoring other health care providers at the hospitals and clinics. She was also involved in facilitating the roll out of provision of antiretroviral medicines to the clinics in Botswana.

Dr. Kgatlwane's Master's thesis was entitled: "Prevalence and factors that affect non adherence to HAART among children and adolescents in Botswana: Cross sectional study design with case comparison component". Upon completion of her studies, Dr. Kgatlwane returned to Botswana to continue providing care to patients with HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions and participate in research.

Nsangi Betty Kintu, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H.

 Originally from Kampala, Uganda, Dr. Nsangi was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) scholar with Baylor College of Medicine from January, 2006 through December, 2010. She completed both a Masters in Public Health degree (thesis titled: “Comparison of health status of HIV-infected children cared for by parents with those cared for by grandparents in Kampala, Uganda”) and a PhD in Public Health (dissertation titled: Role of T-SPOT®TB in diagnosing latent tuberculosis in HIV-infected children in Uganda”). 

Prior to joining the AITRP, Dr. Nsangi worked as a medical officer in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Clinic (PIDC), Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda for two and half years where she treated and cared for HIV-infected children. Upon completion of her training, she returned to Uganda to continue working with children and in particular to improve the management of tuberculosis in HIV-infected children. She looks forward to contributing greatly to the national and regional expansion of pediatric HIV services. Her long term goal is to help improve the status of HIV infected children and HIV orphans on the African continent.

Gerardo Martinez-Aguilar, M.D.

Gerardo Martinez-Aguilar joined the Baylor AITRP from Durango, Mexico. He began training in August, 2001, and completed training in August, 2003. During this time, Dr. Martinez-Aguilar pursued postdoctoral laboratory training in bacterial infections in children with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Martinez-Aguilar successfully applied for bridge funding in the amount of $25,000 to facilitate his research protocol titled "Molecular epidemiology of hospital and community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. Aureus in Mexico".

He is an author on the following publications related to his AITRP research:

• Martinez-A G, Hammerman W, Mason E, Kaplan S. Clindamycin treatment of invasive infections caused by community-acquired, methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2003; 22:593-598.
• Gonzalez B, Martinez-A G, Mason E, Kaplan S. Azithromycin compared with lactam antibiotic treatment failures in pneumococcal infections of children". Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2004; 23:399-405.

Claudia Robayo, M.D.

Claudia Robayo is originally form Colombia, though is a citizen of Mexico. She attended medical school at Universidad de Guadalajara. She completed her residency and fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatria in Mexico City, including one year of endoscopy in Centro Medico Siglo XXI.

Dr. Robayo joined the AIDS International Training and Research Program at the Baylor College of Medicine in January, 2004. Her current research involves the investigation of congenital deficiency of disaccharidases, which are enzymes that digest sugar and starch. This deficiency of disaccharidases can also be a cause of diarrhea secondary to HIV infection.

Moorine P. Sekadde, M.B.Ch.B.

Dr. Sekadde was an Aids International Training Research Program (AITRP) fellow from Kampala, Uganda, who joined the BIPAI AITRP in August, 2007 and returned to Uganda in June, 2009. She received a Masters in Public Health degree at the University Of Texas School Of Public Health with a major in epidemiology. Her master's thesis was titled: Mean Corpuscular Volume as a Marker for Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among HIV Infected Children and Adolescents in Uganda.

Before joining the AITRP fellowship program, Dr. Sekadde worked with Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation Uganda (formerly Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic). Dr. Sekadde has returned to continue her work with Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation Uganda, with a new emphasis on research.

Vincent Tukei, M.B.Ch.B.

Dr. Vincent Tukei was an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) scholar from Uganda from August, 2008 through May, 2010. He completed his MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology. His Master's thesis was entitled: HIV-Associated Malignancies in Children Attending the Baylor Clinic in Kampala, Uganda.

Upon completion of his studies, Dr Tukei returned to Uganda to continue with his work at the Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation in Kampala Uganda with a renewed emphasis on clinical research.

Nicoleta Vaseliu, D.D.S., M.A.

Nicoleta Vaseliu, DDS, MA joined the Baylor AITRP from Constanta, Romania. She began her training in July, 2002, and completed training in June, 2004. During this time, Dr. Vaseliu obtained a master's degree in clinical investigation at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Her thesis is entitled "Longitudinal study of the prevalence and prognostic implications of oral manifestations in Romanian children infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1". Upon completion of her AITRP training, Dr. Vaseliu served as the Executive Director of the Baylor Black Sea Foundation in Constanta, Romania, before returning to private dental practice.

The publication that has resulted from Dr. Vaseliu's research as an AITRP scholar is as follows:

• Vaseliu N, Carter AB, Kline NE, Kozinetz C, Cron SG, Matusa R, Kline MW. Longitudinal study of the prevalence and prognostic implications of oral manifestations in Romanian children infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2005; 24(12):1067-71.

Salvador Villalpando, M.D.

Salvador Villalpando joined the Baylor AITRP from Mexico City, Mexico. He begain training in July, 2001, and completed training in June, 2003. During this time, Dr. Villalpando pursued post-doctoral research focused on the nutritional problems of children with protein-energy malnutrition and HIV/AIDS.

He also earned a Certificate of Added Qualification from the Clinical Scientist Training Program at the Baylor College of Medicine. He currently holds the position of Director of the Nutrition Research Laboratory at Hospital Infantil de Mexico in Mexico City.