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Group Chief Scientific Officer

Prof Violet Chihota

Prof Violet Chihota

Adjunct Associate Professor Violet Chihota has been a researcher in global health for over 20 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 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.

Publications

17 publications

From 2025 and 2026

  1. 2026

    'Why should I start medication when I am not feeling sick?' A qualitative study of refusal, initiation, completion and discontinuation of tuberculosis preventive treatment among people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

    Tsope L, Chimoyi L, Kennar A, Rabothata I, Sisay S, Sithole K, et al.

    Also an author: Chihota V

    BMJ Public Health. 2026 Jul 14;4(3):e004163.

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  2. 2026

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

    Johnson AE, Chimoyi L, Charalambous S, Kawaza N, Hoffmann CJ, Davis JL, Chihota V

    J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2026 Jul 1;101(7):760-767.

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  3. 2026

    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

    Chihota V, Waggie Z, Cardenas V, Mngadi K, Ndebele F, Brumskine W, et al.

    Clin Infect Dis. 2026 May 17:ciag315.

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  4. 2026

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

    Saavedra-Cervera B, Nguenha D, Chihota V, Yimer G, Fernández-Escobar C, Mngadi K, et al.

    J Infect Dis. 2026 Mar 17:jiag165.

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  5. 2025

    An evaluation of a choice architecture-based intervention on prescribing of TB preventive treatment to people living with HIV in southern Africa (the CAT study): a cluster-randomised trial

    Shearer K, Nonyane BAS, Mulder C, Kaonga E, Nyirenda R, Mbendera K, et al.

    Also an author: Chihota V

    BMJ Glob Health. 2025 May 24;10(5):e016921.

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  6. 2025

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

    Ntshiqa T, Velen K, Ginindza S, Nhlangulela L, Charalambous S, Hawn TR, et al.

    Also an author: Chihota V

    PLoS One. 2025 May 9;20(5):e0318819.

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