Dr. Thesla Palanee-Phillips, M Med Sci, PhD, MSc

Thesla Palanee-Phillips (M Med Sci, PhD, MSc) is the Director of Clinical Trials at Wits RHI in Johannesburg, South Africa. She holds a joint appointment at the University of the Witwatersrand as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Her research has focused on biomedical HIV prevention with microbicides, vaginal rings, oral and injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as well as contraception. Her interests includes designing and implementing clinical trials and investigator research driven research studies integrating complex laboratory components as well as qualitative, behavioral, and implementation science-framed questions into them. She has a particular focus on questions that bridge HIV prevention with sexual/reproductive health, issues impacting adherence to HIV prevention interventions in the context of sexual violence and studies of interventions related to mitigation of risk of HIV.

Dr. Palanee-Phillips will serve as Deputy Director of the MATRIX program.