Penta Faculty

Adilia Warris

I am a paediatric infectious diseases specialist with a specific interest in medical mycology. I am co-director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter. I hold an honorary position in paediatric infectious diseases at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

My research profile has a strong translational focus and specific areas of interest include antifungal resistance and host-fungus interactions in specific patient populations. I chair the European Paediatric Mycology Network (EPMyN) and lead the Fungal Infection Working Group of Penta; I am also a tutor in the Oxford PG-diploma in Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

Adriana Paixão

I am a specialist in paediatric infectious diseases and work at the Institute of Pediatric Oncology of Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

My main research lines are the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in paediatric oncology patients and those undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

Alasdair Bamford

I am a consultant and specialty lead in paediatric infectious diseases at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK and an Honorary Associate Clinical Professor at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK. I also work as a clinical advisor to paediatric clinical trials and cohort studies at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK. I have over 15 years of experience in working with children, adolescents and families affected by HIV. I am one of the lead authors for the Penta/EACS guidelines for treatment of paediatric HIV infection, and a contributing author to the British HIV Association (BHIVA) guidelines on management of HIV in pregnancy.

I am a member of the Penta Scientific Committee and the UK Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Clinical Expert Review Panel. I am secretary of the British Paediatric Allergy Infection and Immunity Group (BPAIIG). I am also a regular faculty member for both online and residential PentaTr@ining courses on paediatric HIV in Europe, Africa, Asia and Russia.

Alexandra Compagnucci

I am a medical training at Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires University, trained in adult Infectious Diseases at Hospital Muñiz, Buenos Aires. I was part of one of the 2 pioneer groups in taking care of the first cases of HIV patients and has been involved in numerous training programmes on HIV across the country. I am also Head of the Haemophilic Cohort at the Haemophilia Foundation (established by. Dr. A. Pavlovsky), Haematology Research Institute, and National Medical Academy, taking care of HIV infection and co-morbidities, until I left the country to continue related activities in Paris, France. There I work at the Neumology Department at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, responsible for the follow-up and treatment of HIV patients. Also member of the Penta Scientific Committee, the teaching staff of the Tr@inforPedHIV programme through the Penta ID network and one of the leaders of this programme in Latin America, together with the Spanish and Latin American colleagues. I’m involved in many International paediatric projects that include sites in all Continents, mainly focused on HIV in paediatrics.

Alla Volokha

I am a Doctor of Medicine and Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Paediatric Immunology in Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Kiev. Since 1992 I have been working in the field of infectious diseases in children and congenital immunodeficiencies – since 2000 in the field of HIV. I am also author of 135 scientific papers, including 2 textbooks, and member of paediatric societies ESPID (since 1997) and ESID (since 2002). I’ve been a lecturer on Penta courses on HIV infection since 2013. My priority areas of work are: HIV infection, congenital immunodeficiencies, vaccination.

Andreas H Groll

I am Professor of Paediatrics, Head of the Infectious Disease Research Programme and Deputy Director of the Department of Haematology/Oncology at the University Children’s Hospital in Münster, Germany.

My postgraduate education included fellowships in Infectious Diseases at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, and in Paediatric Haematology/Oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. I am board certified in Paediatrics, Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, and Infectious Diseases.

My research interests include infectious complications in the immunocompromised host, particularly invasive fungal infections, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antimicrobial agents, and the design and conduct of clinical research studies. I am a member of several international medical societies, on the editorial board of several international journals and have published more than 300 scientific articles thus far. I am regularly engaged in patient care as Attending Physician of the inpatient and outpatient service and the haematopoietic stem cell transplant program.

Andy Prendergast

I have graduated in medicine from Cambridge University and Imperial College London, and undertook my paediatric training in London, specializing in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology. After undertaking my DPhil in Oxford, investigating immunological and clinical aspects of paediatric HIV infection, I was a Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, where I continued research into paediatric HIV infection and started work on clinical trials of HIV strategies in Africa through the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, London. I am currently a Wellcome Senior Clinical Fellow and Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunology at Queen Mary University of London. For the past decade, I have been based in Zimbabwe, where I am the Director of the Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research. My interests lie in the interactions between infection, immunity and malnutrition, particularly in the context of HIV infection. My research group works on the mechanistic understanding of disease within pragmatic clinical trials, with a particular focus on maternal HIV, infant HIV, and children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected.

Anna Maria Geretti

I am a Professor of Virology & Infectious Diseases and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases. Having training in Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, I am now based at the Institute of Infection & Global Health, University of Liverpool, where I’m a consult on viral infections with focus on HIV and viral hepatitis. My field of research focuses on antiviral therapy, virus genetic diversity and diagnostics, and has led to over 200 publications. I’m also the Secretary of the European AIDS Clinical Society, and contribute to policy formulation, education, and communication both nationally and internationally, and enthusiastically share my expertise to train healthcare professionals and scientists.

Anna Turkova

I am a research clinician at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trial Unit at UCL, London, and an Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at the Great Ormond Street Hospital. I am a Chief Investigator of the D3 trial, a multi-country randomised controlled trial comparing DTG/3TC vs. Standard of Care in virologically suppressed children and a trial physician in several large international paediatric HIV and TB trials and provide clinical input in epidemiological multi-centre studies.

I have been working with Penta since 2011, teaching on PentaTr@ining courses in Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, Central Asia and Africa. Moreover, I am a member of the Penta Antiretroviral Guidelines writing group (2015 – present), and a member of WHO HIV Guidelines Development Group, WHO-led Paediatric Antiretroviral Working Group (PAWG), Paediatric Antiretroviral Drug Optimisation (PADO) and Paediatric Hepatitis Working Group (PHWG).

Carlo Giaquinto

I am the President of Penta Foundation, full Professor of Paediatrics at the Department for Woman’s and Child’s Health of the University of Padova, and Director of the PhD Course in Developmental Medicine and Health Planning Sciences. My main interests are Paediatric Infections, Vaccinology and Clinical Trials in Children. Since 1990 I have been involved as scientific coordinator in more than 15 large EU funded projects. At present I coordinate more than 20 international projects, including trials in developing countries. I’m also the scientific leader of c4c, the largest paediatric IMI2 funded project, aiming to set up a European Paediatric Clinical trial platform. I am the Author/Co-Author of more than 300 publications published in peer-reviewed and invited as speaker at about 400 conferences and international workshops across the world. I was also awarded by the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) of the 2017 Bill Marshall Award.

Caroline Foster

I am consultant in Paediatric and Adolescent Infectious Diseases and HIV at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK, with a special interest in the transitional care and longterm follow up of young adults with perinatally acquired HIV infection. My research interests include the long-term outcomes for adults born with HIV (bone health, malignancies, fertility) and characterization of the latent reservoir in paediatric HIV. Research/education/guideline development and lecturing includes BHIVA, CHIVA, HYPNET, CHIPS/+, AALPHI, Penta, EPIICAL and UNICEF. I am also the past founding chair of HYPNet (HIV Young Persons Network), a multidisciplinary forum advising on care of adolescents living with HIV in the UK. I’m a Penta ID Network Member and PENTA Faculty Member.

Chishala Chabala

I am Lecturer at the University of Zambia, School of Medicine and Consultant Paediatrician at University Teaching Hospitals-Children’s Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. Also a part-time tutor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine distance learning programme in clinical trials. My main area of clinical focus and research is childhood tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and child lung health. I am an investigator on several multinational collaborative paediatric clinical trials on paediatric tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia. I also have been a member of the PENTA Faculty since 2011 and participated in Tr@inforPedHIV courses in Africa and India.

Claire Thorne

I am a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK. My research has focused on the epidemiology of viral infections with respect to maternal and child health, with a particular emphasis on HIV, viral hepatitis and Zika virus. I also lead the UK and Ireland National Surveillance of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood and hepatitis B and C surveillance and cohort studies in the UK and Ukraine, and co-leads the European Pregnancy and Paediatric HIV Cohort Collaboration and PENTAHep (an international paediatric HCV clinical network).

I am a Board Member of the Penta Foundation and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Penta ID Network.

David Burger

I received my Pharmacy Degree at the Utrecht University in 1990 and completed my PhD. After this, I moved to the Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, for my hospital pharmacist training. From 1997 to 2005, I worked as a Hospital Pharmacist Responsible for the coordination of clinical trials conducted at the Radboud University Medical Centre. Since 1997 I have been leading a research group focusing on clinical pharmacology of antimicrobial agents with emphasis on HIV, TB, fungal infections, and HCV. He is member of the Editorial Board of the www.hiv-druginteractions.org and www.hep-druginteractions.org websites on behalf of the European AIDS Clinical Society. I’m also a member of the Organizing Committee of the annual International Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology of HIV/Hepatitis Therapy and is on the panel for HIV treatment guidelines of the IAS-USA. I’m the (co-)author of more than 300 publications in this field. My topics of interest are drug-drug interactions, paediatric pharmacology, therapeutic drug monitoring, and operational research in resource-limited countries. I’m a Penta ID Network Member and Penta Faculty Member.

Diana “Di” Gibb

I am a Paediatrician, Professor of Epidemiology and has been Programme Leader of the Paediatric Programme of trials and cohorts at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London.

I am a founding Member of the Penta Network, focusing on design and execution of clinical trials and cohorts. These started in Europe and then enlarged to Asia and South America.

Capacity development is an important feature of my overseas collaborations, including initiating and leading PentaTr@ining programmes in African and Asian centres, on-the-ground training in clinical trials and PhD mentorship. I have served on a number of WHO advisory and guideline committees. In 2018, the CHAPAS trials teams, which I lead, was awarded outstanding African Research Team by EDCTP. I was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of York for her work in global child health in 2019 and was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020.

Eiman Alblooshi

I obtained my Sub-specialty Certificate in Infectious Diseases from the College of Medicine of South Africa, Cert ID (SA). I am currently a part of the paediatric infectious disease team at UKZN, Durban. My clinical research includes an ongoing study about Clinical description and molecular characterisation of community-acquiredmultifocal methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infection in children. 

I earned my MBBS degree from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). During medical school, I had experience in Biochemistry research lab and virology research lab. I completed my paediatric residency program at Tawam hospital in UAE and got my Arab Board of Pediatrics in 2017. 

I am interested in working across cultures spreading awareness about antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial stewardships and I am passionate about medical education.

Emmanuel Roilides

I am Professor of Paediatrics-Infectious Diseases in Aristotle University School of Medicine at Hippokration General Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece. I am Fellow of European Confederation of Medical Mycology as well as of European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, member of the Steering Committee of European Paediatric Mycology Network (EPMyN) and very close collaborator of Penta. My research focuses on fungal infections and multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. I am on the Editorial Board of several international biomedical journals and author of >660 peer reviewed articles and book chapters with >14000 citations. I have been co-ordinator or partner in several multicentre or multinational studies.

Gareth Tudor-Williams

I am a Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, and Consultant Paediatrician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT), St. Mary’s Hospital, London.

I ran a mother and child health clinic for the Save the Children Fund in Nepal for two years, developing a sub-specialist interest in paediatric infectious diseases. I am Member of the Penta Scientific Committee since 1994 and principal Investigator for our site for numerous Penta trials.

Founding chairman of the Children’s HIV Association of the UK and Ireland (CHIVA) in 2002. Training Programme Director for academic trainees, London School of Paediatrics. Advisor to WHO and UNICEF for Pakistan ‘outbreak’ in which more than 800 children have been newly diagnosed as HIV infected.

George Abongomera

I am a Physician and Researcher with several years of experience conducting clinical trials and implementating research in sub-Saharan Africa. I am currently working as a post-doctoral researcher in Global Health at the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI), University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Prior to moving to Switzerland, I was based at the Joint Clinical Research Centre in Kampala, Uganda, where I was involved in infectious diseases treatment and clinical trials, dealing with HIV/AIDS and TB in particular. I also coordinate and implement a research project focusing on cost-effective and safe delivery of Antiretroviral Therapy to lower level rural health facilities in Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This research contributed significantly to his PhD work in Medical Sciences at the faculty of Medicine, University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Greta Miño León

I am Director of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Service at the Children´s Hospital Dr. Francisco de Icaza Bustamante, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Also part of the teaching staff of the Paediatric European Network Treatment of AIDS (PENTA) “Tr@inforPedHIV” Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (2008 – 2019). I was Consultant for National HIV Program, Ministry of Health (1998 – 2018). I have been the past President of the Latin American Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, since 2011. I’m a Member of the European Society Paediatric Infectious Disease (ESPID); Member of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of America; Member of the Latin American Pediatric Infectious Disease Society. I’ve been involved in International paediatric projects and research, including on the Zika virus.

Guido Castelli

I am Chief of Vaccination Unit – University-Hospital department, University of Tor Vergata and Paediatric hospital Bambino Gesù – Rome; Lecturer of infectious diseases at the Nursing School of Tor Vergata University – Rome; President of the Italian Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases. I was teacher of infectious diseases at the School of Specialization in Paediatrics of Tor Vergata University – Rome.  I’m also Member of the Penta Scientific Committee and Member of the Steering Committee of the Italian Register for HIV infection in children. I am the author and co-author of about 200 papers in National and International Scientific Journals.

Gwamaka Mwasakifwa

I am an HIV physician and clinical researcher with over eight years of experience in HIV medicine, particularly adolescent HIV treatment.  He is currently based at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales. His current research examines the use of biological markers in predicting HIV associated comorbidities in low and middle-income countries.

He has previously worked in HIV and TB care and treatment services in Tanzania, and Nepal. He has been involved in the Tr@inforPedHIV training courses since 2016.  He has a keen interest in developing intelligent clinical tools, and innovative digital health solutions focused on improving patient experiences, quality of care, service delivery and strengthening global health systems.

Hermione Lyall

I am a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and clinical lead for the service at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. Prevention of transmission of HIV from mother to infant, and management of HIV infected children and young people are my main areas of clinical work. I also look after children with other congenital infections (syphilis, toxoplasmosis, CMV etc) and work with the multidisciplinary team to promote their prevention. I run a weekly congenital infection clinic and am involved in setting up a European registry for congenital CMV infection. I am a member of the Penta Scientific Committee and participate in treatment trials for HIV infected children. I am passionate about sharing experience with clinical colleagues, and learning together about our patients’ conditions and how to care for them better.

In 2005, we initiated ‘Tr@inforPedHIV’, a unique online and residential course for paediatric HIV. Now called ‘PentaTr@ining’, this course has trained more than 4,000 healthcare workers around the world on the management of paediatric HIV.

Hylke Waalewijn

I finished my training as a pharmacist in February 2017 and currently I’m in my PhD trajectory in the research group of David Burger at the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. My research focuses on the pharmacokinetics of antiretroviral drugs, specifically in HIV infected children. Currently, I am involved in the CHAPAS-4 and Odyssey projects. I also have been involved in the Tr@inforPedHIV training courses since 2017. My interests include: global health, pharmacokinetics (in paediatrics), and pharmacometrics.

José Tomás Ramos

I have a Medicine degree: Universidad Complutense of Madrid, with Specialization in Paediatrics, Sub-speciality Infectious Diseases. I’m a Consultant in Paediatric Infectious diseases at the Section of Immunodeficiencies, Department of Paediatrics in Hospital 12 Octubre, Madrid. I have been Head of Pediatrics University Hospital Getafe, since 2006. Principal Investigator of 21 investigational projects, most on HIV-infection in children. Principal investigator of the Madrid cohort of HIV-infected children and the Madrid cohort of HIV infected mother-infant pairs. Author and co-author of 78 book chapters, and 214 publications; reviewer of several international and Spanish journals on Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases. Also Member of the Penta Scientific Committee since 1998, and Member of the Spanish Advisory Committee of Plan Nacional del SIDA (Ministry of Health) since 2000.

Laura Marques

I am a Medical Doctor since 2016, and a Consultant in Paediatrics in the Paediatricc Department of Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte – Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto.

I’m a Coordinator of Unidade de Infeciologia e Imunodeficiências do Serviço de Pediatria do Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte – Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto; Member of Unidade de Imunologia Clínica do Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto do Porto; Head of Hospital de Dia de Pediatria do Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte; Founding Member of Sociedade de Infeciologia Pediátrica da SPP.

I’m also Member of Penta’s Steering Committee.

Luba Okhonskaia

I am PhD and I work as an Infectious Diseases Consultant in the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Saint Petersburg, since 2011. I have been teaching on Penta Tr@ining Courses in Eastern Europe and Central Asia since 2014 and has been one of the leading tutors on the online Russian course. My current interests are HIV infection, HIV/TB coinfection and viral hepatitis in children and adults.

Luis Castaneda

I am a Medical Doctor, specialized in Paediatrics. I collaborate in different Organizations, as Member of the Pediatric Association of El Salvador since February, 1999, Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) since 2000. He is director of the Centro de Excelencia para Ninos con Inmunodeficiencia, Hospital Nacional de Ninos “Benjamin Bloom”, El Salvador, since 2002. I’m also President of the Asociacion de Pediatria de El Salvador and was Vice President of the Regional Committee for the Validation of the Elimination of Maternal-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis of PAHO, 2018-2019. His work is present in several writings about HIV/AIDS.

Magda Conway

I have worked with children, young people and families living with HIV for the last 17 years. For 5 years I was the UK Policy Lead and for the last 12 years I have worked as a freelancer for a number of Organizations including the Children’s HIV Association, Medical Research Council, Penta and UNICEF for the CIS/CEE region, specializing in the psychosocial support for children with HIV, developing child-centered health practice and youth participation in clinical trials and research. I have been part of the Penta Faculty for many years, leading on youth and community engagement.

Since 2013, I’ve carried out work for UNICEF in the CIS/CEE region, developing training and resources to develop support provision for adolescents living with HIV and youth-friendly primary care. Prior to this, I worked with looked after children, ran community development projects and worked in HIV/sexual health promotion and teenage pregnancy reduction.

María José Mellado Peña

I am Head of Department: General Paediatrics, Infectious and Tropical Diseases-Vaccination at Universitary Hospital La Paz, Madrid. Spain. CSUR- National Reference Spanish Centre on Paediatric Tropical Diseases from Health Ministry. I’m also Associate Professor of Madrid Autónoma University, and European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructures. I’m part of the Penta Scientific Committee and Penta Tr@ining.

Marinella Della Negra

I have worked as a Principal Investigator in over 40 Phase II, III and IV studies with children and adults infected with HIV since 1994, leading to extensive experience in clinical trials with new drugs and / or new treatments for HIV disease.

I was the President of an inpatient unit at the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas, a reference Hospital for medical care, medical education and medical research for undergraduate, graduate and scholarship programmes.

I was also a Professor of Infectious Diseases at the School of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo, Brazil, one of the three best medical schools in São Paulo. I’ve been President of an NGO called Association of Assistance to Children and Adolescents with HIV since 1989, and had the role of assisting children, adolescents and their families. I am a Consultant of the HIV Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health of Brazil.

Mark Cotton

I am Head of Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Director of the Family Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital (TCH), Stellenbosch University (SU). I then undertook a Fellowship in paediatric infectious diseases at University of Colorado between 1991 and 1995. I’m also affiliated to the IMPAACT and Penta Networks and provided technical support for WHO initiatives since 2004 on the Classification for HIV, antiretroviral guidelines and TB-HIV co-infection. I’m most interested in HIV cure and remission and how to do this in children. I’m the principal investigator for the SU Clinical Trial Unit (SUN-CTU) with special focus on tuberculosis and HIV, and I’m involved in TB vaccine studies including a recombinant BCG vaccine. I have also recently re-engaged in antimicrobial resistance, which is an expanding threat to children with fewer resources than the early years of the HIV pandemic.

Marta Vasylyev

I am a Doctor and an infectious diseases Consultant working at the HIV unit in Lviv Regional Public Health Centre, West Ukrainian Specialized Medical Children’s Centre, and Medical Centre “Astar” in Lviv, Ukraine. I was trained in leading hospitals in Dublin and Barcelona, and I’m also a Member of the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines Treatment Panel. My special interests are HIV, co-infections, viral hepatitis, and STDs in children and adults. I have been a Faculty Member on Tr@inforPedHIV courses since 2018.

Mary Hepburn

I was trained first as a General Practitioner, then as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. I established and, for 30 years until my retirement from clinical practice in 2014, was consultant in charge of the Glasgow Women’s Reproductive Health Service, (WRHS) a city-wide service for women with social problems. WRHS was the regional service providing reproductive healthcare for women infected with or affected by blood borne viruses including HIV and HCV. Consequently for 30 years all pregnant HIV women in West of Scotland (and many from other regions as well) were under my care. I supported colleagues in other centres nationally and internationally in the development of specialised services for women with social problems and contributed to professional and government strategic development, and development of undergraduate and postgraduate training. In 2015 I was awarded the title of ‘OBE’ for my work, and I continue non-clinical work – including training and support for service development nationally and internationally.

Moherndran Archary

I am a Paediatric Infectious Disease Specialist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at King Edward VIII Hospital affiliated to the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal. I’m actively involved with the management of children and adolescents with HIV both locally and nationally within South Africa. My research interests include antiretroviral drug therapeutics, viral resistance and optimal timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy in the developing world.

Mutsa Bwakura

I am a Consultant Paediatrician and Senior Lecturer within the department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences. I have served as the Project Leader for the ARROW and REALITY Clinical Trials, and also affiliated to the IMPAACT network where I have been site Principal Investigator for a number of clinical trials in children including ART strategies for children. I am currently a Wellcome Trust Training Fellow where my research is focusing on the long term outcomes of severely malnourished HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children following discharge from hospital.

Nelesh Govender

I am a medical doctor with specialist pathology training in clinical microbiology. I am also a trained medical mycologist and epidemiologist. I work as a centre head at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa where I run the national mycology reference laboratory. A major theme of my public health-focused mycology research is HIV-associated fungal diseases, many of which are life-threatening. My research activities span laboratory science including characterisation of established and emerging fungal pathogens and diagnostic test development and evaluation; population-based observational epidemiological studies; cost-effectiveness modelling of public health interventions and treatments; and clinical trials. My academic affiliations are with the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Cape Town, University of Exeter and St George’s University of London. I am a member of the Penta Fungal Infections Working Group.

Nigel Klein

I am a Professor and Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London, and the Institute of Child Health, University College London. I trained at the University College London (UCL), obtaining degrees in Anatomy and in Medicine, and established the Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Unit at ICH until 2014. I also established and led the Department of Infection at UCL for 5 years, until 2008. I have been working in the fields of Infectious Diseases for many years and have a particular interest in Meningitis, Sepsis, Innate Immunity, premature labour and HIV. I’m a Member of several Boards, including the Wellcome Trust Infection and Immunity Board, Chair of the Grants Panel for Meningitis UK, Member of the Meningitis Research Foundation Grants Panel and is now Chair of the Action Medical Research Panel. I’m also a Member of the Penta Immunology and Virology Committee. I published more than 300 papers, many in high impact journals, and supervised more than 30 PhD students of which 16 have or are Clinical Fellows. I’ve recently been appointed Lead for Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the newly created Wellcome Trust Unified Institute based in Kwazulu Natal in South Africa.

Pablo Rojo

I am a Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist of Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain, and also Associate Professor of Complutense University, Madrid, Spain. I obtained my MD and PhD from Complutense University. I’ve been a Member of the Board of the Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (SEIP), since 2014 and now Board Member of the European Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID). I’m author and co-author of over 80 peer reviewed scientific articles and book chapters. My main research activities are related to HIV, S. aureus and congenital CMV infection. I am a Member of the Penta Network and have been part of the PentaTr@ining program for the past 10 years. I’ve participated in many paediatric antiretroviral clinical trials and is part of the EPIICAL project pursuing novel therapeutics approaches for early treated HIV-infected children. I’m also co-Chief Investigator of ODYSSEY and Chief Investigator of the EMPIRICAL trial.

Pere Soler Palacín

I am a paediatric immunologist, specialist in paediatric infectious diseases and head of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiencies Unit at Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. I am the Director of the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies (Barcelona) and the local coordinator of the European Reference Network for Immunodeficiencies (ERN-RITA) site in Barcelona.

My main research lines are the diagnosis and treatment of primary immunodeficiencies and the optimization of pharmacokinetic parameters of anti-infectives in pediatrics.

I have authored more than 200 publications in indexed journals and more than 200 communications in national and international scientific meetings.

I am an associate Professor of Paediatrics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) since 2010 and director of the Master in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the UAB.

Peter Olbrich

I obtained my MD from the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany) and my PhD from the University of Seville in Spain. From 2014-2018 I served as the Chair of the ESID Junior Working Party. I currently hold a tenure track position funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Juan Rodés), which allows me to combine clinical care as well as experimental research activities. I am a consultant for paediatric immunology and infectious diseases at the Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Seville, Spain and co-principal investigator of the Inborn errors of immunity research group under the lead of Dr O Neth at the Institute of Biomedicine in Seville.

My main research interests are primary and secondary immunodeficiencies focusing on the understanding and modulation of underlying mechanisms aiming to identify the best possible treatment options for each patient. I am associate Professor at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Seville and coordinator of the “invasive fungal infections” working group of the Sociedad Española de Infectología Pediátrica.

Rashida Ferrand

I am an HIV Clinical specialist and an epidemiologist. I’m also a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow and a Professor of International Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I’m based in Zimbabwe where I direct the Zim-LSHTM Research Partnership. My research focuses on developing and evaluating strategies to improve outcomes across the HIV cascade in adolescents and young people. The other main area of research focus is the long-term chronic comorbidities associated with HIV infection among children growing up with HIV, specifically respiratory cardiac and musculoskeletal disease.

Steve Welch

I am a Consultant in Paediatric HIV and Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Heartlands Hospital and Birmingham Chest Clinic, University Hospitals Birmingham. The UK’s buzzing Second City has the largest paediatric HIV and TB services in the UK. I’ve been part of Member of Penta Scientific Committee, 2009 onwards. I’m also the Training Lead for Penta since 2010 and for pTBnet since 2016.

Thomas Lehrnbecher

I am Professor of Pediatrics and since 2018 the Head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany. I trained in the Children’s Hospital in Würzburg, Germany, and at the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA. My clinical and laboratory research focuses on infectious complications in children with cancer, the development of immunotherapeutic strategies against invasive fungal infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, and the interaction of host immune cells and fungi.

I currently chair the sections “Infection in the immunocompromised child” of both the German Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the German Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, and, until 2016, the working group “Supportive Care” of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology. Since 2018, I am a member of the international council of the Immunocompromised Host Society.

Tim Cressey

I have been actively involved in HIV clinical research studies for over 18 years, primarily focused on mother and child health. Since completing my PhD in pharmacology at Newcastle University in the UK in 2001, I have been working as a researcher within the French National Research Institute for Development (IRD) research unit ‘Program for HIV Prevention and Treatment (PHPT)’ based at the Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. I have performed multiple clinical pharmacokinetic studies in adults, adolescents, children, pregnant women and newborns. I’m also an active member of the Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS (PENTA) and the NIH-funded International Pediatric Maternal Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) network. I’m currently a Member of the World Health Organization convened Pediatric Optimization Working Groups on Antiretrovirals and Viral Hepatitis (PWGH).

Tim Niehues

I’m the Director of the Centre for Child Health and Adolescence, HELIOS Klinikum Krefeld, Germany.

I’m a Postdoctoral Fellow, in the Department of Molecular Medicine, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), Cornell University New York, and since 2006 a Member of Penta Scientific Committee. I’m also a Professor of Paediatrics (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf), and  Co-author of Penta Guidelines for Treatment of children with HIV infection.

Ton Noguera

I am a Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona (Spain), and a Professor of Paediatrics at Universitat de Barcelona and coordinates the Master Course in Paediatric Health (Hospital de Nens, Universitat de Barcelona) as well. I graduated from the Universitat de Barcelona in 1997 and completed my internship and residency in Paediatrics at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in 2003. My areas of interest include: HIV and other vertically-transmitted infections and tuberculosis in the pediatric age. I’ve been part of the Penta Scientific Committee since 2010 and have given lectures in several Penta training courses on HIV infection in children and adolescents in Latin America.

Victor Musiime

I’m a Paediatrician in Uganda, and I work as an Associate Professor at Makerere University, College of Health Science, School of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health. I also conduct research at Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC), mainly in Paediatric HIV, where I hold the position of Senior Research Consultant. At Makerere University, I conduct didactic and clinical sessions for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supervises Masters and PhD research projects; and conduct research in various aspects of child health. My clinical and research interests are: Paediatric Infectious diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, childhood nutrition and other child health issues.

Vira Chechenieva

I have working as a Paediatrician in the Infectious Diseases Centre “Clinic for treatment of children with HIV/AIDS” at the National Specialized Children’s Hospital “OKHMATDIT”, Kyiv, Ukraine since February 2008. My duties are the examination, treatment and management of children with HIV and their parents. In the period from 2008 to 2010, as well as my work in the Clinic, I regularly went on working trips to different regions of Ukraine in order to consult with patients, monitor regional Centres for HIV/AIDS treatment. During the mentioned period, I also took part both in organizing and facilitating training programmes devoted to the problem of paediatric HIV for doctors, caregivers, and staff at orphanages.

In 2017 I worked as a Clinical advisor at the International training & education centre for health (I-TECH) / University of Washington in Ukraine under the international project “Strengthening Capacity of HIV/AIDS Treatment in Ukraine”.

Since 2018 I have worked as a Junior Researcher at the Paediatric Department of the National Institute of Phthisiology and Pulmonology.