Linda-Gail Bekker

Linda-Gail Bekker, MBChB, DTMH, DCH, FCP(SA), PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town. She is also chief operating officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, a not for profit organisation that works to improve the wellbeing of people from some of the poorest communities in South Africa. She is a physician scientist with a keen interest in HIV, tuberculosis and related diseases. Her doctoral work focused on the host response to tuberculosis both with and in the absence of HIV co-infection. Subsequently her research interests have expanded to include programmatic and action research around antiretroviral rollout and TB integration, and prevention of HIV in women, youth and men who have sex with men. She has contributed to more than 250 publications emanating from the HIV Centre on topics relevant to the South African HIV and TB epidemics. In her role in the Foundation, she is passionate about community development and engagement and actively explores new and innovative ways to tackle the challenge that is HIV. She is president-elect of the International AIDS Society and serves on a number of other national and international committees and boards.