Chief Specialist Scientist
Prof Violet Chihota
Adjunct Associate Professor Violet Chihota is the Chief Specialist Scientist and has been a researcher in global health for over 10 years designing and managing conduct of clinical research studies in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Cameroon, Georgia, India and Malaysia.
She has previously worked as a Senior Scientific Officer at Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Switzerland. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a a Senior Researcher at University of Witwatersrand, School of Public Health.
Prof Chihota holds a BSc Honours Biological Sciences from the University of Zimbabwe, an MSc Medical Microbiology from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from Stellenbosch University and has training in Epidemiology and Statistics from the Johns Hopkins University. She has straddled both the basic science, epidemiology and implementation research fields.
Her work has focused on epidemiology of tuberculosis, evaluating tuberculosis diagnostic tools and strategies for improving health outcomes in people with TB in Southern Africa region. Her current interests include diagnosis and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and resistance to TB infection. She is also a skilled manager of complex interventional implementation research projects having managed and worked with diverse teams at both Aurum Institute and FIND. Prof Chihota has published widely on HIV/TB coinfection particularly focusing molecular epidemiology of drug sensitive- and resistant- TB, diagnosis, case finding and linkage to care.
Journal Articles
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Simmons, J.D., Dill-McFarland, K.A., Stein, C.M., Van, P.T., Chihota, V., Ntshiqa, T., Maenetje, P., Peterson, G.J., Benchek, P., Nsereko, M. and Velen, K., 2022. Monocyte Transcriptional Responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Associate with Resistance to Tuberculin Skin Test and Interferon Gamma Release Assay Conversion. Msphere, pp.e00159-22.
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Chihota, V.N., Ntshiqa, T., Maenetje, P., Mansukhani, R., Velen, K., Hawn, T.R., Wallis, R., Grant, A.D., Churchyard, G.J. and Fielding, K., 2022. Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. PloS one, 17(3), p.e0265036.
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Shilton, S., Markby, J., Japaridze, M., Chihota, V., Shadaker, S., Gvinjilia, L., Tsereteli, M., Alkhazashvili, M., Butsashvili, M., Stvilia, K. and Ruiz III, R.J., 2022. Feasibility and effectiveness of HCV viraemia testing at harm reduction sites in Georgia: A prospective three‐arm study. Liver International, 42(4), pp.775-786.
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Churchyard, G., Cárdenas, V., Chihota, V., Mngadi, K., Sebe, M., Brumskine, W., Martinson, N., Yimer, G., Wang, S.H., Garcia-Basteiro, A.L. and Nguenha, D., 2021. Annual tuberculosis preventive therapy for persons with HIV infection: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 174(10), pp.1367-1376.
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Simmons, J.D., Van, P.T., Stein, C.M., Chihota, V., Ntshiqa, T., Maenetje, P., Peterson, G.J., Reynolds, A., Benchek, P., Velen, K. and Fielding, K.L., 2021. Monocyte metabolic transcriptional programs associate with resistance to tuberculin skin test/interferon-γ release assay conversion. The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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van der Heijden, Y.F., Hughes, J., Dowdy, D.W., Streicher, E., Chihota, V., Jacobson, K.R., Warren, R. and Theron, G., 2019. Overcoming limitations of tuberculosis information systems: researcher and clinician perspectives. Public Health Action, 9(3), pp.120-127.
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Pillai, N., Foster, N., Hanifa, Y., Ndlovu, N., Fielding, K., Churchyard, G., Chihota, V., Grant, A.D. and Vassall, A., 2019. Patient costs incurred by people living with HIV/AIDS prior to ART initiation in primary healthcare facilities in Gauteng, South Africa. PloS one, 14(2), p.e0210622.
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Agizew, T., Boyd, R., Auld, A.F., Payton, L., Pals, S.L., Lekone, P., Chihota, V. and Finlay, A., 2019. Treatment outcomes, diagnostic and therapeutic impact: Xpert vs. smear. A systematic review and meta-analysis. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 23(1), pp.82-92.
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Hanifa, Y., Toro Silva, S., Karstaedt, A., Sahid, F., Charalambous, S., Chihota, V.N., Churchyard, G.J., von Gottberg, A., McCarthy, K., Nicol, M.P., Ndlovu, N.T., Stevens, W., Fielding, K.L., and Grant, A.D., 2019. What causes symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis in HIV-positive people with negative initial investigations?. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 23(2), pp.157-165.
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Chetty-Makkan, C.M., Grund, J.M., Munyai, R., Gadla, V., Chihota, V., Maraisane, M. and Charalambous, S., 2019. “To speak or not to speak”: A qualitative analysis on the attitude and willingness of women to start conversations about voluntary medical male circumcision with their partners in a peri-urban area, South Africa. PloS one, 14(1), p.e0210480.
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Chihota, V.N., Ginindza, S., McCarthy, K., Grant, A.D., Churchyard, G. and Fielding, K., 2015. Missed opportunities for TB investigation in primary care clinics in South Africa: experience from the XTEND trial. PLoS One, 10(9), p.e0138149.
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Churchyard, G.J., Stevens, W.S., Mametja, L.D., McCarthy, K.M., Chihota, V., Nicol, M.P., Erasmus, L.K., Ndjeka, N.O., Mvusi, L., Vassall, A. and Sinanovic, E., 2015. Xpert MTB/RIF versus sputum microscopy as the initial diagnostic test for tuberculosis: a cluster-randomised trial embedded in South African roll-out of Xpert MTB/RIF. The Lancet Global Health, 3(8), pp.e450-e457.
