Group Chief Health Officer

Prof Salome Charalambous

Associate Professor Salome Charalambous is the Group Chief Health Officer at The Aurum Institute. She holds a medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MSc and PhD in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

She has vast experience in medical research in the fields of HIV and TB. She was involved in HIV programme implementation prior to antiretroviral therapy implementation in the mining industry and was instrumental in the first large antiretroviral implementation project in the Anglo-American companies. Following that, Professor Charalambous was the main recipient of a large PEPFAR grant which involved HIV programme implementation in settings with private practitioners, public sector hospitals, such as Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, and Tembisa hospital, and the Department of Correctional Services.

As part of programme implementation, she also conducted research studies and published articles on TB-HIV integration, HIV programme evaluations and other topics related to HIV and TB. She is currently the Principal Investigator on a number of clinical trials and large cluster-randomized epidemiological studies.

She currently holds an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University.

Publications

50 publications

From 2024 and 2025 and 2026

50 publications

Guiding principles for pragmatic randomised trials of tuberculosis treatments

Tuberculosis treatment support using digital adherence technology

Hidden in Success: Gendered Patterns of Suboptimal Care Engagement Among Tuberculosis Patients Who "Successfully" Completed Treatment in South Africa

Cost-effectiveness analysis of implementing a medication monitor and differentiated care approach among people with TB in South Africa

Differentiated HIV Service Delivery vs Conventional Care: Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy Outcomes for People Living With HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

Potentials and challenges of next generation sequencing-guided individualized treatment for management of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis - A qualitative study

Deep learning approach for probabilistic pulmonary function estimation from chest X-ray and peak expiratory flow rate

Safety of short-course weekly rifapentine and isoniazid (3HP) for TB preventive treatment at conception and during first trimester in women living with HIV: a secondary analysis of WHIP3TB trial

Whole genome sequencing precision medicine strategy to shorten treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (SMARTT): a pragmatic, randomised, single-blind phase 4 trial

Dynamics of Quantiferon-Gold Plus results in a large TB preventive treatment trial across three high-burden HIV/TB countries

panTB-HM: a multi-arm clinical trial of a pan-TB regimen targeting both host and microbe

Targeted and whole-genome sequencing for drug resistance and genetic relatedness inference of rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: an in-depth comparison

Host response biomarkers of tuberculosis recurrence and treatment failure

Insights on the implementation strategies for a potential new tuberculosis vaccine in South Africa

The effects of war on digital adherence technology engagement for TB treatment in Ukraine

Baseline determinants of adherence for drug-sensitive TB treatment in a South African prospective cohort: a focus on HIV infection and anti-retroviral therapy, clinical care access, and TB stigma

Qualitative Identification of HIV Care Engagement Challenges and Preferences for Differentiated Care Service Delivery Models Post-Incarceration in South Africa

Rates and Risk Factors for On-Treatment Mortality Among a Cohort of Adults Treated for Drug-Sensitive Tuberculosis: Analysis of Data From the Adherence Support Coalition to End Tuberculosis Consortium in Five Countries

Digital adherence technology interventions to reduce poor end-of-treatment outcomes and recurrence among adults with drug-sensitive tuberculosis in Ethiopia: a three-arm, pragmatic, cluster-randomised, controlled trial

Acceptability of Digital Adherence Technologies to support people with drug-susceptible TB in South Africa

Uptake of a Case Management Intervention for Continuity of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Treatment Among Individuals Released From Incarceration Living With HIV in South Africa

"If we lose it, we are worried": Individual and provider level perceptions towards weight change among people living with HIV who undergo TB screening in routine health care settings in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Evaluation of QIAreach QuantiFERON-TB lateral-flow nanoparticle fluorescence assay for TB infection diagnosis among TB household contacts in three high-burden settings

Targeted transcriptomic analyses of tuberculosis treatment response and outcomes in The Gambia

Is global health security worth 0.01% of our gross domestic product? PLOS Glob Pub Health

Neuromyelitis optica causing vision loss during TB treatment with sutezolid: evidence of aberrant immunity following infection

Resistance to tuberculin skin test/interferon-gamma release assay conversion among highly TB exposed, HIV infected goldminers in South Africa

Improving Health and Well-Being of People with Post-COVID-19 Consequences in South Africa: Situation Analysis and Pilot Intervention Design

Costs and cost-effectiveness of integrated screening for non-communicable diseases in TB contacts

Effect of digital adherence technologies on treatment outcomes in people with drug-susceptible tuberculosis: four pragmatic, cluster-randomised trials

Evaluating community knowledge of tuberculosis preventive therapy in rural South Africa

Understanding the occurrence and determinants of catastrophic costs of rifampicin resistant tuberculosis in South Africa to inform a patient-centered care program

N-acetylcysteine modulates markers of oxidation, inflammation and infection in tuberculosis

Frequency of tuberculosis symptoms at repeat visits amongst adults attending for HIV care in Gauteng province, South Africa

Climate change and tuberculosis: an analytical framework

Shesha, a WhatsApp Chatbot for Linking Household Contacts to Tuberculosis Treatment or Preventive Therapy in South Africa: Design and Development

Acceptability and feasibility of a group intervention for long COVID in Johannesburg, South Africa: a mixed-method study

Evaluating the New TB Antigen-Based Skin Test to Diagnose TB Infection in South Africa

The effect of smart pillboxes on TB stigma among adults in a cluster-randomised TB treatment trial

Understanding patient experiences: A mixed-methods study on barriers and facilitators to TB care seeking in South Africa

Community and Universal Testing for TB among close contacts of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB patients in two high TB burden countries: a protocol for a pragmatic cluster-randomised control trial

Epidemiological factors associated with immunological resistance in household contacts exposed to active tuberculosis in South Africa: A logistic regression analysis

One year on - the long-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions on the health-seeking behaviour, financial security and mental health of TB survivors

Engagement With Digital Adherence Technologies as Measures of Intervention Fidelity Among Adults With Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis and Health Care Providers: Descriptive Analysis Using Data From Cluster-Randomized Trials in Five Countries

Is South Africa ready for point-of-care, non-sputum tests for TB diagnosis? An assessment of end-user perceptions on a novel urine test and tongue swab for TB testing

Mental Health, Substance Use, and Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy in People With HIV: A Prospective Cohort Study

Risk factors associated with TB infection among household contacts of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB patients in three high TB burden countries

The participation of people deprived of liberty in tuberculosis vaccine trials: should they be protected from research, or through research?

TB elimination in Southern Africa: overview and critical reflection

Treatment adherence and clinical outcomes amongst in people with drug-susceptible tuberculosis using medication monitor and differentiated care approach compared with standard of care in South Africa: a cluster randomized trial