Prof Tobias Chirwa is the Programme Director for the consortium of advanced biostatistics training in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSACABT). He is the Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and manages the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences statistical support services. Prior to this, he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malawi (UNIMA) and a Research Fellow in Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He has also held positions of responsibility like the Dean, Faculty of Science; Head, Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNIMA and was also the President of Statistical Association of Malawi. He has led postgraduate capacity building initiatives including the Norwegian-funded NUFU PhD programme, MSc Biostatistics and Informatics at UNIMA. Further, he has continued to be active in curriculum development while at Wits – developing short courses in biostatistics; MSc programmes in Biostatistics and Research Data Management. He is also co-Director of a University of North Carolina (UNC) and Wits Fogarty (MSc and PhD) training grant on AIDS Implementation Science and Advanced Cohort Analyses, together with the WHO/TDR Implementation Research.

Dr Eustasius Musenge is a Senior Biostatistician/Senior Lecturer in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Coordinates the Biostatistical modules of the Masters degree programs. He is a Faculty member of the consortium of advanced biostatistics training in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSACABT) and sits in the Executive Committee meetings. He is a National Research Foundation rated scientist with 40 publications in scientific peer review journals. He is the South African co-Principal investigator of the NIH GeneXpert Tuberculosis study and was involved in several successful grants in the School of Public Health. Areas of research interests have been spatiotemporal modeling of geo-statistical data for HIV/TB mortality data, modeling of large sparse cohort data, infectious disease modeling, analysis of genetic data, propensity score matching and structural equation modeling.

Background

I have a rich and colourful academic background – I started off with a BSc. Hons. in Media and Society Studies from the Midlands State University in Gweru, Zimbabwe. My quest for change found me at the Wits African Centre for Migration Studies where I obtained my MA in Forced Migration Studies. Needing additional change, I found myself at the Wits School of Public Health where I obtained my doctorate degree. Along the way I have managed projects as a student, a lecturer and as a researcher which have been highlighted in my achievements. Project management is an essential component in both our personal and professional lives.

Academic project management is even more exciting for me as it gives me the opportunity to work with and for people in order to achieve the objectives of the programme. In this way, I would like to support and contribute to the development and growth of a biostatistical network through the Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistical Training (SSACABT) and the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS) programme.

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Jonathan Levin is currently Professor of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand, having taken up the position in April 2015. The main duties relate to the development of a Master’s Programme in Biostatistics, teaching on the existing MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and supervising postgraduate students. Many of these activities form part of the new Wellcome Trust DELTAS grant for the Sub_Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics Training.

Before joining the Wits School of Public Health, Jonathan was the Head of the Statistics Section in the UK Medical Research Council / Uganda Virus Research Institute Research Unit on AIDS in Uganda, a position that he held since January 2009, having worked in the Unit as a Senior Statistician since October 2006. Prior to moving to Uganda Jonathan had worked as a Biostatistician in the South African Medical Research Council for 12 years.

In addition to his interest in teaching Biostatistics, Jonathan is interested in Statistical aspects of Randomised Controlled Trials including Cluster Randomised Trials.

Mrs Gloria Bowes is a Project administrator in the division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand. In addition, she serves as the DELTAS Project administrator for the Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics Training (S2ACABT) programme. Gloria's extensive administration prowess spans both small and large institutions within education, finance, project management and customer service.