Graeme Meintjes elected to UCT College of Fellows
Our congratulations to Professor Graeme Meintjes, of the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa), Member of the IDM, and of the Department of Medicine.
This Fellowship is awarded to members of the permanent academic staff of the University in recognition of original, distinguished academic work such as to merit special recognition. The awards were made in October 2017 and Graeme’s citation noted the following:
Professor Graeme Meintjes has made important original scientific contributions in four areas of clinical research in patients with HIV infection. First, he has conducted a series of studies on the clinical presentations, immunopathogenesis, treatment and prevention of the tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS, a condition affecting patients with HIV-associated TB who initiate antiretroviral therapy). Graeme led the development of international consensus case definitions for TB-IRIS, with the body of his research influencing international guidelines. As recognition of his work in this field, he was appointed to serve as a member of the TB subject group of the National Institutes of Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/HIV Medicine Association/Infectious Diseases Society of America (NIH-CDC-HIVMA/IDSA) Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents (since 2010).
His second major area of research has been on a common severe HIV-associated opportunistic infection: cryptococcal meningitis, including diagnosis, treatment and timing of antiretroviral therapy in patients with this condition. Again the outcomes have influenced international guidelines; and Graeme was appointed as a member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guidelines Development Group for Guidelines on the Diagnosis, Prevention and Management of Cryptococcal Infection in Adults and Children (2011–12).
His third research area is the incidence, risk factors and clinical features of adverse events related to antiretroviral therapy (hyperlactataemia) and TB treatment (drug-induced liver injury) in South Africa. These findings have influenced national clinical guidelines.
Finally, he has conducted research on understanding delays in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in HIVinfected people and evaluating novel strategies to improve tuberculosis diagnostic yield in hospitalised HIV-infected patients.
Graeme was joined in his election as a UCT Fellow by Professor Karen Barnes, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and an Affiliate Member of the IDM. Karen has made important and original scientific contributions that have informed national and international malaria treatment policies and practice. Her research has focused on three areas: the comprehensive evaluation of changes in malaria treatment policy and how these impact on antimalarial resistance; optimising dosing in vulnerable populations in order to delay drug resistance; and the clinical development of much-needed novel antimalarials.
The full text of their citations is found here (18 October 2017): https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2017-10-18-ucts-new-fellows